To ask, if you were in a good position to, would you have started a family any earlier?

[Villanelle6]

Just that really. I’m 25, married to DH (34). We own a (mortgaged) nice sized home big enough to accommodate children, we’ve been married for a year, both earning a good wage, I have a career flexible enough to accommodate part time working/flexi hours, DH is a high earner so we wouldn’t struggle on only his wage. We have no debts, plenty of savings etc. Currently we have a very nice life and have experienced lots together already. Plenty of holidays, social outings, eating out regularly and don’t have to think twice about spending out for things. Contemplating TTC as it seems the logical next step for us, but conscious I’d be considered a relatively young mum in today’s society. I feel ‘ready’ but without truly appreciating what parenthood is like until actually becoming a parent, it’s hard to know for sure when the right time is. I hear so many people telling others my age to ‘live your life first/wait as long as possible/you’ll never get the freedom back’ and so on.

So I was wondering, for those of you who already have DC, knowing what you now know, would you have had DC earlier in life if you already had everything in place financially/career wise to do so, or would you still have waited?

I chose to have DC1 at 25. I figured I wanted freedom later in life than earlier (being 40 with relatively independent kids)

We had children when we were both in our late thirties. In an ideal world for me, I'd enjoy my twenties building up my career, doing any additional qualifications part time etc that would be of benefit for my future career, and also travelling whenever I got the chance. And then I'd probably have kids in my early thirties.

But I guess things have worked out fine for us too. I feel like I spent a long time working long hours in a stressful (but rewarding) job, and now I have young kids I've moved jobs (although in the same profession) and am quite happy to do part time hours with a bit less responsibility and enjoy a better work life balance. That might have been a harder move to make if I was younger and still building up my experience and career. And I travelled to some amazing places in my twenties and early thirties and I would never have done that if I'd had kids a lot earlier.