couples

The official ‘Am I done having kids yet?’ check list.

It can be hard to decide if your family is complete. Thankfully this simple will help answer that question for you once and for all.

 

I’ve been trying to decide if I should have a fourth child for a good couple of years now, and I’m no closer to a decision that when I first started. My feelings about it change several times a week, several times a day in fact.

The advice I am given by friends and family is completely conflicting and just makes me feel more confused. And it probably doesn’t help that I am surrounded by adorable babies at the moment.

But having had three already, I am under no illusions about what a baby means. In addition to the joy, a baby means having no me- time, no money, a lack of sleep, costly prams, capsules, cots, nappies. A baby, in particular a fourth child, means a house with more bedrooms, a bigger car, new clothes.

It’s a huge step. But I still want one.

Which brings me to the ‘Am I done having kids yet’ checklist. Hopefully it will help you figure out what you really want, as much as it’s helped me.

‘Am I Done Having Kids’ checklist

Answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the following questions. Add up your answers at the end. If you answer ‘yes’ to more than half the questions, then get busy and make a baby. If you answer ‘no’ to more than half questions then it’s time to accept that your family is complete.

  1. Do you play with babies you don’t know in public places?
  2. Do you cope well with broken sleep?
  3. Are you hesitant to give away your baby equipment (cot, change table, pram, capsule)?
  4. Do you have plenty of time to go to the gym, to get your hair done and to visit the doctor?
  5. When you hold a baby, do you smell their head?
  6. Do you offer to change the nappies of babies in your family?
  7. Have you spent more than a year thinking about having a fourth child?
  8. When you tell your family you are thinking of having another child, are they supportive?
  9. Do you enjoy pregnancy?
  10. Do you dream about babies?

Okay, so how did you go? I answered ‘yes’ to seven questions and ‘no’ to three. Please, share your results or feel free to add to the questions on this list. Now, I have something I have to do.

What do you think is the most important question when it comes to deciding whether or not to have another child?