Having Kids After 40 Can Be a Piece of Cake

Letter to Ephesians: I beg to differ. The key to happily having kids after age 40 is NOT about having the MONEY but having the STAMINA to deal with their never-ending needs. Having the love is a given. BUT if you lack a strong back it won’t track...

I’m speaking from the wonderfully gratifying experience of raising, in my 40s, 4 kids born within 2 years of one another (aka two sets of boy-girl twins): Having the smarts to “know what to do” with them AND how to pay for their raising was nothing compared to simply surviving the sleep deprivation, 24-7 engagement and endless worries that come with the Dad job, all while working 12 hours a day on the money-making job.

Not that the recent WSJ articles covering the topic is wrong about those having a delayed family (for whatever reason) and their need to focus on “the unique money considerations that come with it.” Of course, being able to maintain a reasonably comfortable lifestyle for a new family at any age is and should be high on everyone’s priority list. And the Journal is, after all, a business pub. Yet, I suggest there’s an all-too common assumption spread in the media that money is going to grease one’s parenthood if delayed “x” amount of time; too often & regardless of the finances, the new older parent is shocked if not dismayed at how raising a child can be compared to the strength required of one running a marathon race. The good news: That race is absolutely worth it, provided you embrace it with eyes wide open as well as with one's whole heart and soul. True. It comes with a price. But of a different kind than the one you pay at the grocery store.

Davd Soul