Peer Pressure

This isn't about the cool kids trying to get you to smoke some tweeds or shoplift some stogies. I think we are all beyond that. What I'm talking about is the never-ending pressure to have children once you have been married for more than a year.

Let me give you an example; my buddy Evan somehow hoodwinked his lovely wife Jen into marrying him about 3-ish years ago. By his own account, he is questioned on a daily basis regarding their plans for children. Why? Why are people so intent on forcing the issue?

I was watching a wonderful show the other night where NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal worked with a bunch of tubby kids to try and get them back into shape. In addition to being fat, these kids had something else in common; their parents have failed them miserably. As an 11 year old, you don't tip the scales at 200+ pounds without your parents buying you a few thousand happy meals.

They may seem unrelated, but from my perspective, the parents of these fatties didn't accept the role of a parent. Maybe because they had their kids for the wrong reasons.

Admittedly, this is a stretch, but I'm trying to make a point...so bear with me.

Having a kid is hard work. It is not something that is to be entered in lightly. The people that are trying to badger you into procreating will not be there when your child wakes up every 30 minutes. When you have to run your child to the ER at 3AM, they will not be joining you.

If you don't want to have a kid...if you are not ready...then don't. I don't say this to scare you. Having a child is by far and away the most rewarding experience of my life. Obviously i love it...I'm having another one. But it's definitely not easy.

This is not something to be entered into on a whim. The world is full of kids whose parents didn't step up to the plate.