Starting a family is a big deal. You’ll have spent years searching for the partner of your dreams, and you’ll have spoken with them at length about what it will take to raise a family – in terms of responsibility and in terms of your joint income.
This article is all about the lifestyle changes that you might wish to consider making before you take the plunge and start a family. We’ll advise you on what you should prioritize in your own life before bringing young lives into this world.
Mental Health
Raising children in a household in which their parents’ mental health is unstable is a recipe for an unhappy childhood. It’s often the case that aspiring parents with mental health difficulties inherited some of them from their parents. If you’re interested in raising a child in a truly safe and secure home, this is the time to tackle some of your mental health issues – if you have them, that is.
For those who feel that they are mentally ready and prepared to have a family, it’s still important that you give time to your mental health and that you are creating the space and time in your life to be happy and engaged in the world around you. And, of course, in the lives of your children.
Pending Surgeries
When you begin to start a family, all of your other priorities begin to fade away from your life. You might spend a little less time focusing on your career when there are mouths to feed, and school runs to perform. You might also spend less time focusing on your physical health – so focused you’ll be on the health of your young ones.
This means that any outstanding surgeries and health issues should be dealt with before you have children, where possible. You know you’ll have your hands full when you have your first child. For cataracts surgery, head over to panoptix.myalcon.com to locate a surgeon near you. For hip surgery, visit your doctor to see if you can book in for a replacement. For any other ailment, see what you can do to get on top of it before your time is taken up by your children.
Drinking and Smoking
This is perhaps the most obvious tip on the list – but it’s a serious one to consider for both parents. While any pregnancy requires a hard stop on smoking and drinking, these are two habits that it’s well worth dropping for life before having children.
Raising children in a home in which you smoke and drink can damage your child’s mental and physical health, and it may encourage your child to take up drinking and smoking at an early age – predisposing them to addiction later in life. Drop or cut down on these harmful habits in order to raise a happy, safe, and healthy family next year.
These lifestyle changes will be a joy to undergo in the knowledge that you’re doing it for the happy and fulfilled family life that you’ve been planning with your partner for months.
