Are you ready to parent?
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In thinking about parenting, you may find that there are time management, financial and emotional issues to consider.
- Whose role will it be to raise the child? (yours, your parents, the baby's father)
- How will you feel when you want to meet up with your friends and there is no one to watch the baby?
- How many hours a day will you be in school or at work?
- Who will care for your baby when you are at school or work?
- Do you have a support system of family or friends to help you if you decide to parent? Can you rely on their help as your child grows?
- What are your expectations for help from the baby's father? Are your expectations realistic, given the role the father currently plays in your life?
Time Management
Many successful parents also work. But it's a tight schedule! Parenting and working often means little or no time to see friends, watch TV or go shopping. There is always something to be done. Think about how you will divide your time.
If you already have a child, you know how much that child has changed the way you spend your time. What will be the impact of adding on to your family? How will you care for your growing family?
Finances
Before your baby is born, you will have to collect some items that are necessary for a child - diapers, blankets, clothes, bottles, bibs, crib, car seat, stroller, diaper bag. Talk to your friends and family to see if you can borrow or have some of these items that they no longer use.
There are other basic costs to consider, such as food and health care. You may be able to get state subsidized health coverage for your child, a low/no cost health care plan provided by the state with services through your county's health department. You may also qualify for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, which is a supplemental food program for low-income families. If you feel these assistance programs will help you parent, you should learn more about what you will need to do to qualify for each program - ideally before your baby is born.
Emotions
People choose to become parents for many reasons and there are many joys that come along with this role. Becoming a parent, however, can mean that you begin to feel isolated from your non-parenting friends, as you work to care for your child and yourself. You may have to make an extra effort to maintain relationships with friends, or build new support networks with other moms.
