Introduction
Since time immemorial, couples aspire to become parents. Parenthood is viewed as many different things to different people, some consider it the happiest time of their lives, some consider it a challenge then there are those couples who consider it a burden placed upon them to teach a lesson or to mature them. The idea that some people who should never be parents actually become parents is very upsetting. Some people become parents way before their time, and their struggle is more than they can handle. There are some couples who want and aspire to become parents, but cannot due to several known issues such as infertility, timing, work, lack of concept of work & family or just plain bereft of wanting any for lack of a better phrase. Incidentally, some people might also argue that younger people becoming parents is a true test of their compatibility while others argue that older people make better parents because they have more to offer than parents of a younger status. Reason has always been the focal point of this discussion, and a lot of people become very bias about it due to the fact that some argue in favor of the younger generation parents vs. older generation parents. In the days of old, it used to be that if a person knew where they were going in life, they automatically held the keys to parenthood. However, in today’s society, the truth is far less designed and complicated. So, the question being begged today is, are older people better parents, the answer, a big emphatic yes. There are several factors that validly back this up which this assignment will illustrate.
Reason #1
Older parents are more financially stable, and their ability to provide for the child is second to none. Moreover, baby formula is getting more and more expensive these days and a lot of people can barely afford it even if they are working a job or two; it can add up pretty quickly. Older parents are able to get whatever the baby needs without any kind of help, and the baby will always have access to the best medical care that the older parents can afford. As the saying goes, taking care of a baby is a big and expensive responsibility; it is a responsibility that older parents feel strongly that they are ready for. When the child grows up, older parents will definitely have the means to get that child whatever it needs whether it is a new backpack for preschool or algebraic calculator for high school or putting money toward paying off the college dorm room for college. Older parents are better suited and better providers for children because there is nothing holding down their money except for bills, but older parents who feel ready to have a baby do not worry about the pressures that the younger generation face. Overall, what makes older people better parents is that they are responsible. You will never hear stories of older parents leaving their children in a grocery store or accidentally leaving them out on the porch in the blazing hot sun and you will also never hear stories about how an older parent strangled their child to death because the child would not stop crying. Older people give a child exactly what they need, and older parents leave little room for doubt that they are capable of taking care of their child or children. For example, a younger couple who are not very secure in their finances might run into a problem buying the baby pampers. Older people who become parents are very financially stable and can buy those pampers with ease, money is not an issue for them because they not only become set in their ways, but older people know how to make smart investments especially if they decide to try for having children in their early 40s which a lot of them are.
Reason #2
Older people are more patient with the child then that of a younger person dealing with a child, younger people tend to forget that having a child take patience. Older people are already aware of this fact because some of them are grandparents who are dealing with their children’s children, and older people take from that and feel that they are ready to become parents themselves. Joanna Montgomery stated in 2013 that becoming a parent in a person’s 40s make them more emotionally mature to handle that child vs. having the child in their early to mid-20s and have not worked past the “it is all about me issues” Older people are more outwardly focused and can put that focus more toward the child and giving that child what they need, older people make better parents because they can think more about what the child needs instead of what they need as people. For example, a 20s something parent will say that they need to get their nails done or get a haircut or even get those 20 pack air heads. An older person would get the baby’s haircut, nails trimmed and additionally those 20 pack air heads if that child could chew it. Make no mistake, there are some parents in their 20s who are very mature and do a very good job taking care of their child or children. However, young couples in their 20s are met with several hindrances that older people who become parents are not affected by such as food, a place to sleep, buying necessary things for the baby without government help or even making sure that the baby is taken care of health wise. If a child wakes up in the middle of the night, a young couple are likely to complain about how much sleep they are and are not getting per night, and might take some of that out on the child. Older people who become parents are more open and sympathetic to the child, and will cater their schedules around that child instead of trying to find different ways to get their sleep instead of taking care of the child they created. Older people who become parents understand that having patience with children will pay off later.
Reason #3
Most couples tend to ignore the fact that being mentally able to take care of a child is all there is to raising said child or children, but there is more to it than that. Older people make better parents because they are more mentally mature, and do not worry about what they are missing or who got into kicked out of what club. Older people are at the age where they do not worry about what is going on in their distant or close friends’ lives, they only care about what is going on in their child’s life. Case in point, a younger parent is scrambling to find a babysitter to sit with their child for a few hours so they can go out drinking with their friends and reminisce about the good times as well as act a fool. Older people who become parents have made peace with who they were back in their younger days as well as who they once were, they are not clamoring for a break from their child. They look to spend every single minute with their child or children, watching them grow up, take their first steps, taking their first bites of baby food. Younger parents tend to not want to care about going out as much, but admittedly, some do miss it and try to relive their glory days. Dr. Vicki Panaccione makes it perfectly clear in 2011 that younger parents lack the means to take care of a child, and are somewhat resentful of the sacrificial altars upon which they are forced to lay their lives. Older parents tend to be more homebody-like, and well set in their ways which is good for the child because the older parents have more time to spend with that child instead of looking for places to go every night. A person does not see an older parent talking on the phone at all hours of the day, noon and night. They work toward getting that child in bed at a reasonable hour, and check on him or her briefly. Older people make better parents because they are not afraid of the physical, and mental sacrifice that goes into contributing to that child’s growth as well as their development. Older parents want to always be a part of their child’s life so they do not miss anything in it.
Conclusion
Parents come in all genders and sizes, but the contribution that they make to their child is what determines what a good parent is. Younger people can only become better parents if they are willing to sacrifice everything to be a parent to that child, older people are better parents because they not only have life experience to offer that child, but they also have the skills to further teach that child things so they can get ahead in school; only an older parent can teach that child that. Older people are better parents because of the life that they want now vs. the life they used to have in the past.
Works Cited
Montgomery, Joanna . "5 Big Perks of Being an Older Parent & 5 Big Misses." . The Stir, 7 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://thestir.cafemom.com/baby/152191/5_big_perks_of_being>.
Panaccione, Vicki . "." . Better Parenting Institute, 11 Jan. 2011. Web. 18 June 2014. <http://www.betterparentinginstitute.com/Better-Parenting/parenting-child-raising-skills/advantages-of-being-older-parents/>.
