Getting more experience that might inform what you what sounds like a generally sound idea, but isn’t the “baby” stage only like 5% of whole process of raising a child? If you don’t like taking care of babies that doesn’t mean that you overall don’t want kids, right?
I think the baby stage is much more than 5% of the total hours that parents spend directly interacting with their kids. My cached memory of when I did a fermi estimate of this is that, if you’re an UMC American, 25% of the hours you spend directly interacting with your kid are in the first 2.5 years, half in the first 6 years, 75% in the first 12 years (and 90%+ before they turn 18).
Great point. Somehow that got lost on me. I agree that the “baby” part seems short enough where it often won’t actually be a deal breaker. I also think it’d probably make sense to try to get some experience with the other stages as well.
Getting more experience that might inform what you what sounds like a generally sound idea, but isn’t the “baby” stage only like 5% of whole process of raising a child? If you don’t like taking care of babies that doesn’t mean that you overall don’t want kids, right?
I think the baby stage is much more than 5% of the total hours that parents spend directly interacting with their kids. My cached memory of when I did a fermi estimate of this is that, if you’re an UMC American, 25% of the hours you spend directly interacting with your kid are in the first 2.5 years, half in the first 6 years, 75% in the first 12 years (and 90%+ before they turn 18).
Great point. Somehow that got lost on me. I agree that the “baby” part seems short enough where it often won’t actually be a deal breaker. I also think it’d probably make sense to try to get some experience with the other stages as well.