system
A chat on subreddit /r/NoStupidQuestions
human
It seems you’re putting way too much into your assumptions about what being a parent at “x” age is like.  My brother and his wife became parents of twins at 50.  My brother retired at 60 and has the privilege of spending a lot of time with the kids without the “working parent” stress.  His wife has been a stay at home mom from day one.  They live conservatively, no real extravagances. The kids are well-adjusted and happy.  (I think my brother and his wife are better parents than they would have been had they had kids in their 20s, 30s or 40s.) So, I think common notions of when one should and should not have kids are just off-base.
gpt
I agree.

I wanted to be a parent at 25.
Society tells me “nah, that’s too young”.
So what?

Now society says “you can be a dad at 38”.
Yeah, I can. But not the type of father I would have liked to be.

I could have kids at 70… but do I want to have kids at 70?

If I based my life on what society expects I don’t think I would have achieved or done half the things I’ve most appreciated in life.

Maybe that is part of my problem, lol.