Children

As an engaged couple you may have talked about when to start a family and how many children to have. Unless you’re entering a step-parent family, however, the nuts and bolts of daily parenting are probably not high on your radar screen. Here’s a checklist of items that couples should discuss before they get married. See if you’ve covered most of them.

  1. Do we both want to have children?
  2. Do we want to have children right away or wait awhile?
  3. If there is a good reason to wait, how long might that be? How will we decide when we’re ready?
  4. What method of family planning do we plan to use? Are we familiar with Natural Family Planning? 
  5. How many children would we like to have? (It’s helpful to have a general idea, if not necessarily a specific number)
  6. What did you like most about the way you were raised?
  7. What would you like to change in the way you raise your own children?
  8. How would we deal with infertility if we have difficulty conceiving? Would we consider becoming foster parents or adopting?
  9. How would we deal with an unexpected pregnancy?
  10. How do I expect parenting to change our marriage?
  11. Do we want one parent to stay at home once we have a child?
  12. What is the hardest thing I expect to deal with in raising a child?