Have Your Parents Young

Have Your Parents Young
June 15th, 2008 · No Comments
Happy Father’s Day! When it comes to fatherly advice, I have none. Obviously. I am neither male, nor a parent. But I do have something I learned from my dad: he always says it’s better to have your children when you’re young. In other words, get on it. This article seems to agree, although the focus of the article confused me…it seems to be written for children, implying that, “For your sake, it’s better if your parents are young when they have you.”

Um…what is the point of warning someone about an event that is completely out of their control? Hello? What is a child supposed to be able to do about the age of its parents?

Ok, ok, I know that’s not really the point of the article. The real point is that a large study has shown that deaths of children fathered by men over the age of 45 occurred at almost twice the rate of those fathered by men aged between 25 and 30. Death by what, you ask? Congenital defects, autism, schizophrenia, and epilepsy.

Researchers believe the findings are linked to the declining quality of sperm as men age. Now there’s a sentence I never imagined myself writing.

Just in case you’re one of those children who couldn’t convince your parents to have you when they were younger, don’t get all worried. If you’re reading this, you’re fine; the majority of these premature deaths occurred when the offspring of the old men were less than a year old.

To my unborn child(ren),
Don’t get all anxious after reading this article and decide to show up before your alloted time. Daddy’s not that old yet!
Sincerely,
Mom

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