Are kids -EV?

-EV on your wife's figure.

[Aloysius]

Banks2334 - Interesting thing I heard from my friend who had a baby in France:

French doctors are obsessed with ensuring the pregnant mother doesn't gain too much weight. Apparently, the more weight gained during pregnancy, the harder it is to lose afterwards. Advice for your wife - don't get fat, you only need 300 extra calories / day to sustain the fetus.

OP - without exception, every parent I know who has had a child has claimed it was lifechanging / amazing / highly recommends it. So there you go.

Skeptical,
-Al

[WLVRYN]

The first 3-4 months are definitely -EV. Months 4-10/11 are about EV neutral. Months 10/11 and up, way positive, especially once they start walking and talking.

[LittleOldLady]

[ QUOTE ]
Banks2334 - Interesting thing I heard from my friend who had a baby in France:

French doctors are obsessed with ensuring the pregnant mother doesn't gain too much weight. Apparently, the more weight gained during pregnancy, the harder it is to lose afterwards. Advice for your wife - don't get fat, you only need 300 extra calories / day to sustain the fetus.

OP - without exception, every parent I know who has had a child has claimed it was lifechanging / amazing / highly recommends it. So there you go.

Skeptical,
-Al

[/ QUOTE ]

There is an obligate weight gain in pregnancy of about 20-30 lbs (weight of fetus, placenta, amniotic fluid, enlarged uterus, and increased fluids). Gaining much more than 30 lbs is in general not the best. I myself gained only 8 lbs, and I lost some of that toward the end of the pregnancy. My newborn alone at 8.25 lbs weighed more than my weight gain. I was harangued throughout my pregnancy about not gaining enough weight (the first and last time that ever happened to me)--even though I ate exactly what was on my prescribed diet, no more and no less. The obstetrician scared the daylights out of me when he told me that my child would be retarded because I had failed to gain enough weight. Anyone who knows my son knows how far offbase the OB was. I still laugh about it. Nonetheless women should not be pressured to keep their weight gain below roughly 25 lbs.

Pregnancy does often make permanent changes in a woman's body, but this is not always a bad thing. I myself went up a cup size from C to D, and there are those who think that was a good thing.

And, yes, becoming a parent is absolutely life-changing. How could it be otherwise?

[yoadrians]

-EV for my big-screen TV, DVD player, Computer, Computer mouse and sleep habits.

+EV in every other way, though. Wouldn't trade Max, my 15-month-old son, for anything in the world.

And, it's brought my wife and I even closer together, too, so I guess you could say it's been +EV for my 5-year-old marriage, too.

[sublime]

i think getting dogs is a better idea

[OtisTheMarsupial]

[ QUOTE ]
I read somewhere that, while marriage is supposed to be good for you, both healthwise and financially, having kids is not.

So, that leaves me to wonder:

Is having kids a -EV activity?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, this is true. Statistically, marriage is good for your health and your financial well being (less so for your wife - in fact, marriage tends to be bad for women's health, though this is changing as marriage roles change).

Also, statistically, children tend to be bad for a relationship. Something like 60% of marriages get worse after a child and the others get better after a child.

The difference tends to be how involved the father is in the pregnancy and child rearing.

The traditional division of labor (wife does all housecleaning & childcare (unpaid labor), husband does all paid labor) tends to drive a wedge between a couple when the child comes.

Couples who have more equitable relationships tend to get stronger when they have children. Couples who have inequitable relationships tend to get weaker when they have children.

Check out Dr. John Gottman's books for more.

(Also, breastfeeding is really good at helping the mother lose her pregnancy weight. And it tends to make the baby healthier and smarter, too. And some guys like the look of engorged breasts - big!)

[ghostface]

I vote that EV is not involved in kids. I can't imagine a reason not to have one though.