Do I live in a cave??!! - does everyone but me know...

kimberley wrote: about David Letterman's girlfriend being 7mos pg?! and that he secretly married her? I didn't even know he had a girlfriend.

What do you all think of having a kid at 56 yrs old? Never to old or not fair to the child?

Maddie&EthansMom replied:

I just found out a couple of weeks ago. I never knew he was married, either. Isn't she like 21?! Not a bad age, just quite an age difference.

As for having a child at 56...I think it is okay. I do have mixed opinions on this, but I won't share.

A&A'smommy replied: i think it depends on the person some can handle better than other and are also a little more up to date but then others are really to old. I think some of it has to do with the mind and then the few things that follow getting older might have affect.

paradisemommy replied: i didn't know any of that but then again..i usually only tune into sesame street, barney, the wiggles and teletubbies..i lead a pretty sad life huh?!!

regarding old people having kids..i think it's ok..i don't think you can really put an age limit on how much you love a child and/or can care for him/her...but then again that's only if they are good parents..

MommyToAshley replied: I have mixed feeling too. The sad thing is that he may never know their grandkids. Isn't that sad.

MomofTay&Sam replied: I heard about it a few weeks ago. I think it's fantastic! True love or so they say and a baby on the way. Who cares about age? As long as the new baby is loved. One can never tell if grandparents will be around one way or the other, I think it's a very happy time for them.

Heather replied: YEH, I heard about it when he first announced it..LOL I work the night shift so I find out a lot of things in the middle of hte night..LOL! (my secret: take a peek at the tv screen when the patient is asleep, RIGHT before I wake them up to treat them )

So anyways, I think it is great! I guess... it's their lives...it really wouldn't matter what I thought anyways

MomToMany replied:
Well, my dad was 54 when I was born, and when my youngest sister was born, he was almost 60. So I think you're never too old to have kids. He wasn't as "active" as a younger dad would be, but he sure taught us the important things in life (along with a lot more), which is the whole point of being a parent. My dad knew 7 of his almost 11 grandkids. I don't think he missed out on anything.

Age isn't an issue, in my opinion.

juliajaj replied: I heard about it also. His wife is in her 40's so the age difference isn't so big. I'm sure he & his wife will be great parents. DH is 42 & I'm 37. As for not knowing grandchildren, that may be true, but that can be true with any of us.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: OMG I had no idea! I wonder if my DH knows, that's something that he would know! I don't think it's too old to have a baby!

amynicole21 replied: I hadn't heard that he was married, but he announced a few weeks ago that they were expecting. I believe the girlfriend/wife is in her late 30s early 40s. Good for him

aspenblue1 replied: I didn't know anything about it either.

MommyToAshley replied:
That is why I love this board, I get to hear all sides of the story and it makes me think a little harder about my positions on issues. Thanks for sharing your story about your Dad. He sounds like a wonderful Dad.

jcc64 replied: The thing about older parents is a mixed bag. While they may not be as active as younger parents, they often have more of a perspective about the "important things", and are less caught up in trying to get ahead. I know nothing about his particular situation, but somehow I think he will be in a position to be more attentive to a kid now than he would have been in his 20's and still struggling to make it.

DansMom replied: I heard about it the night he announced it on air. You could see how proud and excited he is. As for age, my opinion should be obvious: Daniel's father is 52 and I'm 39, so we're in a similar demographic.

I come from a fractured but loving home, having a constant, attentive mom but knowing a series of father figures and losing them. DH was a very late "oops" in his family. His mother was an alcoholic in her forties and he always felt growing up that his father didn't want him and resented his existence. In other words, I had a loving home that wasn't stable, and he had a "stable" home that wasn't loving. Although his mom tried, she just didn't have it together.

DH and I are committed to providing a truly stable, loving home for our child, and I think that is worth more than anything else in the world. Because of our backgrounds each of us had fear of commitment and waited a long time to get married. For both of us this is our first marriage and our only marriage. There are lots of teenagers having unplanned kids who aren't able to provide stability and unconditional love to their children, who, for example, feed them McDonalds every meal and give them coca cola in their baby bottles, who continue to drink and do drugs, bring strangers into the home for overnights, etc. So many children in this world are starved for attention, neglected, abused and marginalized. They might have grandparents, but they are still getting a very raw deal.

Another point: I've known several people who have lost a parent before they were adults, and in no case was the death due to old age---car accidents, heart attacks, aneurisms, terminal illness can strike any of us at any time. On the other hand I know several people who are the youngest in a very large family (9 or 10) and whose parents were older by the time they were born. Those parents lived into their late seventies/early eighties, and were able to see all of their kids grow up! We must give what love and guidance we can while we can, and hope that our legacy continues in our children. None of us knows how much time we might have with them.

kit_kats_mom replied: Nah, you don't live in a cave...you have a baby! I had no idea what was going on in the world for about the first 7 months of Katherines life. I was just too busy to watch tv and when I did get the chance, the news just depressed me and I opted for mindless shows, like Trading spaces, real world etc.

Since my best friend (30) just married a 52 year old man & is TTC I would have to say that no, I don't think age is an issue. I might have thought so before I met her DH but he is more energetic and younger acting than me. He will be a great dad!