quick clicks

preconception articles

preconception q&a

message boards

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

The Crystal Ball for Parents-To-Be

Don't You Dare Have Kids
Until You Read This!

A Review

By Kelly Burgess

All things considered, the book is very insightful and intrinsically valuable. It may even be troubling for some marriages. Donaldson admits that the answers to the questions may force some couples to make hard decisions about what's more important to them: a child or their spouse.

Laughing With Us

It's not a humorous book, but it isn't dry as dust either. It's peppered throughout with amusing cartoons and thought provoking quotes from parenting experts as diverse as Stephen Covey and Shakespeare. My personal favorite, attributed to a father of four, is this: "When she calls me on the cell phone and asks me how far I am from home, I know things are really bad." My husband would definitely recognize that universal distress call.

The questions themselves are well thought out and cover every possible scenario of childhood. The book is also an easy read and is divided logically from preconception to the teen years. It's something you can go through carefully, take notes on your answers, and then, when you have a 15-year-old daughter slamming her door because you wouldn't let her out of the house in a see-through tee-shirt, you can take it out just to remind yourself that you really did think you were prepared.

Want to see more?

• Mulling Over Motherhood: Do You Really Want to Be a Mom?
• Going Solo: The Pursuit of Single Motherhood
• Decisions, Decisions: Which Path Is Right for You?
• Talk about it!