Choosing when to have kids isn’t just a matter of biology—it’s a strategic life decision. One surprisingly effective method to figure out the “right” age is to look at someone older you admire, analyze their childbirth timing, and adjust it for modern life expectancy. Here’s how it works.
1. Pick Your Model
Start by selecting an older person whose life you respect—someone whose career, health, and life balance you admire. This could be a historical figure, a celebrity, or even a personal mentor.
Ask yourself:
When did they have kids?
How did having children impact their life trajectory?
Did they have the resources and energy to parent effectively at that age?
2. Analyze Their Timing
Once you have your model, map out their childbearing schedule relative to their lifespan.
For example:
If they had kids at 30 and lived to 75, they had children at roughly 40% of their lifespan.If they had kids at 40 and lived to 90, again, that’s around 44% of their life.
This gives you a proportional framework, not just a number.
3. Adjust for Modern Life Expectancy
Here’s the key: modern humans live longer on average. If your admired person lived to 75 but modern life expectancy is 85–90, you can adjust their childbearing timeline upward.
Example:
Model: Parent had a kid at 30 / lifespan 75 → 40% of life
Modern adjustment: 40% of 90 → ~36 years old
This gives you a rational, life-proportionate target age for starting your family.
4. Factor in Career, Health, and Lifestyle
While life expectancy gives a baseline, you also need to account for:
Career stability:
Are you financially independent or still building your life path?
Health: Are you physically capable of parenting actively?
Lifestyle freedom: Will your chosen age let you enjoy early parenting without burnout?
For instance, a Passport Bro aiming to retire early abroad might delay kids slightly to ensure financial and lifestyle readiness, even if the life expectancy calculation suggests an earlier age.
5. Why This Method Works
This approach avoids arbitrary advice like “late 20s is best” or “wait until 35.”
Instead, it’s personalized and rational:You learn from someone you admireYou adjust for longer modern lifespans
You incorporate career and lifestyle realities
It’s essentially life planning with a historical and mathematical twist.
Final Thoughts
Deciding when to have kids doesn’t need to be guesswork. By using the life of someone you admire and scaling their childbearing timeline for today’s longevity, you can pick an age that balances energy, resources, and long-term health.This method also frames parenthood not as a stressor, but as a planned, optimized life step—perfect for anyone who wants freedom, purpose, and control over their journey.
