Compared to our parents' generation, men and women nowadays are getting married and having kids at a later age. But are there consequences to having a child later in life? Only if you're a dude, according to a new study, which reports that infants and young children of older fathers don't perform as well on a range of cognitive tests measuring the ability to think and reason. Children of older mothers, however, gain higher scores in the same tests. In addition, the study found a link between older fathers and birth deformities, cancer and certain neuropsychiatric conditions in their children.
Click here for more.
May-December Romances
Woody Allen and Soon Yi Previn
By far the creepiest May-December romance, Allen and Soon-Yi met when she was his adopted daughter. Barf. Allen is 35 years older than his bride.
Getty Images
Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart
Ford is 22 years older than his fiance -- and has a much higher body-mass index.
Getty Images
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore
Demi totally punk'd us all when she snagged adora-boy Ashton, who is 15 years her junior.
Getty Images
Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon
This Hollywood golden couple has been together forevs, despite their twelve year age difference (Susan's older!).
Getty Images
Jerry Seinfeld and Jessica Sklar
Jerry is 17 years older than his wife Jessica, but that's nothing compared to the age difference between him and previous girlfriend Shoshanna Lonstein. Seinfeld met Lonstein when he was 39 and she was a 17-year-old high school senior.
Getty Images
Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller
Bad boy Charlie Sheen never fails to trick a young beautiful woman into bed. His current love, Brooke Mueller, is 12 years his junior.
Getty Images
Larry Fortensky and Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth's eighth marriage (but seventh husband), Larry Fortensky was 20 years her junior. The pair, who met in rehab, were together for five years before splitting in 1996.
Getty Images
Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz
Cameron was nine years older than her *NSync beau -- but just as hot.
Getty Images
Donald Trump and Melania Knauss
The Donald is 28 years older than his squinty, model-sexy wife.
Getty Images
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones
Hollywood dinosaur Douglas snagged the much-younger Zeta-Jones with the classic line, "I want to father your children." It apparently worked on Zeta-Jones, who is 25 years younger than Douglas: The couple has two children.
Getty Images
Researchers believe it's a combination of social factors and genetics that affect a child's cognitive ability. While women are born with all of their eggs, men accumulate sperm over their lifetime. The older a man gets, the more likely the incidence of mutations in his sperm, which can affect the health and cognitive development of his children.
So despite all the scary talk about women's aging eggs, there's a just-as-pressing expiration date on sperm as well. (Not to mention the always-pressing concern of breaking a hip in a playground-related incident.)
Amazing and Addictive Timekillers
Burst Bubbles
With one click, set off a chain reaction that bursts as many bubbles as possible. Get started now
Boomshine
Make Faces
Hit any part of the face to shuffle to someone else's feature. Get started now
Monoface
Build a House
Follow a few simple directions to draw a house, then answer some questions about it to learn important things about your personality. Get started now
Draw a House
Set Up Dominoes
Set up and knock down your own game over... and over... and over. Get started now
Drawminos
Find People
The concept is the same as classic Waldo -- track down a specific person within a huge crowd. Get started now
Alan Outten
Create Museum Art
Upload a photo from anywhere, choose a museum setting and instantly see the two combined.Get started now
Museumr
Toss a Ball
Use your mouse to steer the ball from person to person -- it actually takes a bit of eye-hand coordination.Get started now
dura.cell.free.fr
Pretend it's Winter
Draw a snowflake with a kaleidoscope-like tool, then use two different rotating functions to enhance the wintry fun.Get started now
Ze Frank
Make Over Mr. T
Use this virtual playset to give the tough guy a new look.Get started now
Ironic Sans
Knit a Christmas Sweater
Choose from tons of different decorations to create your own wintry woolen masterpiece.Get started now
weloveholidaysweaters.wehatesheep.com
Comments:
Add a comment
Thursday 12 March
By Jenny
These people are out of their minds. I have 3 children. Two I had at the age of 18 and 21. And one I had at 40. The one I had at 40 is much more aware then my older children ever were. And hes very smart. Now as for myself?...lol
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By Dana Bellesen
Jenny, you didn't read the article thoroughly. It applies to MEN, and said that children of older WOMEN sometimes perform BETTER on cognitive tests.
Wednesday 18 March
By Jenny
Well EXCUUUUUUSE ME Dana. My mistake. I DID forget to mention my husband is 47. An OLDER man. Does that suit you better?
Thursday 12 March
By John
This makes sense biologically. As DNA replicates there is always a little bit lost at the tail end. Usually, this doesn't matter since DNA is so long. However, eventually the accumulated effect of having lost a little bit everyday is much more likely to affect the child of an 85 year old man than a thirty five year old's.
Biographically, my father sired me when he was nearly 70 and my brother when he was 72. I am currently a senior at the University of Notre Dame.
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By Mandi
Who comes up with this stuff? Gotta be honest - my parents were much older - my dad 10 years older than my mom. Funny thing, I was always on the Honor Roll, top acheiver in my class, sports, clubs, etc., etc -- now have to BA's, one MBA and an AA. My classmates with those younger parents? Broken marriages.. complaining constantly about politics...pumping out babies. So keep writing stories like these. Lotsa truth there.
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By JAMBONE101
THE B.S THESE AHOLES COME UP WITH WE NEED TO TAKE THEM ALL OUT TO DESERTED ISLAND WITH GAY RIGHT'S PEOPLE AND ALL OTHER B.S GROUP'S AND LEAVE THEM THERE TO LIVE TOGHTER WONDER HOW MANY WILL LIVE? THE SICK FUC$.
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By Jen
Absolutely ridiculous. Older fathers tend to be able to devote more time and attention to their childrent than younger fathers and have more to give them both intellectually and experience wise. Often times young fathers are still growing up with their children. My husband is 54 and we just had our first little girl together and she is a smart little bugger. She has her father who is an extremely intelligent man and can teach and encourage her in ways that the younger men that I have dated in the past would of never been able to. Even my husband agrees that he is already a much better father to her than he was to his other children which other studies say makes the kids smarter! These studies and articles tend to be one sided and dont tell the whole story.
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By Jill
Bravo to you Jen! I am in the same situation with a 52 year old husband to our 4 year old girl. He is absolutely amazing with her and feels he is able to devote more time now than he could with the other kids, 25 & 20. He spent time with them as well, but not as much. Everyone tells us how smart and funny and quick she is and if that doesn't make a parent proud, than what will?
Tuesday 01 September
By Ken
I like cheese
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By Sonya
This is bullshit. The fault doesn't lie with the sperm, it's with the sperm DONORS who realized way too late that a younger "trophy" wife would possibly want to have kids other than his spoiled grown-up kids who hate their new stepmom! Even kids in much vaunted two-parent marriages are sometimes "abandoned" or parented by just one adult because the other bailed after he remembered how noisy, intrusive and demanding childrearing can be. I have a 21 year-old stepdaughter who springs straight from Psycho Bitch Headquarters. She is brilliant - full scholarship to NCSU and majoring in Engineering. We also have a little girl who just turned 4 - she has been reading and writing since she was 3 1/2! Sometimes she asks how to spell a word, sometimes she just comes to me and shows me something she just "figured out" how to spell. She has one of those funny December birthdays that will result in her being at least 6-9 months older than her classmates when she enteres kindergarten. Frankly, I don't know what she will do there - teach, perhaps?
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By paul
thats b.s . look at half of the kids born to mothers that were still in high school some studys show diffrent . lack of education in school no matter what your age you are the key ! your child will fail if you dont take the time to be a parent and work with the teachers to help your child.
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By jaelin
And they got a grant?.... from whom??..... to do this study? I surely hope it wasn't the taxpayers' money (again)(still). Such crap. Honestly. The age of the parents has nothing to do with how a child develops. What does make the difference is good parenting.
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By jaelin
"... Psycho Bitch Headquarters..." Haha ... that's funny. I'm gonna use that term one day! Good one!
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By Steve and Maggie
People actually get paid to do these studies?! My father was 43 when he had me.... I graduated with Honors. My brother had his two children at 43 and 47.... both excelling. MY husband and I just had his first little girl, he is 46, I am 28....She is PERFECT. But according to this study, the poor little thing is screwed... older dad and younger mom... Poor kid..... These "studies" are ridiculous....
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By Chrissy
I really don't think that when matters as much as how much time you spend with your child, teaching them, talking to them and loving them!
There are many cases of stupid children (really hate that description, but hey, lets call it what it is), that come from all types of parents, young, old, rich, poor, smart and stupid. There will always be outliers in any situation, but instead of pointing fingers and judging a parent, ask what you can do to help them out!
I had all 3 of my children by the time I turned 27..an no I am not a "trophy wife", my husband is 3 years older than I am. We are educated, own a home and our children are one of the many joys in our lives! That being said, we have one child who is gifted and talented, one who is super artistic and one who is happily normal in terms of academic acheivement...the thing about children...you just never know...I always compared having a baby to opening the best surprise gift ever!
One last note..."Psycho Bitch Headquarters" LOL..I nearly wet my pants reading that one! Thank goodness for your cute, smart 4 year old! she sounds so much like my oldest daughter..December Bday and all!
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By Jay
I'm pretty sure this is a joke people.
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By jerry
Excuse me?,,,thousands are out of work or worried about losing their jobs, homes,,,,,and the people that come up with these studies are collecting paychecks and trying their best to ruin someone self-esteem? I had my first three months shy of my 40's and the next two at 40 and 42,,,my children make me look like a bag of rocks,,and their mother who is brilliant and with a total of five degrees, the last being an Ed.D totally blown out of the water with their brilliance. And last the but least, they are without a doubt three nicest, best looking kids on the planet!
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By Bobby
This must be a Pelosi sanctioned study. Let's take some more taxpayer $$'s to study people, plants & animals so we can label them inferior/superior. Then we can look down at the little tykes & pat them on their heads in total disgust.
Seriously,, there is absolutely no way to qualify these types of studies. They are random hits & misses attempting to clone us all into a "perfect species" category. Hitler did the same damned thing,, but when liberals categorize it's in the name of science. Other than wearing a scarlet letter on your brow,, who could possibly care about this??
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By robtheblogger6
Kids are stupid anyway...i don't see it making much of a difference
Reply
Saturday 14 March
By Shorty
the statment about older fathers is just not true for all older dads....My dad was in his 40's when my brother was born.....my brother had a very high IQ.....and I mean very high......so go figure......S.
Reply