How old is Too old to Father Children in Thailand?

[HooHaa]

Either Troll post or a total moron who thinks his own values are unchallengeable

i quite agree with him, i had my child at 39, she is 8 now. i cant imagine having done it any later -- for either her or my own sake.

[MaeJoMTB]

Do these guys really want kids, or is it just the girl saying no baby, no boom boom?

No, I really want the kids.

I've managed to produce 3 between age 50 and age 60, not the same mother though.

Edited April 24, 2015 by MaeJoMTB

[MaeJoMTB]

I am 50 and my (Thai) wife is 39. We have a beautiful 4 year old girl. We have discussed having another child, mainly as a companion for our daughter but also because she has been such a wonderful addition to our lives. We feel that having another would enhance all of our lives. We are good parents but by no means perfect. We have a successful family business here and feel more than capable of providing for both children.

I am concerned about my age but I am healthy and have longevity on both sides of my family including both parents still going strong in their early eighties.

I feel that we are doing the right thing.....or maybe not.

You should be more concerned about her age, at 40 she only has a 3% chance of conceiving.

Edited April 24, 2015 by MaeJoMTB

[MaeJoMTB]

I'm 60 and with a 3 year old son, no need to work ever again, I have plenty of money.

Happy to have one or two more.

How many men get divorced with kids under 18 and never see their children again?

What's the difference?

That song by Frank Sinatra comes to mind "I did it my way" Of course the "I have plenty of money" makes the whole thing more plausible. The "Happy to have one or two more" well with my vasectomy that part about trying is the best. A person must consider that as they get over 50 their sperm starts to deteriorate I would not wish physical short comings on any child when they enter this dog eat dog world. Its a long road to travel with handicaps.

Don't worry, you have no sperm at all.

[MaeJoMTB]

There are too many children and not enough fathers. It would seem to make more sense to take care of a fatherless child if you have a surplus of love rather than create another mouth to feed in this uncertain world.

Great idea, but the various governments won't allow that.

[MaeJoMTB]

There are too many children and not enough fathers. It would seem to make more sense to take care of a fatherless child if you have a surplus of love rather than create another mouth to feed in this uncertain world.

Very wise my friend

If you MUST have a child to fulfill your life at an older age, why not adopt or foster a child?

See previous post.

[gemguy]

This is Thailand...while a elderly man can do that and they would not be the first to do so.

Meantime, many critics are thinking like they would if they live back in the USA or Canada or Europe or any other "too much" politically correct societies where you would be criticized and berated and even ostracized for having a child if you are over the age of 40....certainly 50.

Surrounded by that kind of mentality a person would have to get away from all the loud mouth critics and move to another place......such as ...Thailand.....lol ...where no one really cares about how old you are when you father a child....except..... the overly opinionated and politically correct foreigners that come from the same countries that you left long ago so you could get away from all the politically correct critics....remember...or did you forget??

Unfortunately they are everywhere and invade all societies like a nasty yeast infection of the vagina that wont go away.........lol

Cheers and have yourself a good weekend with your children.

[Wadan]

People need to understand that there are boundaries to their values . it is not a commodity to be exported. If you feel happy with not having children then that is your prerogative , If you prefer to have your kids young that is your desire, if you feel offended when you see an older person parenting kids, that is your problem. But you have no right , or justification to impose your values, pass your judgment or preach your selfish doctrine to others.

to say that an older father will soon die and leave a young child penniless, fatherless and in an uncared manner, is absurd. you have no crystal ball on anyone's longevity. we have all seen very young men and women fro that matter, in untimely deaths. we continue to see more and more centurions and in relatively good health I might add.

you claim that the child will not be provide for by these ageing farangs. what a bunch of hog wash. Do you know that in order to be granted a retirement visa here , a farang has to prove substantial monetary worth. Do you know that in addition to diversified savings, investments, pensions, most farangs also have adequate insurance plans. Do you think that this aged farang kid is worse of financially than all the little kids you see running around at night on the streets and villages without being properly fed or schooled , is better off than the kid of an older farang. Think again.

you assume that older people are not as good parents as younger people. what a bunch of crap. Have you ever seen how much love and attention grannies display on their grand children. have you failed to understand that when you are older you have more experience, understanding and are better equipped to deal with more varied parental problems. if you think that kids need to be brought to the bars, indulge in drugs , go unsupervised and ignored as many young parents do, then that is your own warped selfish perspective of a good life.

go out there and make a study. look at how many unhappy kids you find and see who are the parents. compare the quality of the kids from younger parents to those from older farangs as you put it. then if you can safely conclude that the kids from younger inexperienced and often have not parents, are better off, then good luck to you and you selfish bankrupt and baseless set of values.

[georgemandm]

Are you joking me who are you to say how old a man is to have children if a man has children at say 25 years and dies what is the driftings none at all I had 2 lovey girl at the age of 50 and now 60 my girls love me and not care about me age and all my kids will get some thing when I go so age is not important it is love and if you give love you get like back .

[YeahSiam]

I'm 62, have a 3 year old. Very happy with lots of money. Been married 5 years and my wife is now 26. Much support in our family. My child will be taken care of very well. You don't need to be concerned.

You can never know about the feeling, reasons, or love of life until you can walk in the shoes that carry this joy. Hopefully you can learn something by reading these comments and better understand how important it is to open your mind a little bit more.

Yeah cos a man simply can't experience the true

joy of fatherhood until he's reached 60, right?

God, give me strength

[gmac]

Yeah, yeah yeah ... Excuses, excuses, excuses....What it all boils down to is if you father a kid in full knowledge you won't be around for a major part of their life ... because little Isarn wifey wants a luk kreung... you're an irresponsible tosser.

If you're filthy rich and leave a fortune to the wife and kid/s .. helps a little... but still...

If you have an unfortunate accident and wifey insists on keeping the luk kreung what can you do? Be an irresponsible tosser and run away or stick around and do the best you can despite not wanting to be a parent?

[georgemandm]

Are you joking me who are you to say how old a man is to have children if a man has children at say 25 years and dies what is the driftings none at all I had 2 lovey girl at the age of 50 and now 60 my girls love me and not care about me age and all my kids will get some thing when I go so age is not important it is love and if you give love you get like back .

PS my children are not from a thai lady so you need to stop trying to judge man when the man wants to have children It gives me the Sh?t with people like you sit there and judge a man for having children when older and one more thing I am a much better dad now then when I had my first child when I was 25 years old .

[kennypowers]

Seems like the majority of these replies are all "me, me, me". I can... don't judge me...blah, blah, blah, but it's not about you, is it? What about addressing the OP's point about the children. Is it fair on them? As I've mentioned in a previous post, I've heard lots of accounts of bullying at school in such situations; the whole your mum is a BG who married an old foreigner stuff. It's not nice but children can be very mean. And this attitude is adopted from the kids' Thai parents, so for the poster who suggested this is a widely accepted practice in Thailand, I think you'll find that it is no more so than back home; in fact the whispers of prejudice can be far more ignorant here.

The reality is, most people slow down a lot in their 60s. My mum is 68, walks miles every day with her dog and is fit as a fiddle, but she has niggling injuries that are starting to require that she rests more, you know, age-related things like a bad shoulder when she carries heavy stuff, and a bad arm from an injury when she was younger. She can't hold my little one for too long, and come 6.30pm is ready to sit down and relax for the rest of the evening. My Dad of the same age loves kids, but he's the same and just wouldn't have the patience now to have young kids to keep up with.

Kids are amazing and bring so much joy to your life, but at 55/60+ there's no way I can see myself being able to do what I do now; the up-all-nights when they are sick, the potty training, the carrying, the constantly needing to be attentive everywhere you go in case they have an accident, the reading books, tutoring and doing homework, the keeping them entertained on long haul flights...the list goes on.

While it's true that a younger dad could just as easily pop his clogs at any time, the reality is that an old geezer, especially a drinker and or a smoker, is likely to have less energy, less strength and be more susceptible to illness. Statistically you are closer to death and in a more advanced state of decline.

Is this a good circumstance for a child? No, of course not. But I agree it might be a darn sight better than many of the dead beat fathers out there who neglect their kids.

To those mentioning the financial aspect of a retiree being able to provide better, forget money. Sure, it helps to have security, but families grow together; a young family works at it and builds a life of security as they age together. What kids want is love, and a dad who can run and play all day instead of always wanting to put his feet up and have a beer while telling his/her mother to do it instead. They want a dad who is going to be around as long as possible. Having a kid at 60 means you are likely to be gone, or at the very least hardly able to run a few yards by the time your child is 20 - and that's sad.

And what of the kids from previous marriages? They get less inheritance, see less of their father, and their children get less attention from their grandfather. And what of the Thai woman's kids from her previous relationship? Well, sadly I know a few of these situations where those kids are neglected in favour of the newer, more "narak" luuk krungs.

[ChiangraiTony]

I'm 62, have a 3 year old. Very happy with lots of money. Been married 5 years and my wife is now 26. Much support in our family. My child will be taken care of very well. You don't need to be concerned.

You can never know about the feeling, reasons, or love of life until you can walk in the shoes that carry this joy. Hopefully you can learn something by reading these comments and better understand how important it is to open your mind a little bit more.

Yeah cos a man simply can't experience the true

joy of fatherhood until he's reached 60, right?

God, give me strength

I don't agree with your comments.

[georgemandm]

Seems like the majority of these replies are all "me, me, me". I can... don't judge me...blah, blah, blah, but it's not about you, is it? What about addressing the OP's point about the children. Is it fair on them? As I've mentioned in a previous post, I've heard lots of accounts of bullying at school in such situations; the whole your mum is a BG who married an old foreigner stuff. It's not nice but children can be very mean. And this attitude is adopted from the kids' Thai parents, so for the poster who suggested this is a widely accepted practice in Thailand, I think you'll find that it is no more so than back home; in fact the whispers of prejudice can be far more ignorant here.

The reality is, most people slow down a lot in their 60s. My mum is 68, walks miles every day with her dog and is fit as a fiddle, but she has niggling injuries that are starting to require that she rests more, you know, age-related things like a bad shoulder when she carries heavy stuff, and a bad arm from an injury when she was younger. She can't hold my little one for too long, and come 6.30pm is ready to sit down and relax for the rest of the evening. My Dad of the same age loves kids, but he's the same and just wouldn't have the patience now to have young kids to keep up with.

Kids are amazing and bring so much joy to your life, but at 55/60+ there's no way I can see myself being able to do what I do now; the up-all-nights when they are sick, the potty training, the carrying, the constantly needing to be attentive everywhere you go in case they have an accident, the reading books, tutoring and doing homework, the keeping them entertained on long haul flights...the list goes on.

While it's true that a younger dad could just as easily pop his clogs at any time, the reality is that an old geezer, especially a drinker and or a smoker, is likely to have less energy, less strength and be more susceptible to illness. Statistically you are closer to death and in a more advanced state of decline.

Is this a good circumstance for a child? No, of course not. But I agree it might be a darn sight better than many of the dead beat fathers out there who neglect their kids.

To those mentioning the financial aspect of a retiree being able to provide better, forget money. Sure, it helps to have security, but families grow together; a young family works at it and builds a life of security as they age together. What kids want is love, and a dad who can run and play all day instead of always wanting to put his feet up and have a beer while telling his/her mother to do it instead. They want a dad who is going to be around as long as possible. Having a kid at 60 means you are likely to be gone, or at the very least hardly able to run a few yards by the time your child is 20 - and that's sad.

And what of the kids from previous marriages? They get less inheritance, see less of their father, and their children get less attention from their grandfather. And what of the Thai woman's kids from her previous relationship? Well, sadly I know a few of these situations where those kids are neglected in favour of the newer, more "narak" luuk krungs.

Ok you had your say but you are so , so wrong I am a much better dad now then when I was 25 years old and you would say why, will I know how to be a better dad , now at the age of 60 I know we're I went wrong when I was younger and I was a very good dad back then but now I am a lot better dad . So stop trying to be god and a man of 50 ,55 or 60 can be a great dad .

[Liquorice]

I'm 62, have a 3 year old. Very happy with lots of money. Been married 5 years and my wife is now 26. Much support in our family. My child will be taken care of very well. You don't need to be concerned.

You can never know about the feeling, reasons, or love of life until you can walk in the shoes that carry this joy. Hopefully you can learn something by reading these comments and better understand how important it is to open your mind a little bit more.

I bet she's happy, you've got lots of money.

Your child will be taken very good care of......and so will the family hahahaha.

I lost my Father when I was 11 years old. We were left financially secure and I had support.............but none of that made up for losing my Father. I didn't care about the money, I didn't care about the support...........I just wanted my Father.......nothing else.

Having children after a certain age is just a selfish act, because children want their Fathers as they grow up, not their money.

[Beetlejuice]

I'm 62, have a 3 year old. Very happy with lots of money. Been married 5 years and my wife is now 26. Much support in our family. My child will be taken care of very well. You don't need to be concerned.

You can never know about the feeling, reasons, or love of life until you can walk in the shoes that carry this joy. Hopefully you can learn something by reading these comments and better understand how important it is to open your mind a little bit more.

Firstly, there is no way you could get away with this in your country unless you were mega rich or a celebrity and in our countries, once the wealth goes, the wife goes with it. It`s the same here, and if you don`t believe, than you`re living in Cloud Cuckoo Land.

28 years ago I knew a Thai girl, (Nat). Beautiful girl 24 years old. Got herself into debt, became desperate, married a 65 year old American guy and went back to the States with him .The guy`s family couldn`t believe their luck that their sibling had got himself such a prize from a third world country.

4 years later Nat returned to Chiang Mai on her own, for a trip to visit her family she told old hubby. I met up with her. She was desperately unhappy, told me that she had been groomed and felt used and abused by the guy and his family. He manipulated the marriage where as Nat became a glorified carer for him and his 90 something mother.

Natalie did not want to return back to the States, she stayed in Chiang Mai for at least another 7 months, becoming my brother in law`s girlfriend into the bargain. After that she went to Bangkok and never heard from her again.

What can a 20 something girl have in common with a 60 something man? A 20 something woman is just starting out in life, whereas a 60 something man is winding down. So therefore as the guy gets even older, his little trophy wife takes on the role as his carer, more or less trapped into a situation as her young years pass by.

It`s no more than a form of abuse, old guy with a few shekels taking advantage of a poor woman from an undeveloped country, which is exactly how this would be viewed if you took her back to your homeland and quite rightly so.

[rodknock]

hey, if you can get it up and have good swimmers "go for it".

enjoy the kids while you can.

[ChiangraiTony]

I'm 62, have a 3 year old. Very happy with lots of money. Been married 5 years and my wife is now 26. Much support in our family. My child will be taken care of very well. You don't need to be concerned.

You can never know about the feeling, reasons, or love of life until you can walk in the shoes that carry this joy. Hopefully you can learn something by reading these comments and better understand how important it is to open your mind a little bit more.

I bet she's happy, you've got lots of money.

Your child will be taken very good care of......and so will the family hahahaha.

I lost my Father when I was 11 years old. We were left financially secure and I had support.............but none of that made up for losing my Father. I didn't care about the money, I didn't care about the support...........I just wanted my Father.......nothing else.

Having children after a certain age is just a selfish act, because children want their Fathers as they grow up, not their money.

I agree with you. There is nothing that will compare or replace the loss of a father.

Okay. But by making a general statement about having children after a certain age is being a selfish act... It would have been nice to know that with you having such a loss at a young age that you would now have gained the wisdom to understand that it's not about quantity. It's about quality.

Consider yourself fortunate that you had a father in your life for 11 years. Neither you or I know how long we will walk the earth.

My real point is simply this: both you and I do not know the future and how long we have. We do not know all situations of other people's lives. If we want to delve into the lives of other people we should never be so quick to make blanket statements without knowing the facts of their lives. But even if you did have facts of other's lives, you'd be spending Your life's energy and the most valued of all, Your time on other people's personal affairs. To me, that sounds quite boring. Though many will try, no one can walk in your shoes nor mine. Peace to you!

[ChiangraiTony]

I'm 62, have a 3 year old. Very happy with lots of money. Been married 5 years and my wife is now 26. Much support in our family. My child will be taken care of very well. You don't need to be concerned.

You can never know about the feeling, reasons, or love of life until you can walk in the shoes that carry this joy. Hopefully you can learn something by reading these comments and better understand how important it is to open your mind a little bit more.

Firstly, there is no way you could get away with this in your country unless you were mega rich or a celebrity and in our countries, once the wealth goes, the wife goes with it. It`s the same here, and if you don`t believe, than you`re living in Cloud Cuckoo Land.

28 years ago I knew a Thai girl, (Nat). Beautiful girl 24 years old. Got herself into debt, became desperate, married a 65 year old American guy and went back to the States with him .The guy`s family couldn`t believe their luck that their sibling had got himself such a prize from a third world country.

4 years later Nat returned to Chiang Mai on her own, for a trip to visit her family she told old hubby. I met up with her. She was desperately unhappy, told me that she had been groomed and felt used and abused by the guy and his family. He manipulated the marriage where as Nat became a glorified carer for him and his 90 something mother.

Natalie did not want to return back to the States, she stayed in Chiang Mai for at least another 7 months, becoming my brother in law`s girlfriend into the bargain. After that she went to Bangkok and never heard from her again.

What can a 20 something girl have in common with a 60 something man? A 20 something woman is just starting out in life, whereas a 60 something man is winding down. So therefore as the guy gets even older, his little trophy wife takes on the role as his carer, more or less trapped into a situation as her young years pass by.

It`s no more than a form of abuse, old guy with a few shekels taking advantage of a poor woman from an undeveloped country, which is exactly how this would be viewed if you took her back to your homeland and quite rightly so.

Everyone has a story.

[benalibina]

I'm 62, have a 3 year old. Very happy with lots of money. Been married 5 years and my wife is now 26. Much support in our family. My child will be taken care of very well. You don't need to be concerned.

You can never know about the feeling, reasons, or love of life until you can walk in the shoes that carry this joy. Hopefully you can learn something by reading these comments and better understand how important it is to open your mind a little bit more.

Firstly, there is no way you could get away with this in your country unless you were mega rich or a celebrity and in our countries, once the wealth goes, the wife goes with it. It`s the same here, and if you don`t believe, than you`re living in Cloud Cuckoo Land.

28 years ago I knew a Thai girl, (Nat). Beautiful girl 24 years old. Got herself into debt, became desperate, married a 65 year old American guy and went back to the States with him .The guy`s family couldn`t believe their luck that their sibling had got himself such a prize from a third world country.

4 years later Nat returned to Chiang Mai on her own, for a trip to visit her family she told old hubby. I met up with her. She was desperately unhappy, told me that she had been groomed and felt used and abused by the guy and his family. He manipulated the marriage where as Nat became a glorified carer for him and his 90 something mother.

Natalie did not want to return back to the States, she stayed in Chiang Mai for at least another 7 months, becoming my brother in law`s girlfriend into the bargain. After that she went to Bangkok and never heard from her again.

What can a 20 something girl have in common with a 60 something man? A 20 something woman is just starting out in life, whereas a 60 something man is winding down. So therefore as the guy gets even older, his little trophy wife takes on the role as his carer, more or less trapped into a situation as her young years pass by.

It`s no more than a form of abuse, old guy with a few shekels taking advantage of a poor woman from an undeveloped country, which is exactly how this would be viewed if you took her back to your homeland and quite rightly so.

Time for retirement maybe ?

[CryWolf]

I guess too old to father is same in most countries. If your kid has to feed you when it´s 5-10 years, i would say you´re too old

[ttthailand]

Age is just a number. Some people live to be over 100 and some die very young. IQ is measured in numbers. Should people with an unacceptable IQ not have children, say 110 or below ? Those with lower IQ's would have a more difficult time growing up as would the child with an older father..... As some are suggesting.

Sounds stupid don't it .....

Live and let live !

[YeahSiam]

I'm 62, have a 3 year old. Very happy with lots of money. Been married 5 years and my wife is now 26. Much support in our family. My child will be taken care of very well. You don't need to be concerned.

You can never know about the feeling, reasons, or love of life until you can walk in the shoes that carry this joy. Hopefully you can learn something by reading these comments and better understand how important it is to open your mind a little bit more.

Yeah cos a man simply can't experience the true

joy of fatherhood until he's reached 60, right?

God, give me strength

I don't agree with your comments.

I don't care; it's what you seemed to

be implying.

Never mind. It's your choice to have a

wife nearly 40 years your junior and if

you can cope with knowing that she

and her family could potentially just be

waiting for you to pop off and leave the

money, good for you.

Edited April 24, 2015 by YeahSiam

[Konaboy1]

I'm in part agreement with the OP.

There's a guy who lives near me in Hua Hin is 68 and has a 6 month old daughter.

I'm not saying that if you're older you can't be a great dad, but people should consider how fair it is on the child when the father is so old.

I lost one of my parents when I was ten years old, not because of old age, but nonetheless for any child to lose one of their parents is a truly traumatic experience and having a child in your 60s obviously dramatically increases the risk of your son or daughter growing up without a dad for a large part of their childhood.

There's more to it than simply being able to financially support your child.

it's OK to say you've got money in the bank but fatherhood is much more than that.

Older men make better fathers.

[a99az]

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You certainly make many assumptions in your OP. Is it selfish for a 46 year old first time father and 32 year old first time mother, with adequate income to start a family ?

Is it selfish? What do you think bangkokhatter?

Here are my thoughts:

Under 40: Ideal age to have children

Age 40-45: It is okay, but plan it and be sure

Age 45-50: Borderline. I think it is too old, but it can be done. Just

Age 50+: No.Too old. It is a selfish act beyond this age

I am 65 this year and my Thai wife is 40 we have 2 girls one of 5 the other 8. Both bright happy and doing well in there school here in the UK. Although I am 64 I am fit healthy and have no plans on dropping dead any day soon. I have seen guys 10years younger who look like they are on borrowed time. A man could marry at 30 father 6 kids and get killed by a truck, or get cancer by the time the oldest child is 6 would that be selfish?

No selfish would have been to tell the wife I didn't want kids even if that was what she wanted. I love my girls and could not imagine being with out them and if we are lucky we will all be together for many happy years to come. Anyway I have to go and finish helping the girls make cup cakes.

[MyFriend You]

I'm 65, my partner of 16 years adopted 2 kids boy & girl 5 & 6 - she wanted children, I didn't, but will be there for them for however long I have - also deposited a bit in a bank account for them to enjoy when they hit 21. I don't think it is selfish at all - what kind of life would they have had if my life mate hadn't adopted them??? all a matter of perspective, they now have a mom & dad to come home to after school. Some people amaze me with the way they think they know whats best for everyone...............

[thehelmsman]

I'm 62, have a 3 year old. Very happy with lots of money. Been married 5 years and my wife is now 26. Much support in our family. My child will be taken care of very well. You don't need to be concerned.

You can never know about the feeling, reasons, or love of life until you can walk in the shoes that carry this joy. Hopefully you can learn something by reading these comments and better understand how important it is to open your mind a little bit more.

I bet she's happy, you've got lots of money.

Your child will be taken very good care of......and so will the family hahahaha.

Blackfox - Why do insist on insulting a man and his family? jealousy....maybe - I've found in life when someone tries raining on your parade that jealousy is often the reason.

Perhaps the reason is lack of funds - No lady even a poor Isaan would would want you, you're so poor.

Could be you can't point and shoot - Hmmm.

[thehelmsman]

I'm 62, have a 3 year old. Very happy with lots of money. Been married 5 years and my wife is now 26. Much support in our family. My child will be taken care of very well. You don't need to be concerned.

You can never know about the feeling, reasons, or love of life until you can walk in the shoes that carry this joy. Hopefully you can learn something by reading these comments and better understand how important it is to open your mind a little bit more.

Yeah cos a man simply can't experience the true

joy of fatherhood until he's reached 60, right?

God, give me strength

I don't agree with your comments.

I don't care; it's what you seemed to

be implying.

Never mind. It's your choice to have a

wife nearly 40 years your junior and if

you can cope with knowing that she

and her family could potentially just be

waiting for you to pop off and leave the

money, good for you.

The guy sounds truely happy with being a father, Why do some posters feel it necessary to bring him down. he simply said that his finances are in order. It would seem that many are jealous of the fact that some have the money to start a new life in Thailand. As much as you will deny this, its usually the case that jealousy is the reason for nastiness.

[Tony125]

I think that the best reason to not father children after 50 years old is the big risk in having a baby with some kind of mental disorder....even if the problem can be tested during pregnancy, and may have time to do something about.

Why would you think a man over 50 would have more chance of fathering a child with a mental disorder?

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/feb/26/children-older-men-mental-illness-fathers-school

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/children-with-older-dads-at-greater-mental-illness-risk/

WebMD News Archive

continued...

The findings suggest "that at least some part of schizophrenia is caused by new [genetic] mutations," says James Crow, PhD, an expert on rates of genetic mutations as a function of a father's age.

After reviewing the study for WebMD, he says it furthers the case "that at least some part of schizophrenia is caused by new [genetic] mutations."

The older men get, the greater their risk of passing on genetic mutations, says Crow, professor emeritus of genetics at the University of Wisconsin, who reviewed the study for WebMD, probably because the number of times sperm-producing cells must duplicate also increases with age. The more duplications, the more chance there is for error.

Psychologist Enid Reed, PhD, has another interpretation.

The risk of genetic mutations increases with age, she agrees, but there are other risk factors associated with developing schizophrenia that the researchers might not have considered. For example, pregnant women who come down with the flu during their second trimester are also at increased risk of having a child who will eventually develop schizophrenia

So before you older men call off your baby plans, heed the advice of Malaspina and Crow.

"It's important for people to realize that most offspring of older fathers are perfectly fine," says Malaspina. "I would not want this to be interpreted that older fathers should not have children, but this does possibly suggest that when people are planning their families, they might consider the age of the father as well as the mother."

Furthermore, says Crow, the effect of age is not very large, and these findings are more relevant to the ongoing efforts being made to understand the cause of schizophrenia. This research is just one step more along the path of clarifying the role genes play in the development of the disease