How many times have you asked a mate when they are planning to start their family?
Well next time, don’t.
Think before you ask as this can lead to causing some to suffer from anxiety.
Stacey Solomon and Christine Lampard have said people’s constant badgering about when they are going to have babies with their other halves can make them feel very pressed indeed.
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The girls were discussing this subject off the back of news that Ant McPartlin had been admitted into rehab, a move that was brought on by painful knee surgery, depression and anxiety over being unable to start a family with wife Lisa.
The ladies said that when people ask them questions about having kids, they should be careful because they don’t actually know what is going within others’ lives.
Christine explained: “People often ask questions, ‘When are you going to have children?’ and, ‘It’s about time you have a baby,’ without knowing what’s going on behind closed doors.”
And Stacey, who has two children from previous relationships, said that as soon as she got together with Joe Swash people started asking her constantly when they were going to have a baby together.
“As soon as news broke when I was going out with Joe, it was, ‘Are you getting married, are you having more babies?’” she told the girls.
“I don’t mind being asked, to be honest, but there was one point when someone asked the question and Joe had automatically gone, ‘Oh, no, don’t be silly’ and shrugged the comment off.
She said that his brush off had made her feel a bit awkward as it made her wonder if that meant he wouldn’t be keen to have kids with her in the future.
“I remember having a conversation with him that evening and saying, ‘Do you not want any more children?’ and we kind of had a heated debate about a subject that we wouldn’t even be talking about in real life if we’d just met and started a relationship.
“But I felt I had to pull him up on it and question him as I do want more children. That pressure to ask him there and then. Even though we were having a great time and our relationship was doing really well.
“I do also want to stress, most people I believe are saying it in a really lovely way. I don’t think there’s any malice in it.”
Christine, who married former footballer Frank Lampard in 2015, said she gets asked “constantly” about when they’ll be starting a family. Frank has two young daughters from a previous relationship.
“I get asked constantly,” she said.
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“I’ve always been very conscious of it with friends who have gone through terrible periods in their life with IVF.
“I’ve always been sensitive of other people’s feelings as you don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors.”
Christine says she now tries to come up “more inventive in answers” to the question, and says she’s found a website that comes up with witty one-liners.