Conversation with a friend in the department steered to an interesting topic:

At what age do guys with steady girlfriends get anxious to have kids?
Does it depend on whether his friends his age already have them?
What kind of pressure does this put on the girlfriend who might be still too young to have any?
If so, shouldn't it be okay for him to wait until she is ready? Guys usually don't have as big of a problem having kids at an older age, do they?
Because once a couple has kids, it's hard for them to regain the sort of freedom they had before kids, can't travel as much, can't move as much, etc. Shouldn't they have some fun as single people before starting a family?
And what really is the right age for a gal in a phd program to have kids anyways? During? That's really tough. After? How to find and keep academic job? Plus if both are in academia, it'll be harder to get jobs at the same school or in a location where there are many schools that'll increase the chance they both get jobs close by.
Anyhoo, I think at least for my friend (22), her boyfriend (27) should definitely wait until she is ready. 27 is still very young, what's the rush? Does he need more meaning in his life at this point already?
I don't figure I'll have any kids before I turn 30 and that's even a big maybe, considering my lack of dating. (No one wants meeee!) =) Perhaps it's a good thing that I didn't have a boyfriend that influenced my choice of graduate school and maybe (sadly) it'll be a good thing I won't have a boyfriend that will influence my choice of postdoc or assistant professorship... who knows, cuz you know that if I ever did love someone that much and he loved me back, I'd probably do anything for him.