Yes, I was going to say something similar. You don't need an extended family. But some form of community that doesn't hate kids helps a lot. We're lucky to h

Yes, I was going to say something similar. You don't need an extended family. But some form of community that doesn't hate kids helps a lot. We're lucky to have great neighbors and we all help eachother with things. It's a bonus that they don't call the police whenever we aren't behaving like helicopter parents. Beyond that, stop listening to (non expert) childless people about how you should raise your kids. They mostly don't know what they're talking about. Even if they are your friends.