When I was 17 I wanted a baby, but waited to get married first. My mother would tell me constantly how cute babies were but then tell me I didn't want one... oh, shut up! She didn't understand why I got mad at her, even when I told her. Now I have a baby (OK, I married at 23 and had my baby at 25, but that's on the young side in the UK!) she's a doting grandmother, she only hates it when my dad makes Grandma jokes at her expense.

Careers suck. You work and work and at the end you get what, a watch? Children rock - you put in the work, you get so many rewards. But it is work - I found I needed to perfect my time-management skills with a job before trying them on a baby!

Think of it this way, if you love your child, you want them to do what's best, which may not be what they want. Toddlers may want to play with television wires, but we stop them because that's not good for them. Whilst you want a baby, maybe your parents see that having a child is easier if you have worked first so you have some savings, maybe your own home, don't have to scrimp and save each month... OK, I would say living without a child was harder, but maybe tell your parents you're thinking of children soon after you get married and just see if they are negative about it. If you've planned for it and are serious it may be they're behind you, they're down on the other girls for being unmarried, having babies unplanned, being poor mothers (ie putting their child's life in danger by smoking/drinking excessively/feeding regimes) or other reasons.

Good luck to you.