Slow Havamal: 72

The 72nd verse states that it’s better to have a son. Even if he’s born when you’re old, or after you’ve died, that’s preferable to no son. Rare are the memorials raised along the road for those who are childless.

In Norse culture, male offspring were more valuable and more capable of honoring their parents, but I think we can generalize in our own society to any child, son or daughter, as both are equally capable of caring for the parents and remembering them when they’re gone. The best time to have a child in terms of biology and of getting to appreciate future generations is in youth. Havamal says that if that isn’t possible, even a child in your later years, or one conceived just before your death, is preferable to having no heirs.( Read more... )