The greatest prerequisite to the child-rearing challenge is for the husband and wife to have a healthy, consistent, loving relationship with one another. Husbands and wives need to know and be known so that they can honestly evaluate whether their own personal woundedness will or will not adversely affect the next generation. If a couple does decide not to have children, it doesnt necessarily mean that they are selfish people. Either they feel that their scars are too deep to have children of their own or they have committed themselves to a ministry of helping the rest of us raise ours. We need to honor them for making such a difficult decision.