diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 61be315b..53ea5570 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,18 +5,21 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
+
+## [0.16.2] - 2024-02-06
 ### Added
 - Misc: Documentation plugin Termynal for code animation.
 - Misc: Usage of `docstr-coverage`.
 - Misc: Docstrings for nested functions to pass `docstr-coverage`.
 ### Changed
+- [#185] BaseNode: Make assertion checks optional.
 - Misc: Documentation CSS for h1 display for windows compatibility, modify the related links on main page.
 
-## [0.16.1] - 2023-01-29
+## [0.16.1] - 2024-01-29
 ### Fixed
 - Misc: Compatibility of mkdocs with readthedocs.
 
-## [0.16.0] - 2023-01-28
+## [0.16.0] - 2024-01-28
 ### Added
 - Misc: Documentation using mkdocs.
 ### Changed
@@ -25,7 +28,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ### Fixed
 - Misc: Docstring bullet point alignment, images compatibility with markdown.
 
-## [0.15.7] - 2023-01-26
+## [0.15.7] - 2024-01-26
 ### Added
 - Misc: Sphinx documentation to support mermaid markdown images, reflect CHANGELOG section, add more emojis.
 ### Changed
@@ -35,7 +38,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ### Fixed
 - Tree Exporter: `hprint_tree` and `hyield_tree` to be compatible with `BinaryNode` where child nodes can be None type.
 
-## [0.15.6] - 2023-01-20
+## [0.15.6] - 2024-01-20
 ### Added
 - DAGNode: Able to access and delete node children via name with square bracket accessor with `__getitem__` and `__delitem__` magic methods.
 - DAGNode: Able to delete all children for a node.
@@ -47,7 +50,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Misc: Documentation enhancement to split README into multiple files.
 - Misc: New Sphinx documentation theme.
 
-## [0.15.5] - 2023-01-17
+## [0.15.5] - 2024-01-17
 ### Changed
 - Misc: Neater handling of strings for tests.
 - Misc: Better examples for merging trees and weighted trees in Sphinx documentation.
@@ -492,7 +495,8 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Utility Iterator: Tree traversal methods.
 - Workflow To Do App: Tree use case with to-do list implementation.
 
-[Unreleased]: https://github.com/kayjan/bigtree/compare/0.16.1...HEAD
+[Unreleased]: https://github.com/kayjan/bigtree/compare/0.16.2...HEAD
+[0.16.2]: https://github.com/kayjan/bigtree/compare/0.16.1...0.16.2
 [0.16.1]: https://github.com/kayjan/bigtree/compare/0.16.0...0.16.1
 [0.16.0]: https://github.com/kayjan/bigtree/compare/0.15.7...0.16.0
 [0.15.7]: https://github.com/kayjan/bigtree/compare/0.15.6...0.15.7
diff --git a/bigtree/__init__.py b/bigtree/__init__.py
index 463a4607..455ffc14 100644
--- a/bigtree/__init__.py
+++ b/bigtree/__init__.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-__version__ = "0.16.1"
+__version__ = "0.16.2"
 
 from bigtree.binarytree.construct import list_to_binarytree
 from bigtree.dag.construct import dataframe_to_dag, dict_to_dag, list_to_dag
@@ -75,4 +75,4 @@
 from bigtree.workflows.app_calendar import Calendar
 from bigtree.workflows.app_todo import AppToDo
 
-sphinx_versions = ["latest", "0.16.1", "0.15.7", "0.14.8"]
+sphinx_versions = ["latest", "0.16.2", "0.15.7", "0.14.8"]
diff --git a/bigtree/globals.py b/bigtree/globals.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..52e79771
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bigtree/globals.py
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+import os
+
+ASSERTIONS: bool = bool(os.environ.get("BIGTREE_CONF_ASSERTIONS", True))
diff --git a/bigtree/node/basenode.py b/bigtree/node/basenode.py
index ab0fca39..5f4c4207 100644
--- a/bigtree/node/basenode.py
+++ b/bigtree/node/basenode.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import copy
 from typing import Any, Dict, Generator, Iterable, List, Optional, Set, Tuple, TypeVar
 
+from bigtree.globals import ASSERTIONS
 from bigtree.utils.exceptions import CorruptedTreeError, LoopError, TreeError
 from bigtree.utils.iterators import preorder_iter
 
@@ -181,8 +182,9 @@ def parent(self: T, new_parent: T) -> None:
         Args:
             new_parent (Self): parent node
         """
-        self.__check_parent_type(new_parent)
-        self.__check_parent_loop(new_parent)
+        if ASSERTIONS:
+            self.__check_parent_type(new_parent)
+            self.__check_parent_loop(new_parent)
 
         current_parent = self.parent
         current_child_idx = None
@@ -325,8 +327,9 @@ def children(self: T, new_children: List[T] | Tuple[T] | Set[T]) -> None:
         Args:
             new_children (List[Self]): child node
         """
-        self.__check_children_type(new_children)
-        self.__check_children_loop(new_children)
+        if ASSERTIONS:
+            self.__check_children_type(new_children)
+            self.__check_children_loop(new_children)
         new_children = list(new_children)
 
         current_new_children = {
diff --git a/bigtree/node/binarynode.py b/bigtree/node/binarynode.py
index 49f5d813..4f796f8f 100644
--- a/bigtree/node/binarynode.py
+++ b/bigtree/node/binarynode.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 from typing import Any, List, Optional, Tuple, TypeVar, Union
 
+from bigtree.globals import ASSERTIONS
 from bigtree.node.node import Node
 from bigtree.utils.exceptions import CorruptedTreeError, LoopError, TreeError
 
@@ -165,8 +166,9 @@ def parent(self: T, new_parent: Optional[T]) -> None:
         Args:
             new_parent (Optional[Self]): parent node
         """
-        self.__check_parent_type(new_parent)
-        self._BaseNode__check_parent_loop(new_parent)  # type: ignore
+        if ASSERTIONS:
+            self.__check_parent_type(new_parent)
+            self._BaseNode__check_parent_loop(new_parent)  # type: ignore
 
         current_parent = self.parent
         current_child_idx = None
@@ -294,7 +296,8 @@ def children(self: T, _new_children: List[Optional[T]]) -> None:
         """
         self._BaseNode__check_children_type(_new_children)  # type: ignore
         new_children = self.__check_children_type(_new_children)
-        self.__check_children_loop(new_children)
+        if ASSERTIONS:
+            self.__check_children_loop(new_children)
 
         current_new_children = {
             new_child: (
diff --git a/bigtree/node/dagnode.py b/bigtree/node/dagnode.py
index 1d616542..a72aad1e 100644
--- a/bigtree/node/dagnode.py
+++ b/bigtree/node/dagnode.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import copy
 from typing import Any, Dict, Generator, Iterable, List, Optional, Tuple, TypeVar
 
+from bigtree.globals import ASSERTIONS
 from bigtree.utils.exceptions import LoopError, TreeError
 from bigtree.utils.iterators import preorder_iter
 
@@ -208,8 +209,9 @@ def parents(self: T, new_parents: List[T]) -> None:
         Args:
             new_parents (List[Self]): parent nodes
         """
-        self.__check_parent_type(new_parents)
-        self.__check_parent_loop(new_parents)
+        if ASSERTIONS:
+            self.__check_parent_type(new_parents)
+            self.__check_parent_loop(new_parents)
 
         current_parents = self.__parents.copy()
 
@@ -306,8 +308,9 @@ def children(self: T, new_children: Iterable[T]) -> None:
         Args:
             new_children (Iterable[Self]): child node
         """
-        self.__check_children_type(new_children)
-        self.__check_children_loop(new_children)
+        if ASSERTIONS:
+            self.__check_children_type(new_children)
+            self.__check_children_loop(new_children)
 
         current_children = list(self.children)
 
diff --git a/docs/others/remove_checks.md b/docs/others/remove_checks.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..29cb45e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/others/remove_checks.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Remove Tree Checks
+
+!!! note
+
+    Available from version 0.16.2 onwards
+
+When constructing trees, there are a few checks done that slow down performance.
+This slowness will be more apparent with very large trees. The checks are to
+
+- Check parent/children data type
+- Check for loops (expensive for trees that are deep as it checks the ancestors of node)
+
+These checks are enabled by default. To turn off these checks, you can set environment variable before importing `bigtree`.
+
+```python
+import os
+os.environ["BIGTREE_CONF_ASSERTIONS"] = ""
+
+import bigtree
+```
diff --git a/mkdocs.yml b/mkdocs.yml
index f6b19d15..957edaed 100644
--- a/mkdocs.yml
+++ b/mkdocs.yml
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ nav:
   - Others:
     - Tips and Tricks:
       - others/index.md
+      - others/remove_checks.md
       - others/list_dir.md
       - others/nodes.md
       - others/merging_trees.md
diff --git a/tests/node/test_basenode_no_assertions.py b/tests/node/test_basenode_no_assertions.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c38ba3c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/node/test_basenode_no_assertions.py
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+import unittest
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+import pytest
+
+from bigtree.node.basenode import BaseNode
+
+
+@patch("bigtree.node.basenode.ASSERTIONS", "")
+class TestBaseNodeNoAssertions(unittest.TestCase):
+    def setUp(self):
+        """
+        Tree should have structure
+        a (age=90)
+        |-- b (age=65)
+        |   |-- d (age=40)
+        |   +-- e (age=35)
+        |       |-- g (age=10)
+        |       +-- h (age=6)
+        +-- c (age=60)
+            +-- f (age=38)
+        """
+        self.a = BaseNode(name="a", age=90)
+        self.b = BaseNode(name="b", age=65)
+        self.c = BaseNode(name="c", age=60)
+        self.d = BaseNode(name="d", age=40)
+        self.e = BaseNode(name="e", age=35)
+        self.f = BaseNode(name="f", age=38)
+        self.g = BaseNode(name="g", age=10)
+        self.h = BaseNode(name="h", age=6)
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        self.a = None
+        self.b = None
+        self.c = None
+        self.d = None
+        self.e = None
+        self.f = None
+        self.g = None
+        self.h = None
+
+    def test_set_children_none_parent_error(self):
+        # TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not iterable
+        children = None
+        with pytest.raises(TypeError):
+            self.h.children = children
+
+    def test_set_parent_type_error(self):
+        # AttributeError: 'int' object has no attribute '_BaseNode__children'
+        parent = 1
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            self.a.parent = parent
+
+    def test_set_parent_loop_error(self):
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.a.parent = self.a
+
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.b.parent = self.a
+        self.c.parent = self.b
+        self.a.parent = self.c
+
+    def test_set_children_type_error(self):
+        # AttributeError: 'int' object has no attribute '_BaseNode__children'
+        children = 1
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            self.a.children = [self.b, children]
+
+        # AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'parent'
+        children = None
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            self.a.children = [self.b, children]
+
+    def test_set_children_loop_error(self):
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.a.children = [self.b, self.a]
+
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.a.children = [self.b, self.c]
+        self.c.children = [self.d, self.e, self.f]
+        self.f.children = [self.a]
+
+    def test_set_duplicate_children_error(self):
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.a.children = [self.b, self.b]
diff --git a/tests/node/test_binarynode_no_assertions.py b/tests/node/test_binarynode_no_assertions.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0b4fe404
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/node/test_binarynode_no_assertions.py
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+import unittest
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+import pytest
+
+from bigtree.node.basenode import BaseNode
+from bigtree.node.binarynode import BinaryNode
+from bigtree.node.node import Node
+from bigtree.utils.exceptions import TreeError
+
+
+@patch("bigtree.node.binarynode.ASSERTIONS", "")
+class TestBinaryNodeNoAssertions(unittest.TestCase):
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.a = BinaryNode(1)
+        self.b = BinaryNode(2)
+        self.c = BinaryNode(3)
+        self.d = BinaryNode(4)
+        self.e = BinaryNode(5)
+        self.f = BinaryNode(6)
+        self.g = BinaryNode(7)
+        self.h = BinaryNode(8)
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        self.a = None
+        self.b = None
+        self.c = None
+        self.d = None
+        self.e = None
+        self.f = None
+        self.g = None
+        self.h = None
+
+    def test_set_parent_type_error(self):
+        # AttributeError: 'int' object has no attribute '_BinaryNode__children'
+        parent = 1
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            self.a.parent = parent
+
+        # AttributeError: 'BaseNode' object has no attribute '_BinaryNode__children'
+        parent = BaseNode()
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            self.a.parent = parent
+
+        # AttributeError: 'Node' object has no attribute '_BinaryNode__children'
+        parent = Node("a")
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            self.a.parent = parent
+
+    def test_set_parent_loop_error(self):
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.a.parent = self.a
+
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.b.parent = self.a
+        self.c.parent = self.b
+        self.a.parent = self.c
+
+    def test_set_children_type_error(self):
+        # AttributeError: 'int' object has no attribute 'parent'
+        children = 1
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            self.a.children = [self.b, children]
+
+        # No error without assertion
+        children = BaseNode()
+        self.a.children = [children, None]
+
+        # bigtree.utils.exceptions.TreeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute '_BinaryNode__children'
+        children = Node("a")
+        with pytest.raises(TreeError):
+            self.a.children = [children, None]
+
+    def test_set_children_loop_error(self):
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.a.children = [self.b, self.a]
+
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.a.children = [self.b, self.c]
+        self.c.children = [self.d, self.e]
+        self.e.children = [self.a, self.f]
+
+    def test_set_duplicate_children_error(self):
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.a.children = [self.b, self.b]
diff --git a/tests/node/test_dagnode_no_assertions.py b/tests/node/test_dagnode_no_assertions.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..80bb1bb0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/node/test_dagnode_no_assertions.py
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+import unittest
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+import pytest
+
+from bigtree.node.basenode import BaseNode
+from bigtree.node.dagnode import DAGNode
+from bigtree.node.node import Node
+
+
+@patch("bigtree.node.dagnode.ASSERTIONS", "")
+class TestDAGNodeNoAssertions(unittest.TestCase):
+    def setUp(self):
+        """
+        Tree should have structure
+        a >> b
+        b >> c
+        b >> d
+        c >> e
+        c >> f
+        e >> f
+        f >> g
+        d >> e
+        """
+        self.a = DAGNode(name="a", age=90)
+        self.b = DAGNode(name="b", age=65)
+        self.c = DAGNode(name="c", age=60)
+        self.d = DAGNode(name="d", age=40)
+        self.e = DAGNode(name="e", age=35)
+        self.f = DAGNode(name="f", age=38)
+        self.g = DAGNode(name="g", age=10)
+        self.h = DAGNode(name="h", age=6)
+
+        self.nodes = [self.a, self.b, self.c, self.d, self.e, self.f, self.g]
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        self.a = None
+        self.b = None
+        self.c = None
+        self.d = None
+        self.e = None
+        self.f = None
+        self.g = None
+        self.h = None
+
+    def test_set_parents_none_parent_error(self):
+        # TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not iterable
+        self.c.parents = [self.a]
+        parents = None
+        with pytest.raises(TypeError):
+            self.c.parents = parents
+
+    def test_set_children_none_children_error(self):
+        # TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not iterable
+        children = None
+        with pytest.raises(TypeError):
+            self.g.children = children
+
+    def test_set_parents_type_error(self):
+        # TypeError: 'int' object is not iterable
+        parents = 1
+        with pytest.raises(TypeError):
+            self.a.parents = parents
+
+        # AttributeError: 'int' object has no attribute '_DAGNode__children'
+        parent = 1
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            self.a.parents = [parent]
+
+        # AttributeError: 'BaseNode' object has no attribute '_DAGNode__parents'
+        parent = BaseNode()
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            self.a.parents = [parent]
+
+        # AttributeError: 'Node' object has no attribute '_DAGNode__parents'
+        parent = Node("a")
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            self.a.parents = [parent]
+
+    def test_set_parents_loop_error(self):
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.a.parents = [self.a]
+
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.b.parents = [self.a]
+        self.c.parents = [self.b]
+        self.a.parents = [self.c]
+
+    def test_set_duplicate_parent_error(self):
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.a.parents = [self.b, self.b]
+
+    def test_set_children_type_error(self):
+        # TypeError: 'int' object is not iterable
+        children = 1
+        with pytest.raises(TypeError):
+            self.a.children = children
+
+        # AttributeError: 'int' object has no attribute '_DAGNode__parents'
+        children = 1
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            self.a.children = [self.b, children]
+
+        # AttributeError: 'BaseNode' object has no attribute '_DAGNode__parents'
+        children = BaseNode()
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            self.a.children = [children]
+
+        # AttributeError: 'Node' object has no attribute '_DAGNode__parents'
+        children = Node("a")
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            self.a.children = [children]
+
+    def test_set_children_loop_error(self):
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.a.children = [self.b, self.a]
+
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.a.children = [self.b, self.c]
+        self.c.children = [self.d, self.e, self.f]
+        self.f.children = [self.a]
+
+    def test_set_duplicate_children_error(self):
+        # No error without assertion
+        self.a.children = [self.b, self.b]