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Original poster

What is average age to have children where you live?

52 replies

howoldhowold · 14/03/2021 20:06

I'm in North London and feel younger than average with two children (aged 5 and 1) at age 35.

I'd say an older mum where I live would be someone having their first child over the age of 40.

I was talking to one of my friends from where I grew up (Norfolk) about how tired I am and she said how hard it must be to have a toddler at my age

So what's average where you live?

OP posts:

MissingLinker · 14/03/2021 21:19

Where I grew up: 21/22 maybe average. Plenty had babies straight after leaving school.

Where I live now: 30?

breadbinbaby · 14/03/2021 21:20

30s and 40s. I’m definitely an outlier having had my first at 25 and expecting my second at 27.

MrsBungle · 14/03/2021 21:21

30-40 round here. I was 31 and 34.

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Families

CuppaTandCake · 14/03/2021 21:22

If bookings in my clinic are anything to go by, they range from 1976-2005!! The average being around 1987-92. So late 20’s to early 30’s

MrsTophamHat · 14/03/2021 21:27

About 28-35.

North West

Lostinspace23 · 14/03/2021 21:30

I was 37 almost 38 when I had DD, due to ttc taking 5 years. I expected to be ancient compared to everyone I met but that wasn’t true at all. My NCT group was a good representation of the general split around here - average age of 35 across a range of 39-28. I was only the third oldest.

lljkk · 14/03/2021 21:33

I live in Norfolk. Me & 3 nearest neighbours:

Age of mother when had...
First born: 22, ~24, 32, 32
Last born: ~25, ~34, 35, 40

Lastbonestanding · 14/03/2021 21:36

26-28 I'm in Ireland.

Subordinateclause · 14/03/2021 21:36

Amongst my friends, around 31-38 but I think that's because you gravitate towards people similar to you, so I am friends with other people in professional jobs who live in the same general area as me and as such have waited until they're established in their careers and the property ladder to have children. I'm sure there are plenty of people in my town who are in their early 20s having children too, I just don't know them. Think NCT groups tend to have people in their late 20s+ as the course is fairly expensive.

Scottishskifun · 14/03/2021 21:36

My area its mostly mid 30s I had my son at 31 and was the youngest in pregnancy pilates, antinatal classes (NHS one and NCT)

Tianatiers · 14/03/2021 21:37

Where I live it seems to be late 20s early 30s

Rainbowdino · 14/03/2021 21:38

I have no idea. Am I the only one who can’t tell you how old people are? On the school run I couldn’t even say how old the mums are!

I’m 27 with 3 and feel v young to have such a large family.

DragonPoop · 14/03/2021 21:41

Where I live there are two common age groups really with the majority of people I know.
I had my little boy when I was 25 and by one group I was considered to be an old mum (average age of first child was 17-23) and by one group I was considered very young (34+) and it seemed that no one was in the middle like I was

Slacktide · 14/03/2021 21:41

@howoldhowold

I'm in North London and feel younger than average with two children (aged 5 and 1) at age 35.

I'd say an older mum where I live would be someone having their first child over the age of 40.

I was talking to one of my friends from where I grew up (Norfolk) about how tired I am and she said how hard it must be to have a toddler at my age

So what's average where you live?

I was bang on average for my north London NCT group aged 39. Three others were older, three were younger. But I used to see my midwife half a mile down the road in a less prosperous area, and there the average age of the other expectant mothers waiting was about 20.

BackforGood · 14/03/2021 21:44

I don't think it is to do with your City or County, so much as your education.
You can be a few streets away from a very different demograph where I live.

twoofusburningmatches · 14/03/2021 21:57

I was average in my NCT group at 33. But older than my school friends (different area), who had their first children in their mid to late 20s. I’m the only one of my good friends from uni who has children and we’re all mid to late 30s now.

Spottybluepyjamas · 14/03/2021 21:59

Mid-thirties where I live

FunnyWonder · 14/03/2021 22:08

Mid 30s is the average here where I live, just outside Belfast. I was 41 when I had DS1, so around 5 years older than most of the other mums of kids in his class when he started school. I had DS2 at 45 and really feel ancient compared to the mums in his year. They're a friendlier bunch though and I get along really well with loads of them!

SarahAndQuack · 14/03/2021 22:19

@Rainbowdino

I have no idea. Am I the only one who can’t tell you how old people are? On the school run I couldn’t even say how old the mums are!

I’m 27 with 3 and feel v young to have such a large family.

There'll be published stats. Otherwise I wouldn't know! I l know for where we used to live, average age of a first time mum was 35. Though it varied a lot within that; I knew people from 16 to 46 who had babies within a month of my DD's birth.

I don't know what the stats are for where we live now, but anecdotally, it feels younger. It was a shock when we moved - we went from bang on average to realising occasionally people thought I might be granny.

Pea1985 · 14/03/2021 22:55

I had my first at 29, second at 32. Seems pretty average round here. The youngest in my mum group was 26, the oldest was late 30's.

TheBigGreenDinosaur · 14/03/2021 23:15

Either 21/22 or 30-34 in my area, nothing in between. I think as others have said people often fall into two camps, the camp that have babies after college/uni or the ones who want to be at a certain point in their life first (house/career etc). Pros and cons to both I suppose, I was 30 when I had my first. I didn’t notice any trends at baby groups for age, other than perhaps a few more older mums at the BF groups.

riotlady · 14/03/2021 23:50

I was 25 and I was the youngest in all my baby groups where most seemed to be late 30s. But I see a lot of young mums around, so I think I was probably in between the two groups and it was just that the baby classes I went to tended to attract the older group.

MouseholeCat · 14/03/2021 23:54

We live in the Midwest US. The vast majority of my husband's childhood friend group started having kids around the age of 25.

Among our circle of friends though it's much later. The first of my friends have only started having babies and we're all early 30's.

Midlifephoenix · 15/03/2021 00:36

Most people around where I live now were grandmothers by the time I was having kids (early 40s). But at my kids' (private) school, which does not have the typical local mum profile, I'm not unusual in being in my late 50s with children still in school. None of us had our kids here though, we all moved here when the kids were young.

BogRollBOGOF · 15/03/2021 07:46

Tends to be about 28-35 around my area (pleasant suburb) Most women tend to have a degree, marriage, career and house first.

Aqua natal had a mix from around the city but we were about the same age range. Onr mum was approaching 40 and felt conspicuously old but it wasn't obvious and she fitted well.

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