To ask if you think 24 is a young Mum?

[Cleo2628]

just wondering your opinions. I’m 24 with a 7 month old.

I was 24 and most well all actually of the mums at groups I went to where older , I feel like I did a lot between leaving school and 24 though , worked since 17, worked abroad , different boyfriends , clubbing etc etc so don't feel I missed out !

Yes in the sense that I think a 24-year-old person is young. Not in a sense that's it's somehow an unreasonable age to be a mother.

A little bit. The vast majority of people I know didn't have their first until their 30s.

But it's not shockingly young!

Yes I would say as I don't know anyone that age with a baby, but I think on your 20s is probably the right age to have children

It's very young to me - of my peer group, the youngest was 28 and everyone else was mid-30s.

I had my twins when I was 24

Certainly young by my peers - maybe a couple had their first child in their very late 20s but most not until early 30s, even if they'd been partnered for a good few years

The only ones who had children under 30 were the ones who lived outside London - everyone else who lives in London was early 30s cos no way anyone could afford 12k a year nursery in their 20s!!

Im 36 and no kids but that's because we can't have them - years of failed fertility treatment not age related, but cos my womb is too damaged

No way anyone amongst my peers could have ever got on the property ladder unless they'd bought before starting a family, as a couple of years' worth of childcare is a pretty decent deposit. Not a chance of saving for a deposit AND paying nursery / childminder fees

Not at all, I was 17 with my first dd, 21 with my second, 26 with my third and just had dd4 at 29. When I go to baby groups with my two youngest I'm roughly a similar age to other mum's but they tend to be first time mum's. And I'm the youngest by far oldest dds class parents. Doesn't bother me though, there are plenty of amazing young mum's, my sister had DN at 15 and she encounted alot of criticism and down right hostility but was a brilliant mum despite battling PND.

I think it depends on the person as people mature at different rates. I don't think it's particularly young although I wouldn't have wanted a baby at 24.

I had my first son at 24. I felt like a young mum. And definitely, in terms of my friendship group. I was the first person to have a baby out of my friends.

Actually, and this is personal to me, I was probably a bit too young really. I mean I wasn’t immature, and I took to it brilliantly but I found myself yearning for my ‘pre baby’ life a lot. Probably more than I would if I was truely ready.

Depends on your socioeconomic group as to how it's perceived I think, as others have said.

It seems youngish to me but not notably so.

23 with my own businesses and homes

Not a brag but just the reality
First out of school to do this

I was the eldest mom on maternity ward one night at med round. What a shock.

About average where I live at the moment.

It's an awkward age in general though
Not a teen mum and not an "established" mum

Prepare for people to tell you to live your life first.

Which is presumably what you are doing!!!

Jealous is a mad thing

Nope.... married with 3 under 5 by then. Didn’t feel young to me

There's many Women having babies in their late 30's, who haven't got a degree, will never own a house and haven't traveled the World.

If you can see to a child's emotional and physical needs, then you aren't too young. what "too young" means anyway, I've never quite understood. We all don't want to shag about and party. I was always told that I was too young to be getting married. I'm glad I didn't wait, I was Widowed in my 30's and might have missed the boat on having children.

It's nice if you are stably housed, but, in reality, more people don't have that, than do.

If the UK didn't reproduce until the set list agreed on MN was in place, we'd be facing a population crisis.

I was 23 and 27 and seems to be similar ages to friends i went to school with. Second was high risk pregnancy and i wasnt the youngest by about 10yrs on my consultants clinic days. I think it was perfect age. Couldnt imagine starting now at 32

Young as in a young woman who's also a mum but I don't tend to think of the new mums I know in their early 20s as 'young mums' (I'm in my 30s), just as other mums of babies all going through the same thing. I see motherhood as a sort of leveller in that respect.

I was the same age as you when I had my DS. Even though I am married and owned a home with hindsight it was very young. DS is now 22 and I'd be surprised if he's ready for parenthood until at least his late twenties.

Sounds about right, I had my little one at 21. He’s nearlt 10 months old now x

I would say it's younger than a lot, older than some.

I know women who would have been no where near emotionally mature enough at 24 to have a child (myself included).

And others who would have been mature enough at 21.

Everyone is different but no one has the right to judge.

A little yes. I'd not like DD to be that young as would ideally want her to have travelled a little, found a long term stable relationship, a career and be a home owner so she's as stable as possible before becoming a parent. Most relationships at that age won't stand the distance.

Young, but not "young mum" young. Depends on the peson, depends on the area. To read some posts on MN you'd think that anything under 35 is child bride territory.

I do, yeah. My mental picture of a young mum is of a teen tbh, so a 24 year old is just a slightly older young mum I guess.

Only in our very strange modern society.

In most of our parents time and for the entire rest of human history it would have been considered the norm if not the perfect age for parenthood.

I had my first at 24 and wouldn't consider myself a young mum at that stage.

Childminder at £70 a day, working full time is about 15k a year just on childcare

Couldn't have afforded to pay this and rent and travel and food when I was 24, not a chance.

Amongst my peers, 20s was for establishing our careers, because you had to be able to put in the hours at the start - in order to be in a position of sufficient seniority by the time you have DC to be able to say 'I'm leaving at half 5 because I have to do nursery pickup.

That's the reality of my peers, which is a very different reality to many others. Everyone is different