In thinking this is the smuggest article I have ever had the misfortune to read

[mrsshackleton]

"We are so bloody marvellous and everyone else is wrong"

I've never read such a load of judgemental codswallop

Branded Winnie the Poo equipment - OMG!!

TWATTTTTTTTTTTT...this article is so, I cant describe it...I bet he is from wandsworth as he mentionned the nappy valley. I had my dd at 25 years, does it make me less capable than his wife ???WTF ???

I read this article on saturday - was fuming and longed to come on MN.

What a smug arse he is. Can you imagine he and his fragrant wife (get ye to the orthodontist) delicately tittering over the working class young mum who had the affrontery to buy winnie the pook kit for her baby.

The whole tone of the article basically assumes that older mothers love their children more and are just better than young scum mums.

It is a shame as his children will grow up picking up on his entrenched and blinkered views. Can you imagine how he and his wife must love to discuss the many and varied failings of young mothers. How their eyes must meet in the supermarket when they catch sight of a young mum with a bottle in her hand. How they must chortle when they discuss babies called Jayden in the park.

There is nothing of worth in this article. It is basically 'this is what I did and it is right'. Any stupid fucker could write that.

Smuggity smug.

Oh squeaver I thought it was that one too and have been meaning to link to it.

The one that starts by suggesting they didn't use nappies at all from birth, then revealing they stopped nappies at 7 months with their first child (OK well done) then that with their second they "kept a nappy on just to catch the drips to be on the safe side." Err yeah I think you'll find that's actually called "wearing nappies" mate.

it is really just him trying to justify the fact that they're older.hmm

it'd be like me, or another young mum, writing one saying:

look at meeeeeeee I'm a young mum BUT can you believe it? I don't smoke or take my babies to Maccy D's AND AND AND AND I breastfed LOOK AT MEEEEE I'm so brilliant

Agree with what Trillian said. He draws some very sweeping conclusions from his interpretation of what went on with his mother and his wife Which is fine if you are chewing the fat on MN, but not as a print journalist.

I also suspect his wife may be embarrassed by his attempt to big her up

I didn't have DD till I was 37 but this man is a complete twunt!

Oh yes I have a massive chip on my shoulder - had dd when very young.

So what? I did a damn good job. I am raising my dd to be non-judgmental and open to how other people live their lives, not to judge them on narrow, entrenched and uneducated class and monetary prejudices.

So I am doing a helluva better job than this daft apeth. Not exactly prize winning journalism, is it?

I really don't get the assumption that older mothers have more patience. I am 37 yrs old and don't think my base personality has changed all that much over the last 15 yrs.

Although, I hope any social workers out there have added branded Winnie the Pooh goods to their list of indicators of bad parenting.

What a twat.

Also, I bet the 22 year old at the end (if she is, in fact, real), feels just great about what he's written. Arse

Here is the other article

It is equally smug but less unpleasant as it doesn't take swipes at the lower orders for having the audacity to breed

DS2 has a Tigger suit, ears and all...

Didn't we have a couple of threads on here recently about motherhood/parenthood in ones 40s. Perhaps its a coincidence, but I have to say I'm not surprised there's been a little flurry of articles in the national press since we were all pumped for opinions on here.

Journalist bloke is not concenred about the 22 year old finding out, as according to his narrow view lower orders do not read at all The Times, they sticj to the Sun or Take a Break.

Mind you, am sick of the Times when it is full of shit like this.

Oh dear, mrsshackleton - that article has made me go right off the name Harriet (which heretofore I thought was a lovely name)

Ick, what a vile article. Had no idea people judged others on branded characters...

Although I've reproduced in my 30s, he'd not like me. I bought our pram from a discount outlet - it was half price because, the assistant informed me gravely, it's "last season's colours". I am sure Mr Billen's wife's coffee shop mates would definitely look down on me for that one.

Agree with GetOrf - not exactly amazing journalism. He's just "tickling his readership's nipples" in DH's charming phrase. So the reader either feels smug and agrees with every judgmental word. Or (like most decent non-judgemental folk) gets pissed off with the crass generalisation and snobbery. Either way, job done.

Happily the Times is about to erect a paywall so it will be much harder to stumble across such nonsense

Andrew, save your congratulations for yourself and your wife until you have travelled a little further down the road of parenting. Your children are only at the baby/toddler stage.

I am wondering why Andrew and Lucy have a childminder. He stated that older women were secure enough to take years out of their career.

Anyway, the article contains no solid reasoning. I am surprised that I even know what reasoning is - after all, I had my children at 27 and 29 - silly me.

im so angry with this twunt.

any woman worth her salt will do their upmost for their child/ren. regardless of age, so what if we have disposable nappies instead of reusable, bottle feed or breastfeed. give birth with lots of drugs in a hospital, or homebirth surrounded by candles and whalesongs. as long as our children are happy, then we've succeeded.

we all do things different ways, there are no two mothers exactly the same.

i was 21 when i had ds, im now 23 and have just found out im pg again. i suppose im a bad mother. (ds has a couple of pooh soft toys, one from my childhood, i better call ss and prepare myself for the worst)

cant believe a newspaper would print such utter tripe

OMG.

WHAT a cockend that journo is.

I hate stuff like this.

Arrogant twaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

I long to look forward to those days in the future when Mr and Mrs Smug have teenage daughters who will need to be accompanied to paramore gigs or equivalent (and are likely to have boyfriend of the oik type much to journo's chagrin)

Parenthood is so easy when they are little.

But nice to know that they are confident that they are 100% correct and have all teh answers.

What a load of absolute tosh. I'm 42 and mother to a 6,6(IVF) and a 5 year old so was relatively old when I had the dc ,definitely am now.

Now much as I love my 3 and give eternal thanks for them daily no way am I calmer. My PMT is raging now (IVF aftermath,pre-menopause who knows). I have a 22 year old friend,my dd's best friends mum who IS calmness personified.She has energy,patience and brains by the bagful,her dc are gorgeous and she isn't Winnie the Poo obsessed at all

I think older mums get weary quicky so are more likely to have less patience at times. Also those of us that had careers miss them and if we had IVF are broke,all added stresses imho.

I also know several older mums who are neurotic to be frank. You may be wiser but you've read more,studied motherhood more and obsess more.

Personally methinks somebody has a chip on his shoulder