Kirsty Allsopp says ditch university and have baby by 27

[Prettyinbeige]

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jun/02/kirstie-allsop-young-women-ditch-university-baby-by-27

I know it's different for everyone but I completely agree with this article.

For me having my son at 22 was the best thing I ever did. It made me a much stronger and more confident person, which then in turn has helped me in pursuing a career and building a life for us.
I think I would have found things a lot harder if I had built a career and a life to then have to sacrifice it in order to have a baby.

I also understand in some cases it isn't possible for people to have children before a certain age. But I guess what I'm saying is I see some sense in what Kirsty is saying

I'm rather pleased Kirsty has sons. It sounds terribly old fashioned to me to encourage your daughters not to bother with uni. I wonder if she'll be advising her sons to do the same.

I only just realised her cousin is Cath Kidson. Shitty twee tat must run in the family

I absolutely agree MadameLeBean, I've always found it when people claim that you can't have a career and a family. Sure I have more responsibility at work than someone junior, but I also have a lot more flexibility and allowances (not to mention that I can afford both cleaner and child care). It would have been significantly more difficult to have DC 10 years ago when I was just trying to get a foot on the career ladder.

Dozie I think you are going to pick at everything I say!
But I have said I will enjoy babysitting my grandchildren as I a young enough too but i will also be able to continue with my career and life.
My DS is 6 I haven't really thought about GC yet!
I think sometimes people can be a little bit funny about the fact that people had kids young and still ended up with a great life and happy. I am not questioning the lives of those who chose a career first and children later so not sure why the way I did things should be so heavily scrutinised?

After uni I established my career by moving around being very flexible and taking a lot of short-term contracts (often covering maternity leaves). I gained enough variety of experience to set up as a self-employed consultant just before having my son. There is no way I could have done that the other way round. Having a family usually makes it much harder to relocate, be flexible and travel a lot for work (unless you have a partner without their own career).

I was married at 23, PhD at 26, had my children at 28 and 30. But not because I'm some kind of superior being who made Wise Decisions. I worked hard, yes, and still do. But mainly I was lucky. Lucky to meet the right person young, lucky that he was into marriage and kids and, later, prepared to do his bit re childcare, lucky to have PhD funding, lucky to conceive easily. Why do we as a culture prefer to think that women who haven't been so lucky have made bad choices somehow?

WTF is going on in this day and age when someone gets attention for telling women to avoid higher education in order to make sure they have babies? Why is when children come along and how to manage careers still a woman's problem only?

To be fair if you follow the link from the guardian she was wittering on in a telegraph interview that was mainly about the recent death if her mother, not making a public announcement.

She wasn't making a public announcement, but she does have an annoying manner and speaks as if she is an authority on the subject she is discussing.

She isn't someone who I take seriously.

Relaxed and energetic at 22? really? i didn't, feel better now at 40.

With respect OP, that was your experience and it worked for you. Doesn't mean it will for other people for a myriad of reasons and actually some people think having kids at 40 is also fine - cos errr it is!!

The arrogance of anyone thinking X worked for me so therefore it's right for everyone or this is my observation and is also right amazingly pisses me off. Diversity people!

I got it completely wrong. Went to uni, mucked about for 20 years, had DD at 40 and have gone back to a 'career' which is far from stellar.

Am of those who were so much wiser than me so early in life .

link to interview

She was supposed to be talking about a craft fair she's launching but told her PR person “You know I won’t say a damn word about it.” And wittered on about all manner of thing instead. To be fair, the craft fair wouldn't have made very interesting copy.

PS When is a career not the same as a job? Is it the chance for promotion. I'm a lawyer but see my role as a job.

As I have said in a PP I am lucky it worked for me, but having children young and still fulfilling your career and life and ambitions isn't for everyone

Having your first child in your 40s can be pretty damn good too, OP

I'm sure for some people it is perfect having a child in your 40's but not for me

Pretty insecure aren't you? Ageist much? What do you know you're 22? Like that do you?Wwhat gives you the right to tell older Mothers they are doing it wrong? You are 22 you aint got to 40 yet,.... Bizarre smugness, got a crystal ball have ya? Stupid thread.

I'm 28

My mum is 43 and loves DD, but I wouldn't expect her to provide childcare (and we live two hours away anyway). I'm the one who had a baby, not her - she's glad to be past the nappies and bottles stage (her youngest is 12). Just because some younger mums have parents who can provide childcare, not all can - another reason why this shouldn't be advertised as 'The Ultimate Lifestyle' for young girls.

SoleSource I disagree with what Prettyinbeige is saying... but you can't accuse her of being ageist and then say "What do you know, you're 22?"

What the heck, sole?

She hasn't 'told' older mothers they're doing it wrong. She's merely pointed out that for her, this was the right decision. Given how much stick a lot of young mothers get I can understand her wanting to say that.

What makes a person a good or bad parent has nothing to do with age - I have personal knowledge of excellent and 'mature' teenage mothers and am a rather geriatric brilliant mother myself .

Had my life been different I'd've chosen to have children 10 years earlier than I did, but not as young as my mum was (early 20s) - no way was I ready then.

Each to their own.
Surely the most important thing is that a woman is happy with how her life panned out, isn't it? Not what may or may not have been better or preferable.

Sole, you ok?

And if you read her posts, she constantly stresses this is how it was for her, that she was 'lucky' in some respects, that it's 'different for everyone'.

Really unpleasant to twist that into any kind of attack on older mothers because it isn't.

No - she stated what Kirsty said made some sense ie. making it beyond her own experience.

Not sure what her point is.

By the time I was 27 I had 6 years of university behind me, and I was married. The baby came when I was 30, after working a few years.

For somebody "only" doing a BA and an MA, they could have finished UNI by the time they were 25, 23/24 if they left out the MA.