Being a mother at a young age can be a burden for many, but it can be an immense joy for others.
One way or another, whether everyone agrees or not, being a mother at a young age brings some discomforts, but also some undeniable benefits.
Every year, women are waiting longer to have children.
In 1970, the average age was 21. Last year, that number rose to 26, an age when most women still feel too young to get pregnant.
Many women who became mothers when they were young regret not having had time to travel, date or build a career. On the other hand, other women are proud to have spent their youth raising their children.
See: 10 factors that compromise female fertility
We spoke to some of these women and brought you a list of 22 benefits that only those who are young mothers know about.
1. You have much more energy to care for and play with your children.
2. Sleep isn’t as big of an issue when you’re a young mother. You can survive on less sleep – even when staying up all night caring for your child – and still get through a full day of work.
3. You will probably be one of the only people in your group of friends to have a baby, so as a young mother, you will probably be spoiled with visitors and gifts.
See: 10 Tips for maintaining a good marriage after the birth of children
4. Your children will have longer-lasting and more memorable relationships with their grandparents.
5. When you become a mother at a young age, your parents are consequently younger and will take a more active role in helping to raise your child.
6. Your children will be very likely to know some of their great-grandparents and they may even have them in their lives throughout their childhood.
7. Your body recovers much faster and with much less effort on your part.
8. You have very little risk of having fertility problems.
9. If you have trouble conceiving, you have plenty of time to keep trying or to explore other options.
Discover: Laboratory fertilization techniques
More: 10 myths and truths about Human Reproduction
10. You won’t lose the freedoms of being an adult when you become a mother in your youth, as you’ve never experienced them without a baby.
11. As one of the youngest mothers at the school, you will be better able to relate to teachers the same age as you while they will also feel more comfortable talking about problems that may arise with your children.
12. If you have grandchildren, when they are born you will have more energy to spend time with them.
See: Children’s room decoration: creativity, stimulation and safety
13. Overall, there is less pressure on you and it is easier to make the decisions you think are right without feeling overwhelmed by the way your friends are disciplining your children.
14. Your body simply works better when you’re a mother at a young age. You are more flexible and can kneel over a bathtub without a backache or chase a crawling baby for hours on end without feeling destroyed.
15. When a child grows up with young parents, he usually doesn’t hear discussions about big problems like financial hardship and sacrifice, which can teach him valuable lessons.
16. When your friends start getting pregnant, you start to act as an advisor.
17. The chances of your career advancement opportunities being affected are lower when you are a young mother, as the baby is arriving at the beginning of your professional life, that is, before it really begins.
See: Pregnancy after 35 years: risks and benefits
More: 6 myths about pregnancy
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18. Being a mother changes your priorities in unimaginable ways. When you’re still in your 20s, you’re more willing to make a big life change than you would be if you were older.
19. Being reminded of how young you are when you hit your 30s will feel great.
20. You’ve never had to spend a lot of time worrying about whether or not you should have children.
21. If your kids leave home in their 20s and you’re in your 40s from being a mother in your youth, you can enjoy new freedom in interesting ways: revisiting a passionate marriage, traveling to exotic destinations, or starting a new business. You probably wouldn’t have all this enthusiasm if you were in your 50s.
22. You have so much more time to enjoy motherhood.
See: Am I pregnant???
