Young Moms and Old Moms

They say you’re only as old as you feel, and our kids have a tendency to make us feel it! On good days, our kids can make us feel like kids ourselves. On bad days, they can make us feel much older than our years. (That’s when you feel like you’re *gasp* turning into your mother.)

But the concept of “old moms” and “young moms” doesn’t take into account how old we feel. It has a lot to do with our actual ages and the ages of our children. Let’s use a 35 year old mom to illustrate.

Young Moms

If you’re 35 years old and the parent of a teenager, you’re a young mom. You gave birth in your teens or early twenties. Chances are, you were really into playdates and Mommy & Me classes not only for your child’s development, but for a chance to hang out with your other mommy friends.  When your child graduates from high school, you may not have a single gray hair yet. When your kids have kids, you’ll probably hear the words, “You’re not old enough to be a grandma!” If your daughter is also a young mom, you may be lucky enough to be a great-grandma some day, or even a great-great grandma!

Old Moms

If you’re 35 years old and the parent of an infant or toddler, you’re an old mom. If you gave birth after the age of 30, you probably noticed that the other moms in Lamaze class or Mommy & Me seemed so much younger than you. You probably had to make a decision about the future of your career when you became a mom. When your child graduates from high school, you’ll be just getting on AARP’s mailing list. (But 50 is WAY too young for AARP membership, isn’t it?) When your kids have kids, you’ll probably look just like the grandmas on TV.

Both

Maybe you’re 35 years old and have a toddler AND a teenager. In that case, you’re an old mom and a young mom at the same time! Don’t let it blow your mind too much. You know what it’s like when you look around at Parent’s Night at the preschool compared to the high school PTA meeting.

You may be like my mom. She had two kids in her early 20s. She wanted to keep having kids two years apart, but that wasn’t meant to be, and there are a few more angel babies in heaven. By the time my baby brother came along (he’s in college now) it was quite a surprise…. and I was 10 years old! My mom was a young mom to me, but she tells me she feels every one of her years now as an old mom and a grandma.

Neither

Or maybe you’re like me, and you gave birth in your mid to late twenties. You always felt a little more mature than the young moms in the playgroup, but not as experienced as the old moms. At 35 year old, your kids are in grade school. You’ll never be the oldest mom or the youngest mom in the room, and that’s okay with you. But you may consider having more kids, so you still have time to become an old mom!

Does It Matter?

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter if you’re an old mom or a young mom. Every mom has her own unique parenting style that often has very little to do with age – real or perceived. But it’s something that most of us are aware of without even thinking about it.

What do you think? Do you feel like an old mom or a young mom? One thing’s for sure, no matter how “old” we are… our kids are the best, aren’t they?

Christina Gleason is 30 years old, wife to Tom and mother to TJ.  Read her blogs at Cutest Kid Ever and Uncharted Island, follow her on Twitter @cutestkidever or @ChristinaGayle, or connect with her on LinkedIn!

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