AHEAD of Mother’s Day last week, we interviewed women who had children before they were 25 for a story on young mothers.

They talked about the challenges they faced in the early stages of motherhood as well as the ones they are still dealing with now.

They discussed feeling disconnected from their peers, being left behind in the rat race, finding support and managing financially. But at the same time, they also spoke about the many joys of motherhood.

As usual, we continued the discussion on our weekly #RAGEchat, and here’s what some of our
followers had to say about the topic:

Career vs motherhood

@zomg_its_rin: Don’t see why career or family should be a choice thing. Both men & women can/should have the opportunity to pursue both.

@enginekarat: mother w career can do both. but i don’t think they can perform it very well .

@GershwinIsaac: most people these days are more matured in their decisions. Career is the choice.

@Kyp_Lim: most want to focus on careers first, hence the trend towards older mums as women get more educated

@eedachan: both kids & career can run side-by-side as long as we now how to balance our time and plan our financial wisely.

The ‘right’ age

@jasonx994: With society as it stands, the question should be what should be the right bracket of maturity for a couple to start a family.

@myfriendlyfash: if you maintain your health, you can have kids even at 40+ so the right bracket is – when you feel ur ready, go for it! 🙂

@XueJen: Having kids so young will form a barrier to your freedom somehow. Many things are left unexplored.

@Sharrif: There’s no “right” age bracket. Its a personal choice. Making an age group is essentially dictating other people’s lives.

@DanielFongZY: Probably 28-38? Stable careerwise and not too old where health risks are high

@muzammil13: ppl actually start marrying at 16-19 in the olddays. thats how matured ppl were. Marriage requires a lot of responsibilities.

The challenges

@imagiesykssss: Social stigma. Young mums usually are being looked down on as they are thought to be immoral.

@yanyinlim: support from family and friends make things like financial difficulties bearable, so I think social stigma is a big problem

@hannahwenshin: maybe financial problems. unless they are rich of course. since they didnt have much time to plan and save up.

@JayAnilSS: acceptance from community. Throttling of freedom. Sudden responsibility. Unnecessary inquiries from peers

@yiminggg: Social stigma is probably one of the biggest due to our Asian cultures. My “angmoh” friends aren’t as fussed.

Mum knows best

We then asked our followers to tweet us the best advice their mother ever gave them, and here’s what some of them said:

@sattyashankary: always be the better person. Never sink to their standards. What’s the difference between you and them?

@Imran_Had: Belajar dulu pandai-pandai, baru boleh bercinta.

@ymy_meiyi: Do what you love. That’s the most important key to success. 🙂

@A_Marea: believe in Him, no matter what happen 🙂

@Emily_crazybabe: When you’re out and alone, be alert and safely comes first no matter what.

@KarenPhangKL: never be greedy. Always be thankful & grateful to those who helped us. 🙂

@atonq: Don’t date girls while studying