'Being a teen mum was easier than having kids in my 30s'

“Having three boys when I was younger didn't feel like as much work."

Carla has been a mum at both 18 and 38, but says motherhood in her 30s is the real challenge.

 

The mum-of-six insists her teen mum years were far easier than parenting later in life. Taking to TikTok, she explained how she became a mum for the first time at 18, before welcoming two more children at 20 and 23.

Fast forward 10 years, and she welcomed her son Rome at 33, quickly followed by daughter CeCe.

She thought she could finally hang up her days of pregnancy. She was wrong. 

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“I thought I was going to be living my best life in my late 30s" 

“I was done. God gave me different ideas,” she laughed.

“Gave me the shock of my life when CeCe was seven months old and I was pregnant with Ace.”

After six rounds of nappy changes, sleep deprivation, and nursery rhymes on loop, she’s certain her earlier era of parenting wasn’t as intense. Her youngest, Ace, is about to turn one, prompting Carla to reflect on her motherhood journey across two decades.

“It has been the most savage year of my life,” she sighs. 

She adds that things have felt even heavier with the added challenges her son Rome faces following his autism diagnosis.

“I tell you now, having the three older boys when I was younger was so much easier. I don’t care what anyone says about teen mums,” she insisted.

“I thought I was going to be living my best life in my late 30s. Freedom! Anyway... life comes at you hot. But moral of the story is this last year has been absolutely savage."

Carla says parenting at 18 was a walk in the park compared to parenting in her late 30s. Image: TikTok/carla_hoskins

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"I'd call it PURE TORTURE" 

Parents in her comment section flooded in with support.

“Girl, I feel ya. I had babies in my 20s. It was a breeze. Then got a surprise at 37 and it killed me,” one mum wrote.

“My mum had four of us between 20 and 26, then had another at 35. He was an easy baby, but she always said she had more energy for four in her 20s than one in her 30s,” another shared.

“I had my two oldest at 20 and 23 and then my last at 33. Lord, I wouldn’t call it savage—I’d call it PURE TORTURE," a third added. 

Carla finished her video with some tongue-in-cheek advice: “Maybe have kids young, guys.”

You’ve got to admit, it would definitely be easier on your back.

Originally published as 'Being a teen mum was easier than having kids in my 30s'