Kylie Jenner’s age is not the problem with her pregnancy

WOMEN have been having babies at different ages since the dawn of time, writes Katy Hall. But how we measure their fitness to be parents needs to be reconsidered.

Kylie Jenner is reportedly expecting her first baby in January. (Pic: Larry Busacca/Getty.) Kylie Jenner meets Travis Scott's parents

Let’s get one thing straight: age is not the problem with Kylie Jenner’s pregnancy.

Since the dawn of time women have been having children at different ages and outsiders have passing judgment on it. It’s nothing new, not even when it’s Kylie Jenner, who at just 20 years old is reportedly pregnant with her first baby.

The universal pacifier used to appease people, though, has always been the same one: how much money does the woman have. Based on that, we should be able to estimate her (and her child’s) likeliness of sinking or swimming.

In the days that have passed since the news of the youngest member of the Kardashian Jenner dynasty’s pregnancy broke, a countless number of words have already been written about what this new life as a young mum could mean for her.

Does the reality TV star plan to use her pregnancy as a plot point in the next season of her family’s hit show? Will she continue to run her makeup company? Are she and boyfriend Travis Scott planning to marry? Does she really know what having a baby entails? Why did a 20-year-old woman with every opportunity ahead of her decide to have a baby at that age?

Jenner and her boyfriend Travis Scott began dating earlier this year. (Pic: Bob Levey/Getty)

Sadly, the answer to just about every one of those questions seems to be that come what may, Jenner will be fine because she has money. A lot of money.

As it stands, Jenner’s eponymous Kylie Cosmetics empire is estimated to be worth around $536 million. Her real estate portfolio — which boasts multiple properties throughout Los Angeles — is estimated to be worth tens of millions. Then there’s also her income from Keeping up with the Kardashians and Life of Kylie, innumerable endorsement and sponsorship deals and the six-figure appearance fees she’s able to demand. In 2016 alone, Jenner’s take home pay check was $52.3 million. And over the weekend, Jenner reportedly spent $90,000 of that hard earned money on baby clothes.

But what seems to have been forgotten is that you can have all the money in the world and still raise an utterly awful human being.

In fact, it might even make it more likely.

In 2013, a 16-year-old Texan student named Ethan Couch killed four people while driving drunk. Rather than take responsibility for his actions, Couch later told the court that due to his wealthy upbringing, the deaths were not his fault. His “affluenza” had left him unprepared for the ramifications of the real world, apparently.

“Affluenza” teen Ethan Couch received no jail time after killing four people in a drink-driving incident. (Pic: AP)

Conrad Hilton, son of Hilton Hotels heir Rick Hilton and brother of Paris, has a similar story.

Despite attending the best schools, wearing head-to-toe designer clothes and spending the better part of his days travelling the world, the 23-year-old went on an abusive and homophobic tirade while travelling from London to Los Angeles in 2014, leaving passengers and air staff terrified.

Hilton reportedly accussed male cabin staff of wanting to have sex with him, punched an overhead compartment, and smoked marijuana in the plane’s toilet.

Numerous times he referred to other passengers as “peasants,” and at one point claimed, “I could get you all fired in five minutes. I know your boss! My father will pay this out, he has done it before. Dad paid $300,000 last time.”

And, more closely to home, one only needs to take a look at the long and winding track record of Rob Kardashian’s poor behaviour to know that money does not a decent human being make.

Despite having been given the same educational opportunities as his sisters and being raised in the same environment, Rob currently lives rent-free in a house purchased by he and Kylie’s mother, Kris Jenner. He rarely works, has on multiple occasions referred to members of his family as “bitches” and “whores” and is currently facing legal action after he released nude images of his ex-girlfriend on social media without her consent.

Kylie Jenner left school at 15 to be home-schooled by tutors. (Pic: Rich Fury/Invision/AP.)

Money gives you options, sure. It allows you to live in a nice area and ensure your child can go on school camps and take the latest laptop to school. It means there are always groceries in the fridge and they don’t grow up seeing what stress the arrival of an electricity bill can do to their parents.

But none of those things truly make a kid great.

Learning about empathy and kindness doesn’t cost anything. Neither does figuring out how to be a good friend or apply yourself academically. Riding a bike and reading can all be taught at home — you don’t need an Ivy League school for that. (Just ask Kylie and Kendall Jenner, who both left school in 2012 to be home-schooled by tutors to better accommodate their television filming schedules.)

Some women have babies at 15 and are wonderful mothers. Some women have babies at 35 and are terrible mothers. Age is not the defining factor that separates the good from the bad. But to assume Jenner’s baby will succeed purely because of its access to money is to do a discredit to hardworking mothers everywhere — rich and poor.