YouGov poll asks 'ideal age to have children' and women's responses are hilarious
Joanna Lovell
Senior Social & Newsletter WriterMen have been having their say on the 'ideal' age women should have children – and the response from women says it all!
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Women being judged for their life choices is sadly nothing new.
Only last week the World Health Organisation (WHO) said all women of childbearing age should be banned from drinking alcohol, because it could harm their baby chances.
But now it's men having their say, on our bodies.
Asked about the age women should become a mum, nearly half of men said they believed women aged 36 to 40 are 'too OLD' to become mums, compared to 35% of women who feel the same way.
The Yougov poll 'What is the ideal age to have children?' found 71% of men and 84% of women believe that becoming a dad at the same age is no problem.
But Twitter has come alive with instantly brilliant responses to men saying women over the age of 36 shouldn't be having children.
One said:
'Exhausted over the idea of when is it the right time to have a kid or not.
Men, you do not have the justification to say that a woman who gives birth at 36 is considered too old. Leave our bodies alone.'
Another added:
'The best age is when a woman decides she wants to and it’s the right decision for her.'
While another said:
'The only thing old here is the viewpoint.'
Both men and women agreed that 28 is ideal to become a mother, while 30 is the ideal age to become a father.
Traditionally a woman is seen as being a 'geriatric mother' if she has a baby over the age of 35.
While many women only start having children in the latter half of their 30s, men are split on how they feel about it.
Although 45% say it’s 'about right' for woman to become a mother between 36 and 40, 46% believe it’s too old.
In contrast, a majority of women (57%) say it’s fine, while only a third (35%) feel the moment has passed.
According to the poll, around eight in ten Britons (81%), regardless of gender, would consider Naomi Campbell and other women who have a child between the ages of 46 to 50 too old.
A small minority of 9 to 10% of men and women say the timing is 'about right.'
But when it comes to older fathers, the public are more open-minded, with a quarter of women (27%) and one in five men (21%) deeming it okay.
Both genders are most likely to approve of women becoming mothers between the ages of 26 and 30 (89% of men/92% of women) and for men to become fathers at 31 to 35 (89%/93%).
What age were you when you had your first baby? Is there an age you deem too 'old' to have a child? Let us know in the chat thread below.
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