Kirstie Allsopp: ‘Girls should skip uni and have babies instead’
The Location Location star and mum of 2 says young women shouldn't risk their fertility by putting university education before having a family
Kirstie Allsopp says girls should put off going to university – and instead aim to have a baby by the time they’re 27.
The Location, Location, Location presenter says we shouldn't be ignoring the tick-tock of the fertility clock – and that, if we do, we risk the heartache of finding out we're no longer able to conceive.
The 42-year-old – who didn’t go to university – has 2 sons aged 5 and 7. She didn't have children until she was 35 herself, admitting she "only whistled in there by a miracle", but Kirstie says her experience has taught her that having a baby and buying a home should be higher on a young woman’s priority list.
"Women are being let down by the system,"she's told The Telegraph. "We should speak honestly and frankly about fertility and the fact it falls off a cliff when you’re 35. We should talk openly about university and whether going when you’re young, when we live so much longer, is really the way forward,"
"At the moment," she says, "women have 15 years to go to university, get their career on track, try to buy a home and have a baby. That is a hell of a lot to ask someone.
"As a passionate feminist, I feel we have not been honest enough with women about this issue."
Speaking from her plush home in London's Holland Park, Kirstie’s comments might seem a little unrealistic for the rest of us.
"But I don’t say it from a position of smugness," she insists. "I only whistled in there by a miracle when it came to children. This isn’t something I’ve just decided in an arbitrary way. [Fertility] is the one thing we can’t change. Some of the greatest pain that I have seen among friends is the struggle to have a child."
"I don’t have a girl, but, if I did, I’d be saying, 'Darling, do you know what? Don’t go to university. Start work straight after school, stay at home, save up your deposit – I’ll help you, let’s get you into a flat. And then we can find you a nice boyfriend and you can have a baby by the time you’re 27.'"
It might seem unrealistic, but Kirstie says she wants to save the younger generation from struggling with their fertility.
"I don’t want the next generation of women to go through the heartache that my generation has. At the moment, we are changing the natural order of things, with grandparents being much older and everyone squeezed in the middle. Don’t think 'my youth should be longer’. Don’t go to university because it’s an 'experience’. No, it’s where you’re supposed to learn something! Do it when you’re 50!"
What do you think of Kirstie’s controversial comments? Let us know in the comments below, please!
Read more…
Authors
Create the perfect wishlist for your baby with MyCrib
Are you expecting and don't know where to start? Discover how MyCrib can help you build your dream wishlist. You can add products from any site with just one click and even use MyCrib's buying assistant to help get you started.