Kirstie Allsopp, what were you thinking?!

In a recent interview here, television presenter Kirstie Allsopp made comments which appear to have annoyed a lot of feminists out there. This gives you the point she was trying to make:

“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...that might sound wholly unrealistic. But we have all this time at the end. You can do your career afterwards. We have to readjust. And men can have fun after they have kids. If everyone started having children when they were 20, they’d be free as a bird by the time they were 45. But how many 45-year-olds do you know who are bogged down?...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!”

So basically, Allsopp thinks it's best to put off university until you've had children because of fertility and such. I couldn't disagree more, this advice is terrible! Who says we all want children? Many women wait until later because they are unsure if they want children at all and this is completely fine. Youth is about experiences and having fun, nights out and trying exciting things. I do not know many 20 somethings who want to be running around after children rather than out partying or travelling. University is an experience! It is also a place to learn something. I'm not sure why Allsopp thinks we cannot learn things from university earlier on. Why wait to learn? Why put education off for children?

I feel that Allsopp has completely missed the point here. As a feminist, I say that women should have the choice to have children whenever they want. Be that 20 or 50 if their body allows it. Women should have access to education whenever they want. Be that 20 or 50. There is no 'right' or 'best' time to start a family or go to university - the important thing is that there is the opportunity and women should be able to decide when the best time for them is and not suffer for it. Young or old mothers should not be judged for deciding to have a baby early or late. Young or old students should not be told that they chose the wrong time to study. We don't have much time here really so it is wrong to advise women on when they should start a family or university, the choice is up to the individual.