Former child star Jamie Lynn Spears overcame her insecurities about becoming a teenage mother after discovering age had nothing to do with good parenting.
Britney Spears’ little sister stunned fans in 2008 after falling pregnant with her daughter Maddie, from her relationship with ex-fiance Casey Aldridge.
She was just 17 at the time, and the former Zoey 101 star admits she initially struggled with the stigma surrounding teenage mums, and feared she wouldn’t know how to look after her baby girl.
She quickly realised that good instincts were the key to raising a family.
“I used to be insecure at times, because I was always the youngest mum in the room,” Jamie Lynn told parenting website Dopple.
“I quickly learned that being a good and competent mother has nothing to do with age. I have met some of the most wonderful, amazing mums who are anywhere from 20 years old to 50 years old, so young or old, love is all it’s really about.”
The singer/actress, now 27, then offered up some advice to others going through similar situations.
“Do not compare yourself as a mother to anyone else,” Jamie Lynn said. “Each child is different, and therefore, each mother is different… Take advice from others, but always trust your instincts and what YOUR gut is telling you more than anything.”
Jamie Lynn has since become a mother of two, welcoming daughter Ivey last April (18) with her husband, singer Jamie Watson.
Opening up about their relationship, the star admits it wasn’t love at first sight: “It was a friendship that turned into more as we spent more quality time together,” she explained. “No big fancy story, just two people who found each other at the right time.”
The couple wed in 2014.