Yasmeen Messrie on Wisdom from Older Parents: Age Ain’t Nothin’ But a Number!
Yasmeen Messrie is giving us serious food for thought about parenting in a TikTok that’s gone viral, and, honestly, her insights feel like a refreshing breeze. Having parents a whopping 50 years older than herself, Messrie’s childhood was somewhat of a ride, and she’s here to spill all the tea about growing up in an unconventional family setup. It was slap-you-in-the-face obvious to her that her dad was no spring chicken — he was hitting the big 5-0 when she was born, making playdates at the park with her friends’ parents feel like a scene from “The Golden Girls.” “I thought it was normal,” she reveals, but then reality hit hard when she hit grade school and noticed the stark age differences.
Messrie experienced the ups and downs of having older parents, especially during her teenage years when her folks faced their share of health issues. Talk about a rollercoaster! By the time she turned 19, she lost her mom, which was a heavy burden for someone so young. However, she wasn’t all about dwelling on the past; she saw the silver linings too. Older parents can be calmer and more emotionally mature, qualities that shaped her own parenting style when she became a mom herself at 25 and 27. “Their temperament is a lot more relaxed,” she points out, contrasting it with her own whirlwind of changes while building her family.
There’s something poignant about her reflection on her parents delaying marriage and kids for career pursuits, a move that’s becoming more common these days, as research from the Pew Research Center highlights an increasing trend of older parenthood in the U.S. It’s never an easy balance, though, and now as her dad grows older, she shares the struggle of transitioning into a caretaker role. Messrie emphasizes the importance of being a high-energy parent, striving to avoid the medical challenges her parents faced.
At the end of the day, Yasmeen is here to remind us that it’s the quality of parenting that truly matters, not the number attached to a birth certificate. “It doesn’t matter how old you are when you have kids,” she states, hoping to inspire a shift in perceptions about parenting later in life. Age might be a number, but love and care are timeless concepts that redefine family.
Sources: Celebrity Storm Wire and People Magazine, Pew Research Center
