Having been in the position of young, single mum myself I would never condemn today's younger generation for the way they have babies while they are still children. That is one of the most confusing aspects of adolescence - they feel grown up when they are still children and you don't realise this until you have children of your own, by which time it's too late to grab back that last bit of your childhood.



So, we make these babies, the immature fathers run off into the sunset for the ability to grow up in their own time, which usually takes about thirty years, and us girls grow up in nine months and look after the offspring that the men make and abandon. I'm sounding a little cynical I know, but any woman who has had to do this will know the frustration of having to pick up what's left behind while coping with society's opinion that we 'do it for a council house'.

And believe me, no council house is worth the hardship that single mothers face. Granted, there are some mums that are not so bright and treat a baby like an accessory, dressing it up for show and having less concern for its welfare than whether or not it's wearing a personalised baby bib or fancy outfit that costs about as much as a week's food. In every walk of society there will be the not so responsible people that take this stance but I don't believe they are in the majority.

There are young mums the length and breadth of the country that have found themselves unwittingly in this position and have taken on the challenge admirably. Their babies are well fed, warm, happy and alert. They are dressed in nice, comfortable baby clothes and yes, some of them will have personalised baby bibs, but this will be an added extra after all the other needs have been taken care of.

There is nothing on earth wrong with dressing your baby how you see fit as long as no harm is done to anyone. A personalised baby bib is cute and harmless, though they may not thank you for showing the photos when they're older. But having said that, I had a yellow, crimpolene skirt when I was little and thought I looked the bees knees. I do not, however, want my parents showing the photo thirty years after to anyone who passes by.

Clothing a baby is by no means a cheap job. They grow quicker in the first year than they will in the rest of their lives. I was a big fan of bibs when my babies were small to try for the obvious reason of saving their clothes underneath but they quickly learn how to pull them off - I can't imagine they are the most comfortable item in the world to wear. After one or two babies, you soon get bored with the effort of bibs and the old tea towel or bit of rag soon comes in handy to be pushed into the top of the t-shirt!

Clothing a baby may not be one of the cheapest jobs but it's definitely one of the easier ones. Teaching them to walk and talk are harder but great fun. Spending the rest of their lives telling them to be quiet and sit down is an inevitable occurrence. Teaching them to become responsible citizens is a major undertaking which explains why women have such a short period of their lives in which to procreate because if we got our first to teenager stage before having another, we seriously wouldn't keep doing it!