Tia and Tamera Mowry were only 21 years old when their hit family sitcom Sister, Sister came to an end, and while most women their age were out poppin' bottles (and booties) and preparing for graduation, this duo was focused on securing a bag and getting started on their college careers.
For nearly a decade, the twins pursued their education and starred in a number of television shows and movies before they went to take on an even more challenging adventure: motherhood. Recently, Tia opened up about the real reason she waited until her mid-thirties to have her first child, here's what she had to say:
"When I was younger, I was focusing on my career with 'Sister, Sister', and I was in college and I was focused on that. Once I had all my ducks in a row — not in a complete line, at least the ducks were there — and then I was like, 'Okay! I can do this.'"
According to Tia, times have changed a lot since our mothers and grandmothers were birthing babies. Free of the chains of biological clocks and deadlines, we as women have the freedom to live our lives as we see fit without fear of aging out of our dreams.
"[We] have dreams, we have aspirations, we have goals."
Tia shared that although she felt she made the best decision in becoming a first-time mom at 33, there were also a few inconvenient truths she had to face:
"Of course, because I was older, my ankles swelled off, I couldn't even fit my shoes anymore. I had to buy a whole new set of shoes. It was crazy."
Along with a sense of security, Tia says that she also gained an alternate perspective on parenting by waiting to have kids. My mother was 39 when I was born so I know from experience that with maturity comes patience, and that can be handy when you're raising an unruly toddler. On The Breakfast Club, Tia shared that although her sister believes in spanking her kids, that is one thing that she will never do.
"I have the non-traditional parenting styles and my sister is very traditional, but you know, we learn from each other."
Even at 26 years old, my mom has the full power and autonomy to put the fear of God in me, but that didn't come through corporal punishment. Over time, I grew more afraid of her disappointment than I was of being hit with a belt, and that's something I'll always be grateful for. Tia explained that as someone who grew up getting spanked, it's just not something that aligns with her parenting style. She explained:
"If you're spanking your kid, in my opinion, it's because of you; it's because of you and where you are in your head space. You're impatient, you just want to get this done and over with whereas I feel like if you don't spank them, then it takes more time, you have to talk to them, you have to explain. But I feel like there is, in my opinion, a better outcome because you're explaining and you're saying why as opposed to just hitting them. But that's just my opinion."
According to Tia, the key to good parenting is patience and understanding.
"Just going with the flow and not putting so many rules and regulations on your children. Allow [your kids] to be who they are and grow into who they are instead of dictating 'at this age you need to be away from the bottle, at this age you need to be out of the bed, at this age you need to be doing this.'"
Featured image by Instagram/@TiaMowry.