Shocked woman becomes grandmother at age 36, netizens scold her for raising her son

A woman surnamed Liu from Huizhou, Guangdong, China, became a grandmother at the age of 36, after her 18-year-old son had his first child. Not long ago, Liu shared a video of herself holding her grandson on social media platform Douyin.

She captioned the post: "I am very happy and proud to have such a lovely grandson. My daughter-in-law has worked very hard." The child's father is Ms. Liu's eldest son, who is 18 years old this year. The legal age for marriage in China is 22 for men and 20 for women. Therefore, Ms. Liu's son and his 20-year-old girlfriend cannot register their marriage. However, Ms. Liu's family has considered her son's girlfriend as their daughter-in-law. She praised her daughter-in-law for working hard to give birth to the baby. She and her husband are very excited to become grandmothers at the age of 36 and grandfathers at the age of 38.

Liu's family runs a furniture business. She said her family has a "tradition of early marriage and childbearing." Her mother is 58 years old. In a video of her shopping with her daughter-in-law, Liu happily said, "At 36, I can hang out and enjoy life with my 20-year-old daughter-in-law like two close friends."

Liu’s story has sparked a social media debate in China about whether people should get married and have children early. Related topics have attracted more than 50 million views.

Many netizens criticized Ms. Liu for not having a good orientation for her children, causing both parents and children to follow the same "mistake", getting married early and having children when they were not yet fully mature. "At 18, you should be going to university, not being a parent"; "Neither Ms. Liu's son nor her daughter-in-law have the psychological stability or the knowledge needed to build a family and raise children well"..., netizens left comments.

However, there are also some opinions supporting Ms. Liu. "At the age of 36, I am still struggling with work and do not have the confidence to enter family life, mainly because of my unstable financial capacity. Everyone has a different direction, there is no common formula for everyone's life," one person wrote.

Previously, Shirli Ling, a famous actress and businesswoman in Singapore, gave birth at the age of 17 and her son also "continued the family tradition". "To become a grandmother at 34, you have to give birth at 17", Shirli Ling, 34, shared in a video in April 2024. She got pregnant unexpectedly and got married before finishing high school.

Ling is a restaurateur and comedian with tens of thousands of Instagram followers. Through three marriages, she has two sons and three daughters, ages 18, 17, 13, 10, and 8. "As they grow up, you have to constantly remind them not to follow in your footsteps. But the truth is, the more you try to stop them, the more they disobey," Ling said.

Last year, Ling’s eldest son confessed to his mother that he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. She decided to let him take responsibility for his decision, knowing that even if he decided not to have children, there was no guarantee that the same mistake would not be repeated in the future.

"What's past is past. Instead of scolding, I want to advise and support them more," Ling shared, even joking that her curious and fun-loving son was "inspired" by his mother.

As a mother, it is important that she is always there to educate and guide her child whenever he needs help. "Even if I got married early, whether it lasts or not, I still give him a lot of love," she said.

The celebrity's video has been met with mixed reactions. Some joked that Ling could become a grandmother at 53. Others said Ling did the right thing, even praising her as a great mother. "You're really open about this because most other parents would start blaming their children," one person said.