'I regret having children so young': Single mum's struggle

I fell madly in love with my boyfriend Lincoln when we were 18. Looking back, I realise we were so naïve when we said we wanted to get married and have a baby as soon as possible.

We planned on getting married when we were 21 but I fell pregnant at 20 and we had the classic "shot gun wedding."

Our son arrived and life was great for a while. He worked long hours in a factory job and then on weekends I realised he was spending less and less time with us, going out drinking with his friends and I was suspicious he was messing around with other girls.

My marriage ended two years later and then Lincoln moved interstate for a job - even though I begged him not to move so far away from our son.

Before I knew it I was a single mum which was a huge adjustment for me. Life was very hard even though I was lucky enough to have my parents helping me. They lived just a few minutes away so they were always a huge help with my son.

RELATED: 'My life was easier when I was a single parent'

But being a single mother at that age wasn't ideal. Of course being divorced certainly wasn't a plan but just being a mum at such a young age wasn't a great thing either.

Now I'm 20 I realise that I wish I'd thought things through properly. When all my friends were travelling or starting great jobs, I was sleep deprived and juggling motherhood with study. I soon quit my studies as I couldn't cope.

Also, being a young single mum was hard when it came to try dating again. I found that guys my age had no interest in a young mum. They wanted a young woman, for sure, but they didn't want to take on a woman who had huge responsibilities as I did.

I know that we can all look back on our lives and regret all sorts of decisions but I really do regret being a mum so young. I love my son so much and don't regret having him. I just regret having him when I still had to much hope and a lot of dreams that haven't been fulfilled.

If I had to give any advice to other women it's that they should think about the timing of motherhood and make sure they've done a lot of the things they'd always wanted to. I'm referring to things like study, travelling and having an active social life.

I know there are advantages to having a child when you're young – when my son is 18 I'll still be young and I realise I have plenty of time to do all the things I wanted to. And I know that we have a closeness that some mothers might not have with their kids because we are 20 years apart instead of being 30 or even 40 years apart.

Share your story at 9Honey@nine.com.au.