He’s Already 35 and Still Has No Wife or Children: A Mother’s Regret and the Challenges of Raising an Independent Son in Modern England Last week, I was visiting my mother-in-law’s house with my son. An old family friend was there too. She spent the entire day doting on my son. “It’s such a shame that I have no grandchildren,” she sighed sadly. My mother-in-law’s friend had her son in her mid-30s. She adored this long-awaited child and gave him everything he wanted. Her husband passed away when their boy was very young, so she raised him alone—working two jobs to provide for him. When her son turned 35, she decided to ask when she might expect grandchildren. He calmly replied, “Never.” The son blamed his upbringing, saying his mother’s loving, devoted care had made him, well, childlike and dependent. “I’m used to a simple life. No woman would want to be a second mother to me,” he said. He added that, honestly, he’s content with how things are and won’t change for anyone else. “I don’t need anyone but you,” he told his mum. “I failed to teach him the most important thing: how to be a man,” the mother admitted. Do you agree that motherly love can sometimes protect a child so much that it prevents them from developing independence and their own identity? I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments below.

He was already thirty-five, and still had neither wife nor children.

It was only a week ago that I found myself at my mother-in-laws house with my son. At the same time, an old childhood friend of hers was paying a visit. The lady spent the better part of the day playing with my boy.

Its such a pity I have no grandchildren, she murmured with a heaviness in her voice.

My mother-in-laws friend had given birth to her son when she was well past thirty. She cherished that long-awaited child, allowing him anything his heart desired. Tragically, her husband had died when the boy was but a tot, leaving his mother to raise him on her own, all while juggling two jobs.

When her son reached his thirty-fifth year, she finally decided to broach the subject, hoping to hear when she might have grandchildren of her own.

He replied, calm and unmoved: Never.

He went on to confess that it was his mother’s way of raising him that was to blame, that she had, as he put it, coddled him into a sort of perpetual boyhood.

Im used to a simple life, the man remarked. And truly, what woman would ever want to become a second mother to me?

He added, not unkindly, that he was content with things as they were, and had no intention of changing for anyone.

I dont need anyone but you, he told his mother.

I suppose I failed to teach him the most important lesson of all: how to be a man, the woman admitted, sorrow etched across her face.

Do you believe that a mothers love can not only shield a child, but also hinder them from growing into their own selves?

Id be keen to hear your thoughts.