How I became a grandmother at 38- British hairstylist shares experience

A glamorous hairstylist who became a grandmother at 38 has said strangers constantly assume her six-year-old granddaughter is actually her daughter.

Dionne Smith, now 45, from south east London, said she is always having to convince people that she is six-year-old Zariah’s grandmother, not her mother.

She also said people can’t believe she has three sons in their 20s because of how young and glamorous she is, never mind a school age granddaughter.

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Dionne was 16 when she welcomed her eldest son Jordan, 29, who became a father himself at just 23.

The mother-of-three said she felt too young to be a grandparent, which is why she avoids being called ‘gran’ and ‘granny’ – and instead Zariah calls her ‘nanny’.

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Dionne said: ‘I definitely thought I was too young to be a grandma when I found out my son, Jordan, was having a baby, but then again, I thought I was too young to become a mum.

‘Jordan was much older than I was when I had him, so I couldn’t really say anything.

‘I didn’t feel old enough to be called gran or grandma so I decided I was going to be called ‘glam-ma’ because lots of people were saying that I was going to be a very glamorous and young grandmother, so I came up with my own term.

‘I knew from the start that I didn’t want to be called gran because it just didn’t feel right as I was in my thirties, so I either go by glam-ma, or my granddaughter calls me nanny.’

The mother said she is told repeatedly that she looks young for her age, and ‘no one ever believes me when I tell them I’m 45’.

Dionne added: ‘They say they’d guess that I’m in my late twenties or early thirties.

‘So, it is even more of a shock when I tell them my eldest son is 29, and that I have two more sons in their twenties, as well as a six-year-old granddaughter. Their faces are a picture.

‘They say that I hardly look like a mum, never mind a gran. I have to admit that I do have really good genes because everyone in my family looks young for their age too.

I also like to look after myself, live my best life, and get dressed up in stylish clothes.’

Despite her young age, Dionne loves being a grandmother to Zariah.

She said there are so many perks, but it can also be a challenge to balance her growing family and her career.

 ‘Becoming a gran before 40 means that I am young enough to keep up with my granddaughter,’ Dionne said.

‘I have that young energy and mentality and the way that I think is different to most older grandparents. I’m not traditional and set in certain ways.

‘I’m more open-minded with ways of life, and I think I am more understanding too. There’s definitely positives to being a younger gran, and they contribute to the special bond that I have with Zariah.

‘However, I am still building a career and trying to do things for myself, so it can be challenging finding a balance between myself, being a mum and a grandmother.’

Falling pregnant at 16 and becoming a teenage mother was challenging for Dionne.