A TEENAGE mum has spoken about her struggle to succeed since giving birth to her daughter at the age of just 13.

Despite unusual circumstances, Kirsty Wilson, 19, has defied the odds to finish school, take on a modern apprenticeship and hold down a full-time job.

At the same time the hard-working Greenock mum has raised daughter Kayla, now five, while juggling homework and exams.

Now nominated for a national award by her employer, the nursery nurse told the Tele about her determination to give her daughter the best start in life.

Kirsty, of Cumberland Road, said: “It is only now when I look back that I realise how young I was.

“At the time I just got on with it — you don’t really have time to stop and think when you are a mum.

“Right from the beginning I was just so determined to do it all myself.

“I wanted to show them that I could do it. I think you try even harder when you are a young mum, there is this stereotype of the teenage mum living on benefits, but I didn’t want to be that person.

“I didn’t want anything from the government, I want to provide for my daughter. I want to say that I did it by myself.” Kirsty was 13-years-old when she found out she was five months pregnant.

After the initial shock her mum Rebecca and dad James rallied round their daughter, who has three older brothers.

Kirsty said: “Honestly, they are just amazing. I am so lucky because lots of girls don’t have the support that I have had.

“They just wanted what was best for me. They would have done more if I had let them. Every day they tell me how proud they are of me and how well I have done.

“I still stay with them and if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have been able to go to work.

“My mum altered her hours so I could go to school and then work.” Baby Kayla was born on 15 March 2010, two weeks before Kirsty’s 14th birthday.

She said: “The midwives were absolutely amazing and so was my school St Columba’s.

“I was so lucky because Kayla really was a great baby. She never cried and she used to sleep all the way through the night.

“I guess it was all new to me, but then it is new to every mum.

“I always had support from my friends but obviously kids can be cruel.

“I went to school and I was just a normal teenager and then I came home to care for my baby. I felt more mature than all the other kids my age. But I still tried to act like a teenager at school.

“I stayed on until midway through fifth year but it was getting harder to concentrate.” Kirsty was delighted to secure a modern apprentice at Enchanted Forest Nursery.

She’s managed to balance her full-time job with caring for Kayla and studying for her qualifications in between.

Kirsty added: “It was hard work but everyone was very supportive. I did miss Kayla at times but I know that I am doing all this for her.” Kirsty’s priority has been to provide a stable upbringing for Kayla, who also has regular contact with her dad.

She also has the support of her boyfriend John, 19, who she has been with since Kayla was a toddler.

Looking to the future, Kirsty has been offered a permanant job with Enchanted Forest and hopes to add to her qualifications.

She said: “Further down the line I would like to go on to do a university degree. I love working at Enchanted Forest.” Kirsty is now preparing for Kayla to start at St Andrew’s Primary in August.

She said: “I will be crying my eyes out. We are really close, she is my best pal. I think we will always have that bond because of the age gap.” While Kirsty has made a real success of her circumstances, at the same time she is keen to warn other young teenage girls off following the same path.

She said: “I would never take Kayla back for anything but at the same time it is better to wait until you are much older to have a baby.

“You miss out on such a lot and it is hard. I have been lucky to have the support of my family. We are really close.” Kirsty has been shortlisted for the national Nursery Management Today Awards and her bosses are tremendously proud of her.

Owner Mariessa Devlin said: “Kirsty balanced her family life and working full-time in the nursery alongside her apprenticeship training, resulting in her becoming a fully qualified early years practitioner who has now secured full-time permanent employment with us. “She did not allow becoming a young mum to be a barrier in her life, in fact her experience as a mum has added to what she brings to our team.”