The average age that moms have their first child in NYC is 28.9 (according to a Cornell study published in 2023) and climbing, older than the national age of 27.5, and much older than it was in the ’60s (a DOH vital statistics report from 1963 showed that the majority of babies, nearly 60,000, were born to 20-24 year olds). And while plenty of people may consider Greenpoint and Williamsburg to be the stroller capitals of the city, Kings ranks third in births per 1,000 people behind Rockland and Jefferson counties.
But even so, while plenty of studies have been done in recent years on birthrate decline and women waiting longer to have children, in 1963, the illustrious RKO Greenpoint Theatre at Manhattan Avenue and Calyer Street was conducting a study of its own in honor of Mother’s Day, according to an article in The Greenpoint Weekly Star.
The theater, run by manager Bernard Wechsler, sought to find the youngest mothers in Greenpoint. And there was an incentive, of course: The youngest of all would receive a 17-jewel watch “of good make,” the second-place winner would get a 14-karat gold and diamond cross and chain, while third prize was simply a 14-karat gold cross and chain (no diamond).
Entering was as simple as registering your name and address with the theater along with proof of your claim. My guess would be birth certificates would suffice.
Sadly, the winners were never reported in subsequent issues of the Star, though the following week did include a sweet feature on the spiritual significance of mothers and Mother’s Day.
In any case, we can probably safely guess that the winner was a lot younger than 28.9.