AceShowbiz - British pop star Lily Allen has defended her decision to take a hiatus from music to focus on starting a family, insisting she is "not too young to have a baby". The 25-year-old "Smile" singer, who suffered a miscarriage in 2008, will put her career on hold this year to concentrate on other projects, including launching a clothing store and a record label.

Allen has also admitted she would like to use her time off to have children with her 31-year-old boyfriend Sam Cooper, and she's adamant she's the perfect age to become a first-time mother. She tells Britain's Elle magazine, "I don't think I'm that young to have a baby. My mother had me when she was 23. (Having a family will give me something) more solid, something that exists, that makes me feel more grounded."

"It's difficult as a woman who wants a family. Kids take up your whole life, particularly in the first two or three years. So it wouldn't be very responsible of me to commit to doing a world tour if I had a baby."