27 answers

When Do You Actually Refer to Age in Years?

So I'm at Target with my daughter today and I run into a friend. Her sister is in town along with her son and the three of them were looking at toys. My friend's nephew was darling. I asked her sister "how old is he?" Her response?

"Forty two months."

Really? Really???? Geez, he's three and a half.

I understand that there may be medical or theraputic reasons to refer to a child's age in months, but for the sake of a simple conversation, was this really necessary?

At what age do you refer to your child in years and not months?? And yes, I know that there are more important things to ponder, but I thought I'd throw this one out there for you mamas! Discuss!

Have a great day!

ETA @ Bernie K: OMG, it was all I could do to not burst out laughing in her face! She was absolutely serious with her response. I'm glad someone else found the humor in this, too!

What can I do next?

So What Happened?™

I am laughing so hard at these answers! It is a relief to know that I am not the only one who found this completely ridiculous! I needed a good laugh today. Thanks for laughing with me, ladies! Oh, and keep 'em coming. Anyone able to top 42 months?? (Yes, I did actually have to convert this to people years, too.) Y'all are too funny!

Featured Answers

I applaud you for not laughing out loud in her face.

I don't think I would have been able to control my laughter at that one, especially if she was dead serious as you said. Gees.

8 moms found this helpful

LOL, that's so funny! But kind of sad too, it's probably a way for her to keep her son in the "baby" stage :(
I referred to age in months up to two years old. I think because between one and two they are growing so much, referring to a child as a one year old is pretty vague, there's a big difference between a 13 month old and a 22 month old after all.

6 moms found this helpful

Hahaha LOL
Thank you for that belly laugh!!
That is so funny 42 months ,OMG
I think at after 1 yr ,I say 1,1and a half, 2 ,2 and a half and so on,I use the half until around 5yrs and then just use the yr.
B. k

6 moms found this helpful

More Answers

I applaud you for not laughing out loud in her face.

I don't think I would have been able to control my laughter at that one, especially if she was dead serious as you said. Gees.

8 moms found this helpful

In general kids change so drastically day to day between newborn and 2 people tend to refer to them in months. After that it is years.

I think a couple weeks ago someone made a joke in response to a question where she referred to her, like, 18 year old in months. Cracked me up.

Beyond making me laugh there is no reason to go into the detail of months beyond two years.

Another way to look at it, if the person you are speaking to is compelled to do math to figure out the years, you should no longer be speaking in months.

6 moms found this helpful

LOL, that's so funny! But kind of sad too, it's probably a way for her to keep her son in the "baby" stage :(
I referred to age in months up to two years old. I think because between one and two they are growing so much, referring to a child as a one year old is pretty vague, there's a big difference between a 13 month old and a 22 month old after all.

6 moms found this helpful

I would be tempted to ask what that works out to in people years.

6 moms found this helpful

Hahaha LOL
Thank you for that belly laugh!!
That is so funny 42 months ,OMG
I think at after 1 yr ,I say 1,1and a half, 2 ,2 and a half and so on,I use the half until around 5yrs and then just use the yr.
B. k

6 moms found this helpful

By 2 you should be using years, not months. In my opinion anyway.

5 moms found this helpful

Up until 2, then I say 2, 2.5, 3, etc...

There is a HUGE difference between a 13 month 1 year old and a 22 month 1 yr old. The difference between a 25 month old and a 30 month old isn't as evident, so I just call them both 2, or if the person REALLY seems interested or is trying to make comparisons, I'll say 2.5 for the older one.

ETA: I think the next time someone does that you should reply, "Oh, and how old is that in dog years?"

4 moms found this helpful

At around 2 I began the "jut turned 2" "about 2 1/2" "about to turn 3"-vaguer than months but a little more detailed then just saying 2 no matter where they fell. That way I give some indications of a young 2 vs an older 2. There is a big enough difference of just turned 2 and about to turn 3 that I feel a little description is good.
I also never wanted to do the math higher than 2 years. Too lazy and too many other things to use my brain for LOL

4 moms found this helpful

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