Stupid Question - When Will You Stop Referring to Your Los Age in Months?

Updated on May 21, 2010
M.B. asks from New Haven, CT
30 answers

Maybe I just don't want to think...or maybe it is a sign that I am just way exhausted, but when I talk to someone and they say "my 30 something month old" I'm like what?! I'm thinking that once my son turns 2, I'll stop with the months and just use the "just over 2, two and a half, almost 3" type thing.

Again, this is just a stupid question. Please don't be offended at all if you still refer to your child in months, I was just wondering!!

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M.K.

answers from Chicago on

It probably depends upon who you are talking with. I thought I would stop at age 2...but it was really age 3. There is SO MUCH developmental difference on a month by month basis between the 2nd birthday and 3rd, that my group of Mom friends still talked with each other in "months" until the kids were 3. However, when family members asked my kids' ages, I stopped using months at age 2.

4 moms found this helpful
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B.B.

answers from Detroit on

I have found that I stop the "month count" after their first birthday.... There are so many other things to keep track of (I now have 4 kids) that its all about simplicity. :-)

3 moms found this helpful
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J.S.

answers from Minneapolis on

Age 2. :) After that, you can add 1/2 years if you think the person you are talking to knows the difference.

My daughter is 18 months and if I'm in a "Mom" situation I label her as such, otherwise she's 1 or 1 1/2.

If people don't have kids - it means nothing to them.

J.

2 moms found this helpful

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L.L.

answers from Chicago on

Not an offensive question. But why are so many Moms responding in such a judgmental way? Do each of you really care that much about what another Mom does? I stopped around age 2...but I don't care if you stop at 12 months or 120 months. How about we cut each other a break?

4 moms found this helpful
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K.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

Unless it was a developmental issue that was being discussed, I stopped at 2. After that it became 2, 2 and a half, almost 3, just turned 3, 3 and a half, almost 4, etc. When someone tells me "he just turned 3", I have a much better idea than hearing "he's 37 months old".

3 moms found this helpful
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T.M.

answers from Philadelphia on

I stop at about 18 months to 2 years. It does get a little weird after that.

3 moms found this helpful
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S.M.

answers from Denver on

I just got ripped the other day on Mamasource for referring to my son as a "39-month-old". The reason I referred to him as such is that it was a behavior issue question. . .. and if you haven't been there yet, there is a big difference between a just -turned-3-year-old and an about to be 4-year-old (and an even bigger difference in an early 1 or a late 1 year old, or 2 year old) which is why I was so specific. I stick with my reasoning in this particular case. If Isomeone asks me how old he is I say 3. For my almost-2-year-old, I still refer to him in months but will stop after he hits 2 unless there is some specific reason to do so.

2 moms found this helpful
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A.H.

answers from Washington DC on

I am with you, once the kid is 2 please stop with the months count. I found myself more than once counting in my head after hearing...." he is 42 months old."

2 moms found this helpful
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K.F.

answers from Los Angeles on

I plan on stopping when my son turns 2 next month. I agree with you on the 30 something month thing, I've even heard someone refer to their child as being 42 months! That is just weird to me!

2 moms found this helpful
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C.T.

answers from Dallas on

I stopped at 24 months when I talk to women, but when I'm having a conversation with a man, I never use months. They just don't get it.

2 moms found this helpful
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R.T.

answers from Orlando on

I have no idea what an LO is... but I have always hated the month thing, too. When my kids were within a couple of months of their first bday, I would say, "He will be one in February" and let the asker do the math!!.... Then after they were one, it was, "He turned 1 back in February", again letting them do math. I have recently been telling people my preschooler will be 4 in August rather than saying he's 3 and a half.

1 mom found this helpful

J.R.

answers from Dallas on

I am so with you!! There's obviously no real problem with people saying their "39 month old" etc but for some reason it just drives me NUTS!!! Depending on who I'm talking to, I change the age reference for my daughter. If it's another mom I go ahead and say 16 months, but if it's my husband's friends or my single and non mother friends, I say she's about 1 1/2. When she turns 2 I think I will officially retire the months all together. But I'm with you, it just irks more for whatever reason. Ha

1 mom found this helpful
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S.D.

answers from Topeka on

Who wants to think on counting the months beyond 1 & 2 yrs of age.. They are half then I may add that in but only here on this site..

1 mom found this helpful
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H.M.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Two years old is the perfect age to stop :).

1 mom found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Redding on

I don't mean any offense either, but I so know what you mean.
If a kid is 20 months old, that's 4 months shy of 2 years old. Okay.
When you get up into the 30 and stuff, I don't get it. I'm math proficient, I just don't understand it.
My daughter was in kindergarten at 4 so I never would have referred to her in months.
I don't know, and again, I mean no offense, but I think some moms do it because they'd rather think of their kids in months as opposed to years. Because being years old means they aren't exactly a baby anymore.
Yes, there's a difference between a 13 month old and a 16 month old, a 30 month old and a 33 month old, but really, who gets into the semantics that closely except your pediatrician?

Maybe referring to your kids in months is the equivalent to the metric system.
There's nothing wrong with it really.
Thankfully we keep it simple for our kids.
"How old are you?"
"One. Two. Three. Four. Five."

Not that anyone cares to do the math, but my kids are almost 288 months and almost 180 months, respectively.

It gets to a point where the months make it sound a lot worse than it is so I never saw the point in the month thing.
At my age, I don't want anything having to do with the number 500 and how old I am even being used in the same sentence.

This was all tongue in cheek and I mean no offense to anyone.

Best wishes.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.L.

answers from Orlando on

I didn't read the other responses - but when my daughter turned 2 I stopped with the months. I completely agree with you! lol

1 mom found this helpful

A.D.

answers from Denver on

I say 2 years too.. If you want you can say "Oh, he turned 2 in September or he'll be 3 in September;" (in my case) depending on which one is closer, that way if they really want to know exactly how old the child is, they can do the math from there.

1 mom found this helpful
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D.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

Usually at 2 for us.

Occasionally, I'll say 25 months just to show how close she is to 2.
But, once we got to 20 months, it seemed a little strange to keep going in months, personally.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.C.

answers from Tampa on

The clothes only go up to 24mo, after that it's 3T and onward. There's this funny cartoon of a middle aged woman standing next to her mother who is saying to her friend, "She's 434 months old."

1 mom found this helpful
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S.H.

answers from Huntsville on

I think I quit with the months around my daughter's 2nd birthday too. After that it seemed pointless! Now if I need to indicate if she's just turned 4, or 4 1/2 or almost 5, etc. I'll usually just say stuff like "she turned 4 in February" or "she'll be 5 in February" or say she's about 4 1/2.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.R.

answers from Cleveland on

I stop around 18 mnths.. i just usually refer to them as 1 1/2. My youngest is 15 mnths now.. I just typically tell people I have a 5, 3, & 1 yr old.. and I'm done.. it's too hard to figure it out and mentally exhausting..lol I usually only do the month counting thing for doctors or medical stuff.. etc.. But I know what your talking about.. lol

1 mom found this helpful

G.R.

answers from Dallas on

After first birthday

1 mom found this helpful
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J.M.

answers from Dallas on

I get so confused with this as well!!

1 mom found this helpful
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M.R.

answers from Columbus on

I think that it is not a big deal, but when I hear months I think babies under two, and when I hear weeks, I think new borns who are less than three months old. When I have to divide by 12 for months or 4 for weeks it is a little irritating. 2 and a half just makes more sense to me than 29 months.

After 24 months, there are fewer developmental milestones falling on the month, and you start talking in terms of years and half years. If your child has a delay, the evaluation report will most likely report age in years and months once the child is beyond age two.

M.

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B.N.

answers from Dallas on

I agree with you. After 2, don't use months. It sounds wierd and takes too much concentration to figure out how old they are.

L.A.

answers from Austin on

Ha, I also think it is funny when moms say 42 months and "he was a preeemie???"...

Our daughter was a preemie, but I did not say that to people when introducing her.. She is one, but was a preemie so she is actually 9 and a half months?

I don't get it when people continue to say that..

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M.C.

answers from Washington DC on

For me it was 18m. Although, I still get the email from pampers.com that says 'your toddler is 40m old!'

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K.M.

answers from Boston on

Ditto Cloey. Once they hit 2 you don't need to know how many months in order to buy them clothes. Note also that the T on the clothing sizes matters, it's wider (to accomodate diapers, for one thing.) So something labelled "2" is smaller and narrower than a 2T.

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A.T.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I stopped at 1! I would just choose the age my child was closest to when someone asked 1, 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2, etc.

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C.M.

answers from Austin on

I stopped after the first birthday. I think it's strange, too.

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