Statistics

When were you born?

  • 1920s

    Votes: 1 3.1%
  • 1930s

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1940s

    Votes: 3 9.4%
  • 1950s

    Votes: 6 18.8%
  • 1960s

    Votes: 13 40.6%
  • 1970s

    Votes: 7 21.9%
  • 1980s

    Votes: 2 6.3%
  • 1990s

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    32

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
OK. This is really bugging me. So, I thought I'd ask.

FIRST - I am turning OFF names etc. This is not "true confessions".

But I really want to know - because I've been run over by this at least 4 or 5 times this week, and that's just THIS week...

The question of the month is:

How old are we anyway?

Just from a statistical perspective - not personal details.
I hope I've gone back far enough in history...

Thanks!

p.s. You are able to VOTE on the poll without posting... so, nobody will even know you were on this thread.
 
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InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Its not any one person's age that bothers me.
Some... actually post that in their sigs!

But... how old are WE, collectively?

Like...
- how much experience do we collectively represent?
- do we tend to be "young"? or "not so young"? (I'm guessing, its the latter)

If I was going to do this right, I'd have to re-write the POLL logic to have sub-categories!! (parent age, and then average current age of difficult child..)

In the last couple of weeks... I was floored at DDD's age-range. Surprised at Malika's. Tripped on a couple of others that were far younger or older than I expected... (me and my stupid assumptions). Now, the poll isn't going to solve THAT. Because I still won't know how old YOU are. (or anybody else who doesn't post it in sig, like me). But... am I safer to assume "younger"? or "older"? or so much of a mixed bag that I can't ever make assumptions around here?

Actually, that last statement is PROBABLY the most true... but...
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Well, I'm not ashamed of my age. I'm 47 yrs old.

Of course being a grandmother, I'd think one would at least assume safely I am in my 40's. BUT that said, I was 36 when I became a grandmother, so there ya go. lol

Ages don't surprise me so much. Every once in a while I have an oooOOOooh moment, though.

I'll have to watch to see how this goes, might be interesting to see.
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
Ha! Everyone who has responded to this poll so far was born in the 1960s, which is rather nice and cosy, I think... :) Age... rather a red herring. Experiences count more. I think Insane was surprised because I have a small son (not, I hope, by the crass immaturity of my posts...) and this also leads to an interesting cultural difference to do with adoption. In North America, she tells me, people are not allowed to adopt over 40 and tend to be nearer 30... I don't really know about the adoption statistics in the UK though I know there is a maximum age gap between child and parent of 45 years, therefore reproducing nature more or less. When I adopted in Morocco, EVERYONE, westerner and Moroccan, was older like me - basically because we had tried to have our own children and couldn't. So I in my turn was surprised that younger people adopt. There you go - everyone is surprised :)
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
Well, "average" once again for me! I'm 48, born in '62, right around the same time as everyone else, lol.

Another thing I love about this board is that we are all ageless, as we come to the table with knowledge, experience and perspectives that have no age!

That said, I'd still like to pull off 39.
 

buddy

New Member
Ha! Everyone who has responded to this poll so far was born in the 1960s, which is rather nice and cosy, I think... :) Age... rather a red herring. Experiences count more. I think Insane was surprised because I have a small son (not, I hope, by the crass immaturity of my posts...) and this also leads to an interesting cultural difference to do with adoption. In North America, she tells me, people are not allowed to adopt over 40 and tend to be nearer 30... I don't really know about the adoption statistics in the UK though I know there is a maximum age gap between child and parent of 45 years, therefore reproducing nature more or less. When I adopted in Morocco, EVERYONE, westerner and Moroccan, was older like me - basically because we had tried to have our own children and couldn't. So I in my turn was surprised that younger people adopt. There you go - everyone is surprised :)

In the USA, the age of adoptive parents depends on the type of adoption, the agency and the country you adopt from. Some say there can't be more than a 40 year gap in age etc. so a 45 year old could adopt a 5 year old. It just depends. if it is a family-relative adoption different rules. Lots of people adopt over 40 and they even adopt babies. They can be married single or living with a partner. AGain, depending on the agency and country. Many spend most of their 30s doing fertility treatments. I never even considered pregnancy, just wanted to adopt. In foster care system even broader guidelines, over 40, lower income-you have to show you can care for the child but dont need to be wealthy or OWN your home etc...., single, same sex couples, transracial adoption, etc. not aproblem....assistance is provided to help kids get into homes (not enough that it i worth adopting a child for the MONEY! obviously you spend much more on a child with more needs so it is enough to help offset those costs and is negotiated based on their needs...medical care and small stipend for some. Go on everyone...you want another difficult child right? DO IT! smile
 

DS3

New Member
Wow... I'm the only one from the 80's....

Guess that's why I get so much great advice from everyone. I always find that my elders (anyone older then me) usually has an interesting tale and much wisdom if you're willing to listen. Guess that maybe why I don't get along well with people my own age (29 to be exact).
 

Fran

Former desparate mom
I was born in 1955. I'm not really uncomfortable about telling my age. I'm not fooling anyone that I am younger than I am. I appreciate the freedom that the age and wisdom have given me. There are some advantages of being older, none of them physical but you can't have everything.
I chose to have children when I was older on purpose. I probably won't be a grandmother until I'm in my 60's. You never know.
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
Well, I knew I was one of the older ones here but I also know the age of our kids has not much to do with our ages. My mother was 33 when she had me and I was nearly 40 by the time I had difficult child 2. So I was an "old" mom and now I'm a hands-on grandma. I've always told my daughter in law, her kids will be grown and leaving home by the time she's as old as I was when I started having kids.
 

buddy

New Member
re: kids born in the 80's....YAY! Now I'm not alone!

Young whipper-snapers. Let me get my walker and....ok, now my arthritis rub....ok, now I can type...wait, need my readers...ok. (just kidding, we are all in this together, smile)

As I have said many times, it is great to be in my "30's". In November, I will be 30-18. After that, 30-19, 30-20, you get the idea. In my 30's forever.

Seriously, My life settled and I felt the best about myself in my 40's. Priorities become clearer, life becomes so much more??? I don't know, not to be mushy but just in clearer focus. And, mind you, I have never been so poor or stressed by situations as I have lately, but I would never have handled it the same in my 20's or even my 30's. I was not a mess, just that this is better.
 

DS3

New Member
Young whipper-snapers. Let me get my walker and....ok, now my arthritis rub....ok, now I can type...wait, need my readers...ok.

As I have said many times, it is great to be in my "30's". In November, I will be 30-18. After than 30-19, 30-20, you get the idea. In my 30's forever.

Seriously, My life settled and I felt the best about myself in my 40's. Priorities become clearer, life becomes so much more??? I don't know, not to be mushy but just in clearer focus. And, mind you, I have never been so poor or stressed by situations as I have but I would never have handled it the same in my 20's or even my 30's. I was not a mess, just that this is better.
Now there you go stereotyping.... I have carpal tunnel, arthritis in both hand and feet, stress fractures in my hips, a bulging disk right above my spinal fusion, a dislocated disk in my neck, scoliosis, and wear glasses. I don't want to hear that I'm a youngin' if I'm already going through all of this in my 20's. Just bad genetics on my end I do believe, but you can't judge what a person is going through just on age alone. I like to believe that age has nothing to do with it. I still function and take care of my kids despite chronic pain (lately it's in my hands or my back, or my knee... weather's a changing and I can tell.) And I still fight for them (otherwise I wouldn't be here), and do everything that I need to do. Am I stressed? Sure. Can I handle it? You bet your bottom I can. I look for resources and help when I need it? Why? I may be a warrior mom, but I also know my limits. That is something I learned a long time ago. Would I have handled the situation(s) differently in my early 20's. Probably. But I've learned from my mistakes and continue to learn as I head down yet another road. It's just what I do.

(and just so you know, I'm only picking on you. :p )
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
LOL... I'm below average, here. BARELY. Only 1,080 days into the 1970s...

Yes, many of us do IVF in our 30s... But I will be honest, I already have informally adopted 2 difficult children. If the next IVF cycle doesn't work, I won't be adopting... I know I have no guarantees that I won't give birth to a difficult child, but... *shrug*
 

Malika

Well-Known Member
Funny isn't it - as I said to Buddy, when I adopted I had NO idea that I was running the risk of adopting a baby with special needs (because of things like fetal alcohol effects). If my naivety seems amazing, all I can say is that the people that I knew who were adopting at the same time - all in their 40s like me, so you would have thought wise enough to realise - were similarly clueless. I was at least aware of and well versed in attachment disorder and had read "The Primal Wound" and so on. I think... like a lot of people who adopt, I was just so lost in my own desire/need to have a child that I really didn't want to see anything but the realisation of my own dreams... And J is NOT a nightmare. He's full of blessings and joys. But he is hard work and he is different from the norm. Sometimes he is so "good", co-operative and pleasant to have around that I pray that is the side that will come out fighting (not literally of course) in the end.
Anyway, I digress...
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
Seriously, My life settled and I felt the best about myself in my 40's. Priorities become clearer, life becomes so much more??? I don't know, not to be mushy but just in clearer focus.

I have always thought that whatever decade I'm in is the best one so far (except for the teens). 30s were better than 20s, 40s were better than 30s, 50s were better than 40s, and now 60s are better than 50s. I'm sure some of it has to do with your health but if you have that, life just seems to keep getting better. It is much easier to not sweat the small stuff as you get older, and it is also easier to recognize the small stuff.
 
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