To be upset that someone thought I was 16 years old when I'm in my late 20s

@JustDanceAddict - it was dark 😂
It'd have to be a total solar eclipse before I was mistaken for 28.

I indadvertently ended up with a child's bus fare at 29. Got on asked how much the single rate was, paid, puzzled over how cheap it was and realised why when I sat and looked at my ticket. Good job my bump wasn't showing yet!

6 months later in the hospital having given birth, the MW did a lot of double checking of my date of birth as she thought there'd been an error on the documents. Nice to look 10 years younger when swollen and yellow 😂

I had alcohol confiscated at the till at 37 as I didn't have my driving licence on me to prove that I was 25. ID checking normally involves a lot of frowning, looking confused and mental arithmatic at the unusual unexpected early 80s DOB.

Lots of casual conversations involve people looking confused when I mention my DCs ages or things like having bought the house over a decade ago.

The number of times I'd have colleagues come into my classroom full of y7s/y8s and call out "where is your teacher?" was irritiating because in some tougher classes it can undermine authority. Admittedly I am about the same build and proportion as an average y7, but there were some repeat offenders who didn't have the grace to be appologetic about their error (thus making it look like I wasn't doing my job properly) which were annoying.

Many of the mix-ups I've had over the years have been about looking 10-12 years younger. These days that might not bare up against close scruitiny but on casual first impressions it can be easily done.

I'm usually amused rather than offended. I'm only cheesed off when people insist that I'm wrong about myself and won't believe me.

Yes, it used to upset me too. I'd always get mistaken for younger than I was and I used to hate it. However, that said, now I'm in my 40s I kind of miss it.

Not sure how a late 20s female can look 16 unless dressing v young (whatever that is), petite frame (dd and I didn’t fill out until 18/19).
i don’t think I’d be offended though. I remember being 40 and being told I looked 28 but it was dark 😆

It's made you feel down?

I just struggle to believe this. How do you respond to truly upsetting events then. People have to be more resilient surely.

I meant to add, I'm never mistaken for a student, though, in spite of my size! I like to put it down to my teacher ID and school lanyard, although more probably it's my wizened features and general demeanour.

Me too. I'm just 5' 1" and teach yr7 through to yr13.

So really it's a bit of a passive agressive/ bully type comment.

Do you think you are quiet, shy, passive? Is it a problem for you?

Maybe it makes you feel bad because it's highlighting something about yourself that you actually don't like.

You can stop people having the power to make you feel bad about this by addressing it head on. I know it's a bit scary, but you could try some CBT (you can get this through the NHS), or some kind of assertiveness workshop - online or there might be some near you.

If it's bothering you - and it sounds like it is - then you can change it.

I will add, the year 6s are taller than me if that helps you get a jist of my size. I work with all age groups but mostly Key Stage 2, 3, 4 and 5 so of course by the time I'm at a fixture with 18 year olds they tower over me.

Yes! Lanyard and completely different coloured jacket to the pupils whilst the pupils were in matching PE kits 🤷‍♀️ It's quite common for pupils to have lanyards (locker keys, pupil ID cards etc) though and obviously children will wear a coat if cold so I can only assume they just were looking for someone taller/older looking and couldn't see them. To be fair the children are all bigger than me but I'd have also thought my clothing and the fact I'm telling the children where to go/what to do was a give away!

@RoastingMarshmallow - how could anyone mistake you for a student? As a teacher you're wearing photo ID with the school lanyard?

Quite. Also, I think sometimes people mistake a wee bit of flattery for a genuine assessment of age - "you're retiring? surely too young!" etc

Right, I thought you'd given birth?
Also, if they thought you were a minor, surely all the protocols would have been different?.

But do you get that all the time OP? If not, it's probably just her own skewed observation. She may not be very bright in general 🤭

I would take a straw poll (like that mortifying segment on '10 years younger', the one where they see the 45 year old woman and claim she looks 86 🙄)

I was 33 old and 33 weeks pregnant when I got ID'd for buying my dad some cigarettes. I really wouldnt worry. I'm completely rubbish at judging ages!

Age doesn't come up directly but it comes up indirectly very frequently. For example, I might mention something about one of my dc and the person would say "oh you must have been very young having them " or "you're never old enough to have adult children".

I was recently at a retirement party at work and I was saying I was looking forward to my turn. The discussion then turned to how many years we all had left and I got comments on not looking it when it turns out I'm next.

@bluebirdsz really do not think along those lines! I'm sure you're not pathetic - it takes a bit of balls to start a thread on here for a start. Put it out of your mind, be yourself and be a little bit glad you have youthful looks.

Dh looked about 18 until he hit 30ish- I didn't - he was asked if I was his mum a few times - ouch!! Our DS is the same - he is 20 - looks about 15 and always has to carry ID - it's the genes on DH side of the family - they all reach a grand old age as well - mostly living fit and well into their 90's. I'm glad for them but my side of the family is not so blessed and reaching 70 is an achievement. Happy DS takes so much after his Dad. At least DH now has some grey hair in his 50's and looks a bit more weathered!

I used to get chatting to a member of who used to be in the girl band, The Honeyz as live very close by. Told her I was a big fan of her music and she told me that how could I be as I was too young to even know the group she was in. She thought I was 18 or 19 when I was at the time about 32. People don't want to believe this happens but it does and always awkward and embarrassing. I have counless more embarrassing age related stories to tell also.

I can understand why this feels irritating. I’m 28 and constantly get told by clients in my work that they think I look 18. It does get annoying because I feel that people, especially men, speak down to me and explain things as if to assume I don’t have a clue what I’m talking about. It can feel very grating.
The most annoying comment is when people talk to me about world events or music etc then say ‘you wouldn’t know about this, you’re too young’ when I have plenty of knowledge about what they’re telling me.

@Maireas I wasn't the patient, my DCs were. I didn't have a medical bracelet or any reason for them to view MY records.

@Maireas

I did ask on the last ‘I’m 56 but frequently mistaken for a primary schooler’ thread if any of these 45 year old preschoolers would be interested in sharing a picture of themselves since I’ve genuinely never seen anybody in their 30s/40s who looks like a child or teen but nobody did.

I also find it a bit odd how so many people are ‘often told’ how young they look. Unless you ask people to guess your age it’s unusual for it to come up in regular conversations because most people will simply presume the person standing at the head of all the children who isn’t wearing school uniform is the teacher while all the small people in school uniform are the children. I couldn’t imagine a situation where there’s a group of children and an adult at an event and another person looks around and asks dumbly ‘where’s the teacher?’

Ah, come on now. No-one in their 40s looks like a child.

I used to get this when I was in my twenties too, I used to hate it with a passion. There was nothing I could do about it either, I just have one of those faces!

I'm now nearly 50 and most people that I meet are quite surprised when they find out my age so I would say just wait till you are older 😂