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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to think people stay much the same from seven onwards?

13 replies

WorkingMum90 · 15/09/2026 22:51

70Up - people really are who they were at seven.

OP posts:
MotherTuckinGenius · 15/09/2026 22:53

Nope they definitely don’t.

pinkstripeycat · 15/09/2026 22:53

I’m not the same (am mid 50s). As a child I was so shy, painfully shy and so scared. I’m nothing like that now. I changed after travelling abroad alone.

I’m watching 70up from the beginning.

FancyKitten · 15/09/2026 22:54

I would say birth to 7 you are shaped by your parents / early years care (while obviously being yourself). And at age 7 you are self-realising & starting to shape your own future, personality. I vividly remember that time.

Alphabet1spaghetti2 · 15/09/2026 22:57

No, at any stage in life, you are the product of whatever you have done/people you’ve met/stuff you’ve learnt and things you’ve experienced. As you accumulate ‘life baggage’ you change.
A human version of every action has a reaction.

Pallisers · 15/09/2026 22:57

Well the jesuits certainly thought so - give me the boy til 7 years old and I'll give you the man.

I think those years 0-7 are incredibly formative for good or for bad. I think we can grow and develop and take new paths but a lot of our values are instilled then for good or ill. And our personality doesn't change radically and is very much present at 7.

Isittimeformynapyet · 15/09/2026 22:57

FancyKitten · 15/09/2026 22:54

I would say birth to 7 you are shaped by your parents / early years care (while obviously being yourself). And at age 7 you are self-realising & starting to shape your own future, personality. I vividly remember that time.

Edited

And the next 63 years?

FancyKitten · 15/09/2026 23:00

Isittimeformynapyet · 15/09/2026 22:57

And the next 63 years?

Show quote history

Yes, obviously. 0-7 is the foundation. 7 is just the beginning… But it is a significant milestone.

Isittimeformynapyet · 15/09/2026 23:03

FancyKitten · 15/09/2026 23:00

Yes, obviously. 0-7 is the foundation. 7 is just the beginning… But it is a significant milestone.

Show quote history

Yes, but the question is whether people are the same at 70 as they were at 7.

I'm not old enough to have known anyone for that duration of time, but interested in what those who have think.

Original poster
WorkingMum90 · 15/09/2026 23:17

pinkstripeycat · 15/09/2026 22:53

I’m not the same (am mid 50s). As a child I was so shy, painfully shy and so scared. I’m nothing like that now. I changed after travelling abroad alone.

I’m watching 70up from the beginning.

Oh I think most people grow in confidence as they age - or perhaps just become more comfortable in their own skin, and of course life events affect us and the path we take... but having watched Up over the years I still think that there's a fundamental 'us-ness' that you can see in the seven year olds & that runs thoughout the show that makes me think that even as young as seven: we are who we are and we want what we want.

Interested to hear others views though!

OP posts:
Mossstitch · 15/09/2026 23:43

I'm similar age watched it all my life, I don't remember much before 7 but at 7 I was quiet and shy, conscientious, kind, helpful/people pleasing. Although I've got older and wiser (and more cynical) I'd say fundamentally I still have those basic personality traits and I think you can see that in the people on 70 up.

TheJuryIsOut · 15/09/2026 23:48

Hmmm, I don't know. Neil on 70up surely shows there are exceptions, he couldn't have got much further away from the enthusiastic, bouncy little 7 year old.

I'm sure it's true for some people but I doubt it's a blanket rule.

AbsintheMakesTheHeartGrowFonder · 15/09/2026 23:54

I recently met someone I haven’t actually seen since we were seven.

He was really lovely, which was surprising because at seven he was a total cunt.

I think there are probably personality traits that people retain all their lives, but I think some people express them very differently as they get older.

JustSayyNo · 16/09/2026 00:42

No, I don't think so. There's still so much learning and life experience to be gained after 7. I'm not even the same person I was at 30, let alone 7.

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