I am in my late 40s and don't feel like a grown-up...

[BadMoodBoard]

... and yet I feel really old. What's that all about??

The idea you have of what grownups feel like - probably is not true.

The grownups never felt like they had everything together, it just looked like that from the outside.

I don’t feel like a grown up because I don’t have children.
I am over 40 and have a responsible job.

I know right? I can't believe society has allowed me (ME!) to be responsible for a child, a house, decisions etc. I think this is a common feeling amongst adults. Even my parents and in-laws say they never feel grown up enough.

But old? Yes definitely. Having a teenager doesn't help.

I did feel like a grown up a while ago when I had a day with lots a little tasks to do like make a doctors appointment and take something to the post office then go somewhere else to pick up something.
That felt grown up.

I feel this way too!! I'm 40, married, with two kids. I wonder if this is how my Mum felt at my age. I doubt it. I remember being in charge of my first shift on a busy hospital ward, with lots of acutely sick patients in my 20s thinking that someone more grown up should be in charge, even though I had the most experience. I didn't feel grown up then, but expected to by now. I keep waiting.