Why do people say their DC's age as '23 months' instead of 'almost 2 yrs'?

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WTF????
Children are only aged in months until they turn 1 year old, then surely they should be aged in years, not bloody months !

I work in a medical profession, and just today I asked ' how old is your child' and was told ' 36 months'. No they're bloody not !!!! They're 3 YEARS OLD !!!!!!!

I really don't understand why parents do this and I get so sick of it ! Is it done to try to keep them as a baby perhaps ?

We had to do this with my DS who only turned 2 a few weeks ago.

He is off the percentile charts for height and avg weight so looks like a 4yr old (wears 4-5yrs clothing too) and it was the easiest way of getting the point across to people that no, he is not developmentally delayed... Because that's the impression people were getting at softplay centres and out and about - "he's not even two yet!/he's only 23 months" was the only thing we can say to get the point across rapidly.

Then their jaws would drop or eyes would go wide and they'd go "ooooohhhhhhhhhhh, he looks so much older!".

Well my twins are 20 months old and their health visitor, paediatrician at the hospital and additional needs nurse all record and refer to their age this way, which is why I say 20 months...

YABU - you say tomato

IIRC, someone on here said the rule was to give a child’s age in weeks until they’re four months old, then in months until they’re two. I wouldn’t normally give DD’s age as “one”, because she’s changing so rapidly at this stage.

Does it matter?

I said my son’s age in months until he was 2. If you say they are 1 year old it’s not really clear how old they are exactly. A 12 month old is very different to a 23 month old so I think there is a valid reason why people say months. That being said I do think it is a bit silly when people continue this past the age of 2.

The changes in development are significant between 1 and 2 so it makes sense to give ages in months.

After they turn 2 there's just no need. I roll my eyes at anyone who says their kid is 36 months...

I’m not sure where I stand on this one. There’s a huge difference between a 12 month old and a 22 month old, huge. I don’t think I ever gave exact months though, I’d usually just say one and a half even if they weren’t exactly that or I’d say ‘just over one’ and ‘almost two’.

I think it’s ok to use months until 1yo. Then years and halfs should suffice. Yesterday I was asked how old my DC is - I said one and a half, then when she wanted more detail I actually had to count the months. Who remembers the exact number of months anyway?!

How do people manage to keep count??

After 18m I wouldn’t use it. I’ve seen people in FB groups use 36m and it sounds really pretentious
I started thinking years were imperial and months were metric (!) as these people also use metric for everything (is it fashionable to use metric, does it mean you’re European-leaning?) whereas I don’t know anyone who uses metric for their own weight and height

Days until 2 weeks
Weeks until 3 months
Months until 2
Half years thereafter.

That's my rule anyway!

Can't remember which stand-up comedian said it but someone asks a woman how old her baby is and she says 36 months old as and then she says "oh do you have the time?" and the person says, "yes it's 1500 seconds past 3" (or something like that) 😆

I do this with DS he's about to be twenty months usually it's important for his medical professionals to be told exactly how many months as he's had health issues and lost alot of weight he's regularly weighed at the hospital now so it's easier to say in months then they don't have to work it out to plot his curve. However I think in months now as a result so when people ask I always say months. Didn't do. It for my dds past 18 months. In fairness though I think it's normal up until 2 as there is a big difference between 12 and 23 months after 3 is more unusual I'd say.

I used to have this and with my DD once she got to 1 I said she is 1 and she always looked her age at that point.
My DS on the other hand, isn't 2 yet and looks about 2.5, as he is really tall, so when people ask how old he is I say 20 months, because otherwise people expect him to act like a 2.5 year old, but he doesn't because he isn't. I mean he is well behaved for his age, but he acts his age and not how people perceive he should act because of how tall he is.

You need to wind your neck in.

My son is 2. He was 2 in April. I often say he's 26 months so that people understand he's nearer 2 than 3, particularly if we're discussing development. It's not to keep him as a baby, what a ridiculous comment.

Nice to see our country's medical professionals are focusing on the important things in life 🙄

I couldnt even tell tell you my child age in months. I just say shes 2 and a half.

When she was 18 months I said either that or 1 and a half.

Well OP, it seems that you and I are in the minority here, but as far as I'm concerned YANBU.
Drives me crazy. "Oh he's 27 months"
TWO. Your child is TWO!

Would it really be so hard to say ' little Jonny will be 2 next month' or ' Sarah is 3 yrs old' ??
Saying ' 42 months old' is just so bloody odd.

I'm a medical professional, and guess what ? I'm going to be asking for their birth date in a minute or so, I either just want a general idea, as do the friendly people in the park, or I'm just trying to make a little 'small talk'.

I would give the age in months for an under 2 if talking to another parent of young children, or to a medical professional. I'm surprised you think it's twattish, I would have thought it's useful information. Like others have said, there is a massive difference between say 12 months and 20 months (my DS's age).

I would just say "DS is one" to anyone else.

To a medical professional I would be exact- if I’m taking DD to the paediatrician and they’re assessing her development, plotting her weight or prescribing medication surely it’s important to be as precise as possible?!

In regular conversation it sounds ridiculous and I would raise eyebrows to someone that said their child was 23 months rather than 2 next month!

So for the most part I agree with you; cringe de la cringe. However, you’re probably hearing it more than usual because of your job. Surely you realise that?!

No, actually it's a fairly recent 'trend' for people to say their child's age in months. It just irritates me, and I wondered if others felt the same.
Still, it's quite amusing to see the reaction this got :)

I had no idea how old my children were in months past about 18 months? If I ask someone and they reply in months I can’t work it out, perhaps it’s a brain thing like I can’t grasp left and right either. I just nod and say ooooo but I put it in the ‘i won’t ever know how old this baby is’ catagory 😂

I'm a medical professional, and guess what ? I'm going to be asking for their birth date in a minute or so,

So do you expect them to be psychic as well as objecting to how they answer your question?