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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think by 30 you are middle aged

201 replies

BeLemonDeer · 22/04/2026 17:03

And there is no getting away from it really

OP posts:
MrsTerryPratchett · 22/04/2026 17:05

No. Unless you plan to die in your 60s! I don't.

Everlil · 22/04/2026 17:05

Are you expecting your life to end at 60?

PuppyMonkey · 22/04/2026 17:06

I’m 60 later this year and still not middle aged imho. Grin

igelkott2026 · 22/04/2026 17:06

Nope, you are middle aged at 45-50 onwards. Most of us can expect to live until our mid 80s these days.

SandMartins · 22/04/2026 17:06

Well the UK life expectancy for a woman is 83, so no, 30 is not ‘middle-aged’. HTH!

Clefable · 22/04/2026 17:06

YABU.

That’s before a lot of people even get married/start families nowadays.

At its widest ‘definition’ I would say that you can make an argument for 45+ but personally I think 50-55 is where middle-aged begins now.

Hadalifeonce · 22/04/2026 17:06

I think you must have mistyped. 30 is nowhere near middle aged.

TheEyesOfLucyJordon · 22/04/2026 17:06

Well, only if you reckon you're gonna croak at 60. I'm planning on ....... NOT. But hey, tomorrow's never promised, innit? 🤷‍♀️

Waterwaterwaterwaterwatercycle · 22/04/2026 17:06

No, I think middle aged starts about 40. I am 42 and would be fine with being called middle aged. But I don't think 30 year olds are middle aged

Topseyt123 · 22/04/2026 17:07

No, I wouldn't. I would be more likely to call 40 - 45 middle aged.

shelbybears · 22/04/2026 17:07

No, that’s at least 10yrs too young to even consider using that phrase.

Butteredtoast55 · 22/04/2026 17:07

Absolute nonsense. The current average life span is around 80 (a bit more for women, with an increasing number of nonagenarians) so 40 would be middle aged. 30 is still young!
Edit to add that I actually think 50+ is closer to middle aged...I think it better describes the middle years of adulthood so between 20 and 80+

DontReplyAll · 22/04/2026 17:08

No one thinks 30 is middle aged.

My teenagers wouldn't think 30 is middle aged.

Watercoloursky · 22/04/2026 17:08

I would say 40-45, I definitely intend to live past 60!

OnceUponATimed · 22/04/2026 17:08

Middle aged at 30 😂
Our planning to die at ninety five so at 53 I will accept that crown.
I still dance til dawn a few nights a year so not stereotypically middle aged yet though.

CoffeeCakeAndALattePlease · 22/04/2026 17:08

No!
I’ve always thought 40-45 ish onwards.

BeLemonDeer · 22/04/2026 17:08

Everlil · 22/04/2026 17:05

Are you expecting your life to end at 60?

In all honesty yes a lot of my family do sadly even younger due to cancer even in late 30’s and 40’s.

OP posts:
Smartiepants79 · 22/04/2026 17:09

Umm no, 30 is not middle aged. Unless you’re planning to die before you’re 60.
I would say somewhere around 45 ish is the start. Most people’s kids are late teens, fertility is dropping off significantly.

ColdAsAWitches · 22/04/2026 17:09

No.

newornotnew · 22/04/2026 17:09

Nope, you've got that wrong

PleasantPedant · 22/04/2026 17:10

Middle-aged doesn't mean half-way through your life. It is the years between being young and being old.
It's 45- 67 (ish)

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 22/04/2026 17:10

BeLemonDeer · 22/04/2026 17:08

In all honesty yes a lot of my family do sadly even younger due to cancer even in late 30’s and 40’s.

That's very sad, but this is just your family and nothing to do with 'middle age'. By your reckoning, someone in your family would be 'middle aged' in their late teens or early twenties then.

Beaverwheels · 22/04/2026 17:12

0 - 15 = child
16 - 25 = youth
25 - 50 = young adult
51 - 70 = middle-aged adult
71 - 85 = older adult
85+ = elderly adult

RedWineCupcakes · 22/04/2026 17:12

I assume you are only a child yourself ? No one thinks 30 is even remotely middle-aged unless they are very younh themselves.

Middle aged is not until after your prime fertile years are over so probably 45+ for women (yes, a few women have babies later). I would then take the same age for men. I might even push to 50+ considering the average age for menopause.

ClaredeBear · 22/04/2026 17:12

I’m in my 50s and I’ve heard people in their 70s being referred to as “middle aged”. I wouldn’t let it bother you. It’s definitely all in the mind.