We live in an information age where just about anything we want to know about pregnancy or childrearing can be found in a book or on the internet. From breastfeeding to natural childbirth, from teething to getting your baby to sleep through the night, books and websites are filled to the brim with information that will either prepare us for children or help us be better parents. There’s one subject matter, however, that these books and Google searches don’t seem to cover, and that’s when we’re supposed to stop counting our child’s age in months.
I’m sure you’ve said it a time or two… hundred, “my daughter is 19 months old” or “my son is 22 months old.” Seriously though, when do we stop counting our child’s age in months? It’s the elephant in the room that nobody really knows how to answer.
I googled the question and found that there wasn’t any information by a professional that gave a clear cut off date. What I did find was a bunch of mommy forums with mothers that were just as confused as I was about it. In each forum answers varied from mother to mother, however, most mothers that responded to the question stopped counting their kids ages in months when their child turned two-years old. There were some, however, that didn’t mind saying their child was 30-months old. Most of them cited the fact that not much month-to-month development is occurring after two-years old as it was during months 1 through 24, so there was no need to keep counting in months.
I’m not going to lie, I was one of those mothers that held on to counting my first child’s age in months well after my son was 2 years old. As quiet as it’s kept, I secretly felt dumb saying that my son was 26-months old, but I didn’t know how to stop counting in months or even if I should stop. I always wondered, but I never asked anyone out of the fear of sounding ridiculous. I’m sure experienced mothers secretly laughed at me and other new moms when we’d count our child’s age in month past the age of 2. To be honest, now that I’ve got some skin in this parenting game I secretly laugh, too. I mean, is it just me, or does counting in months past 24-months sound weird?
What about you? At what age did you stop counting your child’s age in months, and why? Do tell.
Briana McCarthy is a digital journalist, lifestyle, beauty and culture writer, blogger, speaker, social media strategist, and an advocate for special needs children. Check out her blog at www.themanesource.com and follow her on Twitter @themanesource.
