When you ask a woman how old her baby is, Why do they tell you in months?

Question

If your baby is 3 years old, why do you say he/she is 36 months instead of just saying he/she is 3 years old.

you all make it hard to pick best answer ;-)

LuciaLaLa to answer your question' Why do people ask "How Are You?" if they don't really want to know. Anyway I love kids and as a man I can look at an adorable little bably and wonder how old he or she. so I ask the mother or father because I might be genuinly curious. But if he or she is over a year old i don't think they need to be that specific to answer such a generic question.

Answer 1

Generally depends on who you are talking to and what the mother is used to. Many mothers take particularl interest in their child's development, which is broken up by months, and they become used to thinking this way in order to track their child's progress. As a child development specialist/early intervention teacher, the progress of my clients is measured according to months. Doctors/teachers/therapists also go by months to chart growth and development. Clothing usually goes according to months for the 1st year to 3 years, depending on the brand of clothing. Many toys/activities are also rated according to months. That being said, I have 3 children of my own (16months, 3 years, and 7 1/2 years). Unless one of the previously mentioned situations applies, I generally note my children's ages as mentioned above. Once they turn two I switch gears from months to years (sometimes add the 1/2 year).

Answer 2

Because 3 seems like a small number compared to 36. I think some women tell people that their child is 36 mos instead of 3 yrs because they're proud of the fact that the baby's growing up and they've cherished every month they had taking care of the baby.

Answer 3

Babies change incredibly quickly. There is an enormous difference between, say, a six-month old and an eight-month old. Anyone who has ever had kids knows that, and is then able to picture what the kid is doing at that specific number of months. After age two, I don't think it matters as much. Hey, why do you ask people about their baby's ages if you don't want to know specifically?

Answer 4

well up to a year makes sence. Because that is how the clothing is sized. But your right after a year why? I have always just said 1 or 2 or 3. But I am to lazy to sit and think about how many specific months.

Answer 5

That also drives me crazy. I think people are so used to doing it from when they were infants or in their first year. I stop at one, then I might say "just turned 2" or "3 and a half" or something, but you don't need people doing math to find out how old your child is. To be fair to those who do it, there is a big difference between a child who is 2 and one who is 2 and a half, so maybe that is why they do it.

Answer 6

at first it is because until the child is 1 they don't have an age. You can't say "he is zero years old."

between 1 and 2 I think people still do it for developmental reasons... "see my baby is so advanced he can talk at only 12 months..."

after age 2 it is just plain stupid. I could almost vote that after age 1 it is ridiculous but after age 2- that is a special kind of stupid.

I think these people do it because they don't want to admit that their baby isn't a baby but a toddler/preschooler/child....

Answer 7

I have a 1 year old son ( 12 and a half months) and for me its easier to say months because there is a big difference between 1 and 2, 2 and 3 so on. Plus for me its a way to remind myself how long i've been blessed to have my son and days are just too hard to count. (377) lol

Answer 8

At this age months is a more accurate representation. Children develop so quickly at this stage in life. If a child had just turned three and couldn't say her ABC's that would be normal. If a child was about to turn four and couldn't, she might have some learning problems. But they are both three years old.

Answer 9

I agree with some users further up moms do it to differentiate between what their kid can do and can't. At 2 (24 months) your child probably doesn't know the ABC's but at 35 months your child probably does. So probably after 2 you could just say and a half but it depends on the mom.

Answer 10

You usually only say the baby's age in months until the child is one year old. I mean, what are you supposed to say about a 3 month old, she's zero? No.