[Closed] When did you realise that you were an adult?

[i]So when did you become an adult? [/i]

I'm 46 in my head I'm still about 12 years old.

I do try and behave like a grown up most of the time or my kids give me funny looks.

About a month ago..

When I dated an 18 year old and realised how old I was.

When I had the responsiblity of looking after Jnr FD at the age of 37.

When I sorted out my work pension scheme about a month ago, at 23 :\

I haven't yet. I think [url= http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html ]Ms Brosh explains it best[/url].

"I can't even look at young girls any more.
People will think I'm some kind of pervert.
No more 'boy meets girl, boy loses girl'
More like: 'Man tries to figure out what the hell went wrong"

Define being an adult?

I was self sufficient in my 20's after Uni.
I had a child in my 30's

I do a lot of the things adults do but as a 45yr old Male I think I'm still classed as a child by most measures.

I ride my bike a lot and like getting muddy
I make cars with guns out of Lego with my daughter 9 who yesterday commented on how I was really just a big kid)
repeat until bored...

When you've never heard of some of the words teenagers are using, For me it was when the word "schizzle" started being used, still not got a clue!

[i]I don't wanna put no money down
I don't wanna get me a big old loan
Work them fingers to the bone
I don't wanna float a broom
Fall in love and get married then boom
How the hell did I get here so soon
[/i]

[edit] actually I was grown up when the lyrics of this song seemed ot have resonance for me.

When I went to an 18 year old's Birthday party and realised mine was a decade ago. Everyone there looked like the cast of Skins and the music sucked.

A combo of what TSY and makeitorange said.

21:41 15 October 2011.

When songs you liked as a kid are now 30+ years old.

Pffft, it'll never happen!

When I first offered someone a job and became responsible for them and their dependents' welfare as well as for me and mine.

About last week when I bought a filing cabinet and put a folder in it marked "Pension". I'm 26.

*hangs head in shame*

When I first offered someone a job and became responsible for them and their dependents' welfare as well as for me and mine.

I turned 40 this year.

I'll let you know when it happens.

About last week when I bought a filing cabinet and put a folder in it marked "Pension". I'm 26.

Ha, you've just made me feel young. Time to hit on teenagers again me thinks.

if your ugly you need to become an adult now , . . if your handsome you don't.

Saturday afternoon just gone. I was at a family BBQ and told some of the assorted kids (not mine) to stop throwing ice cubes at each other. They, obviously, asked "why?". My response of "Because I said so" stopped them doing it immediately.

Unfortunately, I also woke up the next day feeling old, decrepit and worn out, so it was not all good.

First time I carried a family members coffin out of their house.

I think, without sounding lachrymose, it was probably the first time my heart got seriously broken that I realised I had become an adult.

I was about 24. Everything changed, perspective-wise, after that.

@MF yup, have that badge too!

When I could go to sleep with an open & unfinished bottle of alcohol in the house.

On a cold night ride, I cycled past a group of young, attractive, scantily clad ladies leaving a night club. My reaction would've been "phwoar!" now it's "you'll catch your death".

I suppose it was when i held my child in my arms. 😳
I was 28.

1. Parenthood.

2. Songs from my yoof and the DJs that played them now on Radio 2.

3. Looking after ageing parents.

4. Going to more funerals than weddings.

5. When a hot drink and a cold woman replaced a cold drink and a hot woman.

mostly I feel like a teenager, but my job puts me in adult situations and I feel like a fraud, or that at any moment someone is going to out me as the child I think I am!

Talking of unfinished bottles of alcohol..
I have a very nice bottle of French Red that I opened the week before last and it's still half full sitting on the side with a vacuum stopper in it..
Being an Adult now I'm torn between supping it gently and downing it in one sitting..

"will decide this evening"

As a caveat I’m still riding bikes as hard as I can and still trying to beat my mates up hills.. and sometimes I ride my roadie without a helmet and just a casquette.

When I turned 18 and my Dad told me I needed to decide on a signature and stick with it as I would be signing all kinds of stuff from then on.

The first time that someone called me Mr (surname), after my dad had died.

That had always been his name, until then.

As someone who is about to turn 37 and planning on getting back into skateboarding, I found this from Lance Mountain

[img] ?w=584[/img]

You're as old as you feel, and some days I feel about 60, but it passes when someone says "poo"

I'm still astounded with the amount of things I'm allowed to do.

I'm allowed to drive a car or a motorbike, I can drive a lorry or operate heavy machinery. I can be responsible for other people. I can own a house or a credit card, I can help elect someone to office. I can smoke and drink without fear of retribution, I can become a father and can go to prison.

All these things have been allowed because my body is older than eighteen years old. No wonder the world is in such a terrible state. At eighteen I was a tiny child. Many men remain in this state their entire lives.

I think I became an adult in my late twenties. I keep slipping back though. I'll still occassionally think that a fight would solve a problem or that I'll win the lottery but i'm gradually growing out of those too.

My dad first showed me the internet back in the mid-nineties and I couldn't understand his jubilation at having on-demand access to weather forecasts. The weather didn't matter to me; I had a world of opportunity ahead whether rain or shine. I don't know how, but gradually I have grown up; something has died inside me. I think my various dreams and aspirations have dissolved into the single hope that there will be sunshine in the next 5 days.
I became an adult when I gleefully downloaded a Weather app.

you know your old when your shit smells as bad as your dads did growing up.

I read somewhere recently that you become an adult when your relationship with your parents changes from them looking after you, to the other way around.. not sure I completely agree but I understand the sentiment...

For me becoming a parent a 34 (5 years ago) was a big deal.. I can remember walking out fo the hospital with our baby in the car seat thingy, with a tear rolling down my cheak thinking "wow, life will never be the same again"

I guess Mortgages/marriage/pensions all play theri part aswell..

My younger brother is also unwell at the moment (fighting the big C), and is facing a very uncertain future.. this also makes me feel very grown up for some reason (all to do with taking on responsibility for our parents if he isn't around I s'pose?)

i have no intention of becoming an adult (i'm 37 😀 😳

I tried bring an adult in the early half of my thirties. It sucked. Now I'm just me.

I think my liver made this decision when it decided to stop me drinking more than 5 pints without a 3 day hangover - so about 36 then.

Also getting a big mortgage and realising I couldn't just walk from my job without there being consequences for my family - so maybe at around 34 then.

I'm struggling with being an adult so this topic is a bone of contention. I've just turned 30 and suddenly feel like I should be making mature decisions and doing sensible things. I've already purchased a house, got married (no kids - not yet) and it's recently dawned on me that I shouldn't be doing or even contemplating silly child like things. I should be saving money, having one 2 week summer holiday abroad, pushing hard for promotion, earning more money, working more hours, eating sensible foods and buying a sensible car.

Makes me sad thinking about it though. 😥

You're never too old to have a happy childhood.

At a wedding the other week speaking to my m8's sister and her 16 year old daughter, I realised we (my age group) were the 'adults' attending the function... very scary.

40 going on 21 here...

I read somewhere recently that you become an adult when your relationship with your parents changes from them looking after you, to the other way around.....

Though some people will never get that opportunity.

I know one person who at 26 is married, looking for a new house for him and his mrs to raise kids, 2 dogs and drives a volvo. He appears to be more of an adult than i am, despite only being 3 years older than me. If i asked him if he thought he was a fully functioning adult, i'm not sure he'd say yes. I think we all feel immature, but may look wisened to others.

i felt old when i became a postgrad student and went back to the Union bar on a Wednesday night.

When I had an empty house for the weekend and instead of thinking "house party" I thought "Oh great, I can paint the hall, stairs and landing in peace now".

What have I become?!?!

I'm 31, with a long term partner and a 2.5 year old daughter and yet I don't feel like a grown-up! It still genuinely sounds weird to me when I'm referred to as a 'man' by others!

meehaja - Member
mostly I feel like a teenager, but my job puts me in adult situations and I feel like a fraud, or that at any moment someone is going to out me as the child I think I am!

^^^ what meehaja said too ^^^

When I could imagine sleeping in the same bed as a woman and not having sex!

walk around selfridges clothes dept and feel truly out of place!

your older than footballers!

Part of me can't wait to be older, I dream of a nice cottage, settled down with gf, the 9-5, good circle of mates all of that shizzle.

Part of me secretly loves it that I stayed up later than I should have on school night last night at a mates, and that I've still got yesterday's clothes on ( I smell)

A confession. I'm 31.
I'd rather get some nice food than hit a club.
I like to "tinker" with things.
I've bought my last 2 pairs of jeans from a department store.
I spend more on my work clothes than my normal cloths. I also own way more shoes than trainers.
I like real ale and nice wine more more than cheap lager and shots.

Frankly, I think my ship has sailed.

34 when my first son was born 7 years ago , I'd been doing plenty of grown up stuff before then (mortgage at 18/bills on DD/pension ect) but as soon as I became responsible for another life I had to calm down a bit.

My mum thinks I should stop riding bikes altogether , but thats never going to happen short of a serious accident!

When did you realise that you were an adult?

I have to do a lot of 'grown up' things (work, pay bills, bring up children, drive etc), but I don't remember a time when I went striding about the place thinking "Behold! I am now Adult!"

I keep a special stick in the garage for stirring paint.

I am my dad 🙁

I don't remember a time when I went striding about the place thinking "Behold! I am now Adult!"

That time is now, and you should be wearing your pants on the outside when you do it.

I do try and behave like a grown up most of the time or my kids give me funny looks.

This ^^

Adult = A person who is fully grown or developed

Given that we never are never really stop growing or developing (in more senses than one), I'm going to suggest that there are very few adults.

I'm on an eternal transition from childhood to adulthood, a fantastic journey that I hope to never see the end of 🙂

Probably tomorrow, possibly next week.

Somewhere on the journey between my dad dying and my kids arriving

Neverrrr ....

Dunno. I feel old and worn-out most of the time now and bits of my body keep letting me down. That's just age I suppose.

But I suspect that it was after my ex-mrs left me and then one day I realised just how pleased I was that she had. A real revelation and allowed me to feel happily justified being all bitter and twisted.

I've tried bloody hard to avoid any 'grown up' activities, but the realms of time are taking their toll on this 'Peter Pan' mountain biker

I'm 37 in 2 months and the most expensive thing i've ever bought for 'the house' is a cassarole dish

I'm still renting, never lived with a girl and still set aside an afternoon once every 3 months to clean my bedroom

I spend all my money on biking & booze

Every so often though, i realise that i'm an adult - things like 'Mr Boltonjon, your table is ready'

Nightclubs are just way too noisy, drinks are far to expensive and i feel guilty about trying to get into a 20 years knickers

Worst still, is that i had to give my widowed 72 year old father a stern talking to the other week because he was tarting around, and about to mess up a relationship with a nice woman he's been seeing

HOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED!!!

😆 @ lunge and painting the stairs, so true my friend so true........
Some people have touched on feeling old, my daughter who is 25 has a very lovely friend who flirts with me, but
not long ago she asked "How old I was?" I replied 53 and she said I was 10 years older than her dad!
She realised straight away that I was crestfallen and proceeded to dig an even bigger hole for herself trying to rescue
the embarrassing situation. Oh how my wife and daughter enjoy retelling that story 😳

I'm 28 now. Left home at 17, been working since. Mortgage since I was 22. Still get excited and show my wife the toilet when I do a fantastic poo. Not sure i'll ever feel like an adult. Not had any kids yet though.

It hasn't happened yet! (56 and three-quarters years old) 🙂

When you can truly appreciate a shed and a good wood store,you are on the doorstep of adulthood.

Starting the business a month after having our first child, focussed the mind a little 😉

According to most of the team I still ride like a 12 year old, (slowly like quite a chubby one)

i bought some angostura bitters and maraschino cherries the other week, which i though made me qualify as an adult. The amount of old fashioneds i then drank on a work night was really quite irresponsible, i then felt as old as time in the morning.so it's ups and downs really.

That's it. I'm going outside to kick a ball up against a wall.

Bloody hell ... many of you old men are not even 40 yet ...

Is an adult defined as having responsibility? I guess I became one at 34 when the first of my two boys were born.

I like having responsibility for stuff, don't understand people who'd rather be told what to do or have others make choices for them.

As has been said previously having a big say in the work status of others is a sure sign I reckon. Or at least taking it seriously is. I've had a couple of really nice things happen to 2 of my staff this year that I was able to influence massively. Seeing the impact it's had on them made me realise I was a proper grown up now. Looks like I'm going to have to cut someone loose soon too so will get the other side as well.

I asked my father before he passed away (many years ago now) if he ever felt like a Dad. What I remember of that conversation is a little cloudy but in essence he said to me "son, you'll only grow up once you've had kids"
I've never had kids nor do I intend to so I guess I'm destined to be me right through my life.

Realisation? Hasn't struck me yet! After 57 years, I suspect it never will. 😆

I'm 32 tomorrow, definitely don't feel like a proper adult yet.

I've done the whole responsible job, managing a team, and everything that goes with it kind of stuff. It changes nothing, cos you're only that responsible adult for 40 hours of the week. For the evenings, and the weekends, you just make sure you don't bump into your employees anywhere!

Currently back at uni, skint as a skint thing, and my Dad rings me up more often to see if I'm alright and I'm eating OK than anything else. Also consistently invites me round for dinner, and when I'm there will thrust a tenner in my hand to cover the cost of the fuel to go and see him! Haha. It's odd, maybe he's being nice now cos in 10-15 years the tables will turn drastically, but for several reasons I feel like more of a kid than I have in years right now... Until I get dragged out on a Student Night out by some of my uni mates, and everyone is 19! 😯

At least I look a lot younger than I am when I'm clean shaven, otherwise I would feel like a right old perv! 😉

When radio 2 became a preset on the cars radio!

I am 36, already have 3 children (first at 21), house, car etc but I still don't feel like an adult yet.
I might feel like an adult when I am 40 because to me, thats the birthday that means you are getting old 😕

When radio 2 became a preset on the cars radio!

Radio 2? That's for kids. Radio 4 is the station for proper grown-ups.

I'm a grown up? When did that happen?

Although actually I realised I'd become a proper grown up a few weeks back when my Dad and I were fixing a window frame and I was allowed to do the sawing while he held the end of the wood.

@boltonjon: 20 year olds!! Half your age plus seven, have some decency!!

As I said theotherjonv - i now know that i'm a grown up because i don't go after the 20 year olds any more!!

Decency & decorum all rolled into one!!

Plus, i just can't handle the rejection any more! 😕