# Adults! Do you know how old your (living) parents are? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 7, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326 "2011-12-07T00:42:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tracyfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f14d63/32.png) [@Tracyfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracyfish)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/21 "2011-12-07T03:40:21Z")
I know my parents’ ages, my husband’s parents’ birthdays and ages, and my grandparents’ birthdays and ages (except the exact birth date of the grandfather who died before I was born). My husband doesn’t know how old his parents are. We get together for birthdays but don’t really make a big deal out of them. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/22 "2011-12-07T04:38:21Z")
Mom’s fifty six and dad’s sixty five. We celebrate every year with a nice gift and a nice dinner. Every 5 years it’s a bigger deal. ---
**Author:** ![slm2955](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@slm2955](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slm2955)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/23 "2011-12-07T04:57:14Z")
Yup both are in their mid 40’s. ---
**Author:** ![ProbablyProcrastinating](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/57b2e6/32.png) [@ProbablyProcrastinating](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ProbablyProcrastinating)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/24 "2011-12-07T05:50:11Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I always go ahead and increment my age at the new year, even though my birthday isn’t until May. I thought I was the only person to do that. My birthday is in June. Somehow that gets me more used to it. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/25 "2011-12-07T05:50:18Z")
I do. I also know how old their mothers are. I sometimes have to take a moment to think on it, but I do know. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/26 "2011-12-07T06:10:26Z")
Mom 64 Dad 61 Sister 36 Me 39 Do I win anything? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/27 "2011-12-07T07:04:27Z")
I know their birth dates. I don’t have their ages at immediate recall, but I can subtract. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/28 "2011-12-07T07:11:28Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever known without looking up my biological father’s exact age. I know my mother’s birthdate. Is that strange? It’s not like it changes. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/29 "2011-12-07T13:37:48Z")
Who the hell doesn’t know how old their parents are? Mine are both deceased, but I always knew their ages and their birthdays. And now I know the dates of their death too. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/30 "2011-12-07T14:06:06Z")
I know their birthdays and my dad’s birth year, so I extrapolate from that. My mother is two years younger than him. Like some others above, I usually have to use my own birth year to calculate my own age, as the years tend to rush by faster as I get older, and sometimes I can’t keep up. I know my older sister’s age because her birthday is a month before mine but she is two years older. My younger siblings? I know their birthdays but the years are a little fuzzy. I can narrow it down with some thought. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/31 "2011-12-07T14:11:43Z")
My mom is almost exactly 20 years older than I - she was born on Jan 7 and I was on Jan 23. Dad was born 4 years before she, altho he died 9 years ago. My father in law was born a month after my dad, and I only remember my MIL’s b-day because she graduated high school, turned 18 and got married all in the same week. I’m good at remembering trivia, but important stuff, less so… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/32 "2011-12-07T14:21:53Z")
Dad 77 Mom 72 Bro 54 Sis 51 SIL 53 BIL 56??? Niece 30 Niece 27 Nephew 25 Niece 22 Niece 19 Great nephew 4 Great niece Uh… days away from 2 Who doesn’t know this right off the bat? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/33 "2011-12-07T14:24:55Z")
I know how old my surviving parent is, how old Dad would be if he was alive, how old my surviving grandmother is, and how old her recently-dead husband would be. For the other two grandparents I need to do some addition and substraction (I know when they died and how old they were at the time). ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/34 "2011-12-07T14:45:08Z")
I know how old my mom & dad are, but sometimes I have to pause and do the math in my head to calculate from their birth years. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/35 "2011-12-07T14:59:09Z")
Dad’s DOB has been his briefcase combination for nearly 40 years, not that he’s needed it much in the fifteen that he’s been retired. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/36 "2011-12-07T15:53:41Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > You realize that this doesn’t guarantee that you know their exact age, right? Yes it does because I know the months they were born in, so I know if they’ve turned yet or not. It goes first my dad in July, then my mom in November, then me in February. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/37 "2011-12-07T15:55:22Z")
I think I’m the opposite of the OP. A decade or so ago. I might have said I had a general idea but couldn’t be bothered to keep track of the exact number. But ever since my Dad’s cancer diagnosis I have been acutely aware of both their ages. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/38 "2011-12-07T16:20:36Z")
General idea until this year, when they both turned 80 and we had parties. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/39 "2011-12-07T16:33:27Z")
Of course I know how old my parents are, but my mother did try to play coy by describing herself as “21+” when I was a little kid. I asked her what that meant, and she said “A little bit older than 21.” _That_ ended when I told my kindergarten teacher that my mother was 22 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326/40 "2011-12-07T16:42:33Z")
Mine are both at round numbers now (80 and 70) and we did a big to do for their birthdays, so I know right now. Sometimes I have to do the math in my head otherwise, but I know within a few years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adults-do-you-know-how-old-your-living-parents-are/605326.md?page=3)