# Are there any advantages to having a baby face? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 17, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356 "2012-12-17T21:27:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/21 "2012-12-19T23:32:00Z")
I’m in my late twenties and look like I’m in my early twenties, which is usually more of a perk than a drawback at this point. I have learned how to launch into highly technical explanations when people start talking down to me at work, though. That usually gets the point across. And it’s just downright FUN doing that to salespeople at local electronics stores. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/22 "2012-12-20T17:49:07Z")
I will admit that, sometimes, the look on a person’s face when I know something they don’t expect me to know is kind of priceless… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Orca\_Eyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Orca\_Eyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orca_Eyes)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/23 "2012-12-24T17:23:23Z")
Having a baby face lets you pass for a teenager when you’re well into your twenties. Ralph Macchio has one, and he was playing teenage characters until he was 30. Even now, at 51, his face doesn’t look like that of a typical man his age. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/24 "2012-12-24T18:27:34Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > _How_ did it become a blessing? > > I never said/implied that I’d like to look older than I am. 🙂 > > I haven’t found any of the above to be true. > > What? Did you read my post? 😕 Exactly the opposite is actually true. > > As I implied in the “music” paragraph, I hate that. I have no interest in pretending to be an exceptional 25-year-old when I’m actually just a slightly-above-average 41-year-old. > > Which doesn’t mean a thing if I’m not interested in them. > > You overlooked the part where I said that I prefer to date men who are 5-10 years older than me. Plus, the men who want younger women aren’t the men who I want to date. > > I didn’t provide an estimate. It’s a simple fact that some men in my desired age range will overlook me because they assume that I’m too young for them. > > Umm, the normal amount of proactive? I don’t go around wearing a shirt that says, “I’m 41,” so it doesn’t come up unless age gets brought up some other way. > > Yeah, I already do all of that. > > Finally, an actual benefit! 🙂 Well you sound like a cranky old lady if that helps any ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/25 "2012-12-24T20:51:10Z")
> [@Orca\_Eyes](#): > > Having a baby face lets you pass for a teenager when you’re well into your twenties. Ralph Macchio has one, and he was playing teenage characters until he was 30. Even now, at 51, his face doesn’t look like that of a typical man his age. Yeah, that’s only a benefit if you’re an actor. I did pass for a teenager well into my twenties (and in fact was mistaken for an undergrad more than once as an early-30s grad student), and there was absolutely no advantage to it. > [@April\_R](#): > > Well you sound like a cranky old lady if that helps any Why do my responses to **BigT** sound cranky to you? Were you expecting a few misguided (though well-meaning) suggestions from someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about to “fix” my reality? I merely disagreed with some incorrect assumptions; there’s nothin’ cranky about that. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/26 "2012-12-25T04:42:36Z")
I read the thread title as “Are there any advantages to having a baby twice?” and just had to investigate. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/27 "2012-12-25T04:45:18Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Yeah, that’s only a benefit if you’re an actor. I did pass for a teenager well into my twenties (and in fact was mistaken for an undergrad more than once as an early-30s grad student), and there was absolutely no advantage to it. > > Why do my responses to **BigT** sound cranky to you? Were you expecting a few misguided (though well-meaning) suggestions from someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about **to “fix” my reality?** I merely disagreed with some incorrect assumptions; there’s nothin’ cranky about that. Woah, what does that even mean? You have the attitude of someone twice your age! ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/28 "2012-12-25T17:59:22Z")
I can’t believe that a person can not like to look younger than they are. Just wait until you’re in your fifties or so - it’ll be great then. My entire family has always looked young - no facial lines until at least seventy, and not many then. No downsides there. My daughter just turned fifty, and could be mistaken for thirty, both in voice and appearance. She loves it! ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/29 "2012-12-26T14:38:37Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I read the thread title as “Are there any advantages to having a baby twice?” and just had to investigate. Ha! 😃 > [@April\_R](#): > > Woah, what does that even mean? You have the attitude of someone twice your age! I’m really not sure why simple, sincere responses and questions seem “old” and “cranky” (let alone confusing) to you. If you’d care to participate in this thread like a grownup I’d be interested in your thoughts, otherwise please go play with the kiddies in some other thread. > [@Daylate](#): > > I can’t believe that a person can not like to look younger than they are. Just wait until you’re in your fifties or so - it’ll be great then. _How_ will it be great then? Why does your daughter love being mistaken for 30 when she’s actually 50? (I expect to be in the same position in nine years.) Is it along the lines of what **TreacherousCretin** said? Does she share any of my complaints/did she a decade ago? ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/30 "2012-12-26T14:43:27Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I’m really not sure why simple, sincere responses and questions seem “old” and “cranky” (let alone confusing) to you. If you’d care to participate in this thread like a grownup I’d be interested in your thoughts, otherwise **please go play with the kiddies in some other thread.** See, that is what I am talking about! You don’t want advice, you want to complain about how “hard” it is to look younger than you are, and stealth brag at the same time. There are far more advantages to looking younger (like looking great, being underestimated and then blowing people away with your competency, people generally being more at ease around you) than disadvantages, but you continue to shoot everyone’s responses down. It’s your choice to be miserable, but no need to be cranky and pessimistic about something that isn’t even a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/31 "2012-12-26T16:41:36Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > You don’t want advice, you want to complain about how “hard” it is to look younger than you are, and stealth brag at the same time. Well, one of the points of this thread is that having a baby face is harder than many people would think, and I provided concrete examples of how it is often a disadvantage both professionally and personally. Oh, and at least one other poster agreed with me. Where was the “stealth brag” in any of that? > [@](#): > > There are far more advantages to looking younger (like looking great, being underestimated and then blowing people away with your competency, people generally being more at ease around you) than disadvantages For what feels like the millionth time in this thread, those are only PERCEIVED advantages. I find none of those things to be true/actual advantages. “Looking great”? By whose definition? Being underestimated and then surprising people with my competency is WAY overrated, and is one of the things I list as a disadvantage in the OP. And where is your cite that people are generally more at ease around 20-somethings than 40-somethings? Not in my experience – unless by “people” you actually mean “people under 40.” > [@](#): > > but you continue to shoot everyone’s responses down. How is correcting inacurrate assumptions “shooting everyone’s responses down”? The only statements I’ve disagreed with in this thread were made by people who don’t have a baby face and therefore can only guess what the advantages might be, and in some cases they seem to have not read the OP at all. The people who actually know what it’s like, I’ve listened to and not disagreed with at all. > [@](#): > > It’s your choice to be miserable How in the world does “it seems to be an annoyance in nearly every aspect of my life” = “miserable”? > [@](#): > > but no need to be cranky and pessimistic about something that isn’t even a problem. Oh, NOW I get it: you’re either under 30 (and therefore can’t _imagine_ what I’m talking about, and really have no place commenting in this thread), or you’re jealous. Whatever the case, now I know that trying to get a thoughtful response out of you has been a waste of my time. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/32 "2012-12-26T17:02:25Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > That guy ( Clarence Otis) doesn’t look especially baby-faced to me. What you don’t realize is he’s 107 years old. > [@Misnomer](#): > > Well, one of the points of this thread is that having a baby face is harder than many people would think, and I provided concrete examples of how it is often a disadvantage both professionally and personally. Oh, and at least one other poster agreed with me. Where was the “stealth brag” in any of that? > > For what feels like the millionth time in this thread, those are only PERCEIVED advantages. I find none of those things to be true/actual advantages. Stop, stop… Stop. April R has a habit of going into threads and sniping at people for no reason. Go have a cocktail. She’ll tire herself out. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/33 "2012-12-26T21:03:25Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Stop, stop… Stop. April R has a habit of going into threads and sniping at people for no reason. Go have a cocktail. She’ll tire herself out. Thank you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/34 "2012-12-26T22:03:54Z")
I have a baby face. I am 52 and am frequently mistaken for being much younger. I like it. It is flattering to be thought of as younger, and I think it helps me have a younger attitude as well. I also tend to have relationships with younger men, so it is nice to look nearer their ages. I fing these to be advantages, but clearly YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/35 "2012-12-27T02:21:05Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Oh, NOW I get it: you’re either under 30 (and therefore can’t _imagine_ what I’m talking about, and really have no place commenting in this thread), or you’re jealous. Whatever the case, now I know that trying to get a thoughtful response out of you has been a waste of my time. Oh well. I’ll be 30 in March. As for the jealousy thing, that is what people say about others when they have nothing better to say. I am happy about my appearance, and most people think I am younger than I am, and I love it. Because I choose to love it. 😃 > [@](#): > > How in the world does “it seems to be an annoyance in nearly every aspect of my life” = “miserable”? That sounds pretty miserable to me ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/36 "2012-12-27T02:22:05Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > What you don’t realize is he’s 107 years old. > > Stop, stop… Stop. April R has a habit of going into threads and sniping at people for no reason. Go have a cocktail. She’ll tire herself out. I do not, mostly. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/37 "2012-12-27T07:52:40Z")
Male, baby face here. Basically I get “you’re 26? You look like you’re 16.” And then, invariably “don’t worry when your 50 you’ll be happy about it.” It is what it is I guess. I’m fine with how I look. How you carry yourself is all that really matters. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356/38 "2012-12-27T16:04:52Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > I think it helps me have a younger attitude as well. My initial reaction was that “younger attitude” is a negative, but now I think I know what you mean. A lot of times, when people younger than me find out how old I am, in addition to the usual “you don’t look your age” stuff I also hear “you don’t act/talk like you’re in your 40s,” and they mean it as a compliment – i.e., I don’t act/talk like I’m “old.” I also don’t really _feel_ like I’m in my 40s, and a big part of that is probably because of what I see in the mirror. I guess that’s a pretty good benefit/advantage! Do you find that your appearance has any _professional_ disadvantages? Do you at least look like you’re over 30? > [@](#): > > I also tend to have relationships with younger men Maybe I will, too, in a few more years… 😉 > [@Scotty Mo](#): > > I’m fine with how I look. So am I. Life would be pretty miserable otherwise. 🙂 If a genie appeared I honestly don’t think I’d change anything (related to the baby face, anyway!), but it doesn’t mean I can’t be tired of having to establish that I’m a grownup/dealing with people’s surprise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-advantages-to-having-a-baby-face/644356.md?page=1)