Clench your jaw, furrow your brow and practice a slight squint - much less approachable in public. Also, those long winded replies mentioned are really not enough to the point to get someone to just shut up. Try something more concise, like, “FUCK OFF.”
It may be illegal in your state to impersonate a government employee.
From the pics, I would say you look your age. Must be something else that is driving these unsolicited advisors.
‘Bogus social workers’ are an actual thing. In the UK there have been sporadic reports of women claiming to be social workers and trying to talk their way into houses to examine kids. People are very weird.
I don’t think you actually look young (younger than 30, yes, but not under 25), but your posture does. You’ve got that slight slouch that I associate with late teens. Maybe it’s just the pics, but otherwise, maybe try keeping your back straight and shoulders back?
This is exactly the same problem pbbth is running into: people who think they can decide when other people should have kids, and that the right time for you is necessarily the right time for everyone. It’s completely bewildering to me.
+1. Once a week? Sounds like a humblebrag to me.
QFT
Exactly.
I don’t have a cite, but it’s a proven fact that once women reach 70 or so, that filter between the brain and the mouth automatically switches into the off position, and there’s nothing that will turn it back on. They are compelled to offer unsolicited advice to anyone and everyone, and sometimes you just have to smile and say thanks and then walk away.
And holy cow, that is one cute baby!
Try “Why are you taking such an untoward interest in what my child is wearing? Are you a weirdo?”
Actually it’s a very different “problem” considering this is a public forum. I wouldn’t approach anyone on the street to tell them they’re too old or too young: partially because I don’t care enough about their lives to tell them, and partially because it’s really weird to tell someone something like that without being asked for one’s opinion. On a public forum as you’ll hopefully guess, that’s a very different quality. I also never suggested that I am the arbiter of when people get knocked up. But people are really pushing their biology if they think their first children can really happen in their 40’s or even their late 30’s. That’s not a matter of personal freedom, believe it or not. The pros of having a kid in your later 30’s or early middle age are (perceived as) financial and social. The pros of having a kid in your 20’s are biological and physical, which in most ways is better for the kid (and you). There’s no real argument about that. On that note, for anyone reading, I really hate anecdotes and would love not to hear them. They mean nothing.
What I find bewildering is that people think the “right time” is really that much of a choice.
Wear sunglasses and a scowl.
I agree, you need to develop a good bitch face. People might still want to give you advice but they’ll be too afraid to do so.
JennaMarbles face seems apropos for a lot of problems dopers are facing lately.
stop wearing a hoodie.
The way I read it “once a week” was referring to unsolicited child rearing advice, not **pbbth **being told she looks young.
I don’t have advice for looking older. The dark circles under my eyes for the whole of my sons infancy probably did it for me. I do think you appear younger that your age in those photos. I don’t however, understand why people think it’s okay to dump their opinions on young people.
The notion of bogus social workers is freaking me out right now.
I agree with the others that this issue has more to do with the fact that you probably look friendly and approachable than young.
I recommend practicing the following statement in a very chilling barely polite tone:
How kind of you to take an interest.
Then TURN your back to them and ignore them. Really they’re strangers trying to tell you how to run your life. They’re rude and you don’t need to change yourself or put up with it.
When I was pregnant with Celtling I went to the grocery store one day in jeans and a t-shirt, sneakers,no make-up. (I had a slipped disc and was in a lot of pain, just getting there was as much as I could handle.)
As I shuffled in, leaning hard on the grocery cart, an elderly woman coming out gave me a contemptuous glare and hissed “Babies having babies!!”
I was 38.
LOL. In your position I’d have been tempted to snarl agreement about how degenerate the youth of today have become, then look around wildly and say, “Where?”
And the best revenge would actually to have told her you’re 38. If she thinks you’re 18 and you’re 38, guess what she’s going to think the next time she looks in the mirror 
I fail to understand why you would share anything with this person? My warning bells would be going off right away. More importantly, she seemed to know quite a few details about you but your later research into her claims did not add up. Sorry to say, but I think you are an easy mark for something unpleasant.
I am not impressed. I prefer the face that says “I am going to rip your fingernails out, one by one, and then I’m REALLY gonna hurt you.” Apparently I can go from sweetheart to psycho bitch in under a second, from what people who know me say.
I have this problem when I wear certain clothes or style my hair a certain way. Posture helps some, but I think that clothes and styling are the biggest issues. Yes, people should just leave you alone, but if you want them to stop, then changing your styling will help.
Here is a blog that really demonstrates how a bit of makeup, hair styling, and clothes can make a woman look her age. Even just taking a few tips from websites like that can vastly improve your life. I don’t usually wear makeup and I like sandals, but I’ve found that nice sandals and outfits draw a more respectful treatment than tshirt and jeans.
However, this may not stop every person from giving you advice on childcare. I’m pregnant now and I hang out with other pregnant ladies or new moms and a lot of them receive unsolicited advice on pregnancy/childcare, no matter their age. In some parts of the country and some parts of a city, people are more touchy or verbal with their opinions. Unlike many other ladies I’ve talked to, I’ve never had a stranger try to touch my belly, but I have witnessed a stranger trying to touch my (clearly adult) friend’s baby while she was wearing her on her breast. Master the stinkeye and be thankful that it’s strangers doing this instead of family members.