"How old are you?" It's a simple question, and there's usually a simple answer: 'sixteen years old', 'twenty years old', 'fifty-five', etc. But if someone is described as 'young' or 'middle-aged' or 'old', then how old are they? It's difficult to know because these words have different meanings for different people.
Except for the word teenager, which describes young men whose age is between thirteen and nineteen, other words, which describe age, are not exact. When, for example, does a baby stop being called a baby and become a young child? When does a boy become a young man and a little girl become a young woman? At what age does middle age begin? When do you call someone elderly and not simply old? At what age does someone become an adult?
In some countries, like Britain, France, and the United States, it is when the government says a person is old enough to vote. Is that really the difference between a child and an adult?
The answers to these questions partly depend on how old you are.
There is a saying that old age is always ten years older than you. If you are a youth of fifteen then you think someone of twenty-five is old. At thirty, forty seems old. If you are seventy, then you probably think someone of eighty is old.
A recent survey showed that there was some truth in the old saying. People were asked, "When is middle age?" Those in their early twenties usually answered, "Between thirty-five and fifty", and people in their thirties answered, "Between forty-five and sixty". Average Age
10 - Ten is the year of the closest friendships — though not with the opposite sex. It is also the year when relationships with particular people or groups are the strongest. The ten-year-old usually gets on well with parents but needs more time alone. Personal talents begin to show.
20 - In the United States twenty is the average age for the first marriage for women, although probably only a third marry at this age because they want to; the others marry because of social pressure. The human brain is at its finest at twenty. It is the age when people can vote in Denmark, Japan, Norway and Switzerland. And in Japan it is the minimum age for buying alcohol.
30 - For optimists thirty is one of the happiest ages, for pessimists it marks the end of feeling young. At this age you need to take a little more care with your body than when you were younger. Young people who enjoyed an all-night party at twenty will feel much worse the next day at thirty. In Britain it is the youngest you can become a bishop.
40 - Forty is the year of the 'middle-aged', although nobody who is forty wants to admit the fact. Bob Hope said that you are middle-aged when your age starts to show around your middle. In fact, the body starts to get smaller at forty and continues to do so until you die.
50 - Fifty is an age when old friendships get closer and relationships with colleagues and relatives warmer. According to old proverbs, fifty is the age when you should be rich. George Orwell said, "At fifty everyone has the face he deserves." People need to wear glasses and some food loses its strong taste