At what age do people stop being "children" in your family?

[Anonymous]

In our family, usually there’s someone in charge of tasks like stockings or hiding eggs. Everyone else who’s younger automatically is included, and anyone older who wants to is welcome to. We’re not rigid about age cut offs or restricting activities to certain groups though. We also let children participate in adult conversations and activities when appropriate if they’re interested.

[Anonymous]

I’m 48 and the youngest sibling by 10 years, I’ve been married 20+ years and have two HS age children of my own. My family still thinks I’m 18.

[Anonymous]

In our family, there's a designation of "adult kids" - older teens and under 30 who aren't married yet or don't have kids. My family got 'promoted" to adult when we had kids.

With younger tweens/teens it's based on maturity level and interest. The ones who still want to hang out with and do kids' stuff are generally treated as kids, while the ones who are older and gravitate to the adult children are classed more with them. Threshold might be 14-15?

[Anonymous]

I wrote a thread on this around Thanksgiving. My cousins and I are all in our 30s and at holidays we STILL have the "kids area" (ridiculously complicated board games) and "adult area" (drinking and chatting.) I'm the only one with children and I would love to be in the adult area but I'm too busy keeping my kids from bothering the board game players.
My 37 year old childless SIL still brings coloring books to family events and makes out a Christmas list for her parents to fulfill. She doesn't bring food to pass -- that's the adults' job.
So I think it's becoming a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When my grandmother was alive and hosting holidays, you stayed at the kids table until a place opened by death at the main table.

The result was that as a 34 year old mother of three I was still at the kids table.

Hilarious and made me LOL.

I was going to offer when grandchild become college age. The grandmothers suddenly seemed like this was a wake up call/painful realization that their grand babies were now young adults and needed to be treated as such.

We, the parents had to establish limits with grandparents: now that DC was away at college, all expectations of attending family events need to be relaxed to forgiven. Our DC stayed close for college and we had to repeatedly explain that DC was not expected to attend family dinners, parties, gatherings nor travel home for such.

[Anonymous]

My husband and his brothers were in their late twenties-early thirties when their parents said "Maybe it's time to only have Christmas stockings for the grandkids" lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband and his brothers were in their late twenties-early thirties when their parents said "Maybe it's time to only have Christmas stockings for the grandkids" lol

+1

I can only imagine the reluctance to mention what everyone must have been thinking!