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Anonymous wrote:Me: 53yo and child: 11yo. What’s the average age of elementary and middle school parents at your school?

The average age is high (50 plus) at my school but it is a private school. (PS parent ages skew higher)

Are you in DC? You'll be 100% fine. I am 51, my kid is 12. I only know one mother that is a few years younger than me. Those I know well enough to know age are between 50 - 55.

I’m 47 with a 6th grader. Hubby is 56. Most 6th grade parents are around my age.

We also have a 3rd grader. About 75% of those parents are younger than me and many haven’t hit 40 yet and a few have toddlers. It is a different generation and often feels like it!

Anonymous wrote:Me: 53yo and child: 11yo. What’s the average age of elementary and middle school parents at your school?

Old enough to have great great grandkids.

Moms in my kids eighth grade class ranged from
around 40 - 60 with most in the 45 - 55 range.

I'm 49 and definitely middle of the pack.

I'm on the younger end of my older kid - most of those parents were turning 50 when the kids were in 4th grade

I'll be almost 60 when our youngest graduates from high school. Use your age to your advantage. You should be wiser by now, you can make better choices. Mostly for me as an older mom, I no longer feel the pressure to sign up for anything that feels like too much for me at my age (55). I'm menopausal, I have a few limits as a result and I'm realistic. The younger moms with more energy can chaperone the away events and field trips, but I will volunteer for a few hours at the school whenever asked. If I tell you I will be there, then I will be there. Our kids haven't had a problem with my age, it doesn't seem to be an issue. I'm open with them about what I can do, and what is more difficult for me.

I'm 53 and my kid will be in Kindergarten this year.
We get mistaken for grandparents, from time to time but the mistake is only made once. Having someone constantly calling you "mommy" every 5 minutes is annoying but acts as a tool to signal to others that I, the old bird that I am, is this young kid's mom, not grandma.
Don't spend too much time thinking about it, there are tons of other things to feel self conscious about.

Anonymous wrote:Why does this matter? My interaction with other parents since my son entered middle school is along the level of "hi, we are glad Bobby could come over today" or "great band concert," or "Bobby did a good job on that 400m." They could literally be 80 years old, and it would make no difference.

I highly doubt you wouldn't blink if the kid's parents were 80!

Anonymous wrote:At 53 my youngest was in first grade. It. Doesn’t. Matter. And FWIW, my other kids were in fifth and 9th. I win. You’re not the oldest ever.

What's your prize?

I was 43 when my youngest was born, so I was your age when she was in middle school. I was not the oldest mom; rather, DH, who was 46 when she was born, and I were part of a small cohort of parents in our 50s, many/most of whom had older kids. We were, as the song in The Music Man says, older and wiser, and I think we sometimes scared the younger parents -- e.g., when we talked about kids learning to drive, prom parties, college applications, etc. BTW, DD just graduated from college (woot-woot!) and at commencement we learned that we were not the oldest parents on her varsity athletic team.

I’ve found the private school parents skew older. I had my DC at 39 and was on the older side at our neighborhood ES but am now on the younger side/in the middle at our private.