Full-blown adulthood: does it actually start at 50?

Name: 50 (and thriving).Age: You can work this one out.Appearance: Cool, calm and collected. Also, very tidy.Don’t you mean frazzled? Come on, wouldn’t you say you’re more together now than you were at 20, or even 30?Who says I’m not still in my 20s? Why are we comparing ages anyway? A new survey has found that 50 is the age at which Brits feel “most confident and in control of their lives”.And what source do we have to thank for this? British Gas commissioned the survey of 2,000 British adults.Getting the boiler serviced is one way to feel like a grownup, I suppose. The survey found that recycling, putting clothes away and knowing when bin day is were widely-agreed-upon indicators that someone had “got it together”.What’s wrong with a chairdrobe? It’s a perfectly workable system! It’s a pile of clothes, is what it is. Respondents also said that having a litter-free car, spare batteries to hand and washing up after a dinner party, instead of leaving it till the next day, were signs of adulthood.I knew I was right to buy that bulk pack of triple As. It’s when you’ve got a spare CR2032 battery that you know you’re really nailing it.These do seem somewhat low or arbitrary bars for having your life together. Oh, so you want to hold people to owning a car, or buying a house, or becoming a parent? Not in this economy.True. But surely there are more meaningful markers of maturity than making your bed, or drinking two litres of water a day? As if you do either every day. You’re right, though: the top-rated sign you’ve got your life under control was making regular savings.Surely it’s what’s on the inside that counts for adulthood, not what’s in your bank account. The next top indicators were enjoying your own company, admitting when you’re wrong and saying no to things you don’t want to do.OK, those are way tougher than knowing when bin day is. It does get confusing around the bank holidays …You’re telling me that you have to be 50 to be on top of all this? That’s the average age respondents felt most in control of their lives. But 30% said they felt nowhere near being sorted, while 56% thought no one ever really is.Didn’t we only just discover that the brain doesn’t reach adulthood until age 32, anyway? Yes, that was a Cambridge University finding last year, and probably more credible than this consumer research.So, if you think about it, by 50 you’ve only been a grownup for 18 years. Long enough to know to make your bed.Do say: “Actually, drinking two litres of water a day is excessive for most people.”Don’t say: “Is it bin day?”