Revealed: The Age at Which Men and Women Mature… Eleven Years Apart

Are you mad for your fella to ditch the Spiderman bedspread, and stop finding his flatulence funnier than a Michael McIntyre DVD? Bad news lady, you could be waiting quite a while.

Men finally grow up at the age of 43 – a full eleven years after women ‘mature’, it has been revealed. A study into the differences in maturity between the genders reveals that eight out of ten women are convinced blokes remain immature well into their thirties and forties.

The research of 1,000 men and 1,000 women found respondents believe signs of male maturity begin to appear after the fortieth birthday, with 43 the average age given.

Eight out of ten women believe that men ‘never stop being childish’ – with breaking wind, burping, eating fast food in the early hours and playing video games their biggest bug-bears.

Staying silent during arguments, not being able to cook simple meals and re-telling the same old jokes and stories when with the lads were also hailed as signs of immaturity.

The research, commissioned by Nickelodeon, showed that both men and women agreed women reach proper maturity much earlier than guys, at the age of 32.

Men were nearly twice as likely to describe themselves as immature than women, with one in four men believing they are actively immature.

Women were also twice as likely as men to feel that they were the ‘grown up’ one in their current relationship.

One quarter of women felt they were the ones made all the important decisions in the relationship, with the same percentage wishing their partner would talk about themselves and what they’re feeling more often.

Women also found men’s biggest maturity failings included still finding breaking wind funny, driving too fast and playing video games.

Three in ten women have ended a relationship because they lost patience with the guy being too immature, while a whopping 46% of women have had a relationship in which they felt they had to mother their partner a bit too much.

In fact, on average, women have to tell their cheeky partner to ‘act his age’ more than once a month – an average of 14 times a year.

Immaturity does have its upside though, with four in ten people believing immaturity is important in a relationship because it ensures the partnership stays fun and keeps things fresh.

One in three people also think a bit of immaturity helps in bonding well with children.

?MEN’S TOP 30 MATURITY FAILINGS – AS EXPERIENCED BY WOMEN

1. Finding their own farts and burps hilarious

2. Eating fast food at 2:00am

3. Playing video games

4. Driving too fast or ‘racing’ another car at the lights or on the motorway

5. Sniggering a bit at rude words

6. Driving with loud music

7. Playing practical jokes

8. Trying to beat children at games and sport

9. Staying silent during an argument

10. Not being able to cook simple meals

11. Re-telling the same silly jokes and stories when with the lads

12. Don’t like talking about themselves/ having proper conversations

13. Hating books/reading because of short attention span/they’re boring

14. Doing crazy dance moves

15. Mum still doing their washing

16. Having their Mum still make them breakfast/any meal

17. Wearing trainers to night clubs

18. Owning a skateboard or BMX

19. Not eating vegetables

20. Changing jobs regularly

21. Getting too excited over stag do’s

22. Sometimes trying to do wheelies/stunts on their bike

23. Driving a modified car or one with a loud exhaust/boy racer

24. Showing off about how girls are attracted to them

25. Wearing pyjamas, specifically cartoon pyjamas

26. Using dodgy chat-up lines

27. Showing off about protein shakes/weight-lifting/how much they ‘lift’

28. Littering

29. Wearing saggy-crotched jeans

30. Having a cartoon bedspread