I was talking to a 69-year-old male client not too long ago, and after asking him about his work and hobbies, the conversation naturally turned to what characteristics he was looking for in a partner. His immediate response was, “I want to meet a woman anywhere from age 40 to 60.” He painted a smug smile on his face, thinking that I was going to praise him for being so “open-minded” because his age range included a 20-year span. Umm … not exactly. I asked him why he wouldn’t include any women up to his own age of 69 in his search. He replied, “Women in their 60s are too old for me. They have different interests and can’t keep up.”

I also had a first meeting with a new client several weeks ago — a 44-year-old male in Washington, D.C. He has his heart set on having children, which is obviously a worthy and noble goal. While he was a little unclear about the specifics of it all, he knew that he likely has to find a partner who is younger than he is due to women’s biological clocks. While that makes complete sense, what bothered me was not that he would like to find a younger woman but that he was actually saying negative things about women who were even five years younger than he is for having made the same life choices — delaying having children — that he did.

And lastly, I was meeting with a woman who is 59. She is very active and practices yoga, plays tennis and mountain bikes. When I asked what age range of partner she was looking for, she said, “Someone younger then I am, please! Men my age are out of shape and old.”

It’s interesting that all three clients had different reasons for wanting someone younger. They assumed that someone his or her own age was in a completely different situation. Why, though? As a 72-year-old female client put it best: “What? I was good enough to sit next to you in kindergarten, but now I’m too old for you?”

Fairly consistently, almost all of my over-50 male clients tell me that women don’t age as well as men. And you know what the women say? Men don’t age as well as women. The moral: We all age. Everyone gets dark spots and lines, everyone’s metabolism slows, and everyone hears the occasional new crack in his or her body. Please don’t make overarching assumptions. I know plenty of “old” 30-year-olds who sit on the couch all night, and I know plenty of “young” 70-year-olds who love skiing, sailing and chasing their dogs around. It’s all relative.

We’ve all heard the term “racial discrimination” or “sex discrimination,” of course. I think we can agree that showing any outward racism or sexism is not only inappropriate but also ignorant. Why is it, then, that when I ask these clients about their dating deal-breakers, so many people list very specific ages within which they will date, not leaving an ounce (or a month) of wiggle room? Does this mean that people age discriminate when dating?

On most, if not all, online dating sites, the age of a person is front and center, along with a photo. It’s only natural that we use this number to filter through potential matches since it’s staring us in the face. But if we’re out hiking, at a speed-dating mixer or at a networking event, people don’t have Post-it notes on their foreheads saying their exact age (though it would be a fun sight to see).

My advice is that just because you can dismiss someone solely based on age does not mean you should. We all get older, and no one likes to be judged for this fact. In the scope of life, what are a few years either way?