when do you think a "kid" becomes "adult"?

[Bammx2]

I'm just curious on this subject and wondered what other people think.

"Law"...says you're an adult at 18.
Basically...you can vote and die fpr your country at 18.
Why can't you vote at 16?
You have to pay taxes at 16 if you have a job.Shouldn't you be allowed to voice your opinions if you have pay taxes just like everyone else?
Drivers license at 16.
You can enlist in the military at 17.
You can be tried in a court of law as an adult in some states as young as 15-16 depending on the crime.
Still can't drink til 21 though........hhmm.
I saw a show a loooooong time ago,DONAHUE to be exact(remember him?),
and he had 2 teenagers who had written a paper on "testing" for teenagers to qualify them for voting.
Thier point being,and I agree, was that some people have higher intelligence levels at a certain age than what the "law" will recognise.
Now....
Lets forget about BB gradings,society perceptions and such.....
At what point do you think a person could qualify as an "adult"?
Life experience?
IQ?
Type of education?

Just because you have a college degree doesn't mean you are entirely smart.
Hell.....
I'm a firm believer that if you took the majority of "educated" politicians in the world and put thier brains in a gnats ***, it would be like putting a bb in a boxcar!

So whaddya think?

 

[Brother John]

At what point do you think a person could qualify as an "adult"?
Life experience?
IQ?
Type of education?

Just because you have a college degree doesn't mean you are entirely smart.

So whaddya think?

I think there's a big difference between 'qualifying' and BEING an adult.
There must be an official 'age' on the books at which point people are held responsible/accountable for things. This age, I believe, used to be 21. Now it's 18. There's Nothing magical that happens to you on the evening of your 364th day in your 17th year of life...no magical "Adult fairie" that magico-presto....POOOF, you're an adult.

Just because you have a college degree doesn't mean you are entirely smart.

HECK NO!! Education means nothing in regards to maturity level, intelligence, common sense. It's not even a guarantee that a person is knowledgeable in their field. I know a few very highly educated Idiots. They may have a Phd, but they need to learn the other letters in the alphabet as well!! Heck, it's usually a better indicator of ego than of IQ.

I don't have a good answer to your question. I know what I think adulthood is, but it has nothing to do with chronological age. BUT: I will say that life experience is the BEST teacher!! With only a handfull of years under ones belt it's Hard to say they know enough yet. I don't see 'Adulthood' as something you GET, it's something you maintain daily.

Your Brother
John

 

[michaeledward]

I am hoping to be able to behave as an adult sometime before I die.

And, boy, oh, boy, wouldn't it be great to have the hard-earned knowledge I have now, and still be a "kid".

Oh, the things I would do differently.

 

[ed-swckf]

smart kids still do dumb stuff, i don't think being smart denotes being an adult half the time - i know plenty of idiotic adults. I mean theres the physical change to take on board also, regardless of life experience or IQ a body reaches adulthood, some reach it before their minds back it up, in some cases its the other way around. So while its not always accurate with the ages the law denotes as adulthood i really don't think testing people to see if they have attained adulthood is worthy of funding as its still not going to be ultimately accurate without mad moneys thrown at it. The way i see it no one should be in a hurry to grow up, theres nothing great about it really.

 

[TigerWoman]

I think a "kid" becomes an "adult" when they become less, a lot less self-centered. They are more responsible to others not just to themselves. Just because they can fight and die for their country doesn't mean they still aren't a kid still. Probably an awakening of what they got themselves into after enlisting and being in life and death positions constantly. When you forget yourself and remember your buddy... They grow up real quick then. But "kids" still die kids too.

Eighteen or 21 are not the magic ages. I have both now in my family...arrrgh! Anybody want to do a trade? I want nice 5 year olds again. Both of mine are immature and self-centered... One shows responsibility, one doesn't. But the 18 yr. old may change like the other...more than likely in the quest for independence. No, until the mid-twenties maybe or even later, I think they are still kids until they prove differently. Until then we only see "glimmers" of "adulthood. TW

 

[TigerWoman]

I am hoping to be able to behave as an adult sometime before I die.

And, boy, oh, boy, wouldn't it be great to have the hard-earned knowledge I have now, and still be a "kid".

Oh, the things I would do differently.

Me too. And I would have young knees too! Why can't we start out smart, mature, young, so we can enjoy life to the max?? TW

 

[Brother John]

And, boy, oh, boy, wouldn't it be great to have the hard-earned knowledge I have now, and still be a "kid".
Oh, the things I would do differently.

MAN!!!! Aint that the the truth.
I'm not exactly 'old' but I know what you're saying. Then again, maybe the mistakes I made when I was younger helped me gain the experience that helped me on my way toward or into maturity.

Your Brother
John

 

[Adept]

There's Nothing magical that happens to you on the evening of your 364th day in your 17th year of life...no magical "Adult fairie" that magico-presto....POOOF, you're an adult.

Clearly you weren't going to the same parties I was...

 

[Brother John]

Clearly you weren't going to the same parties I was...

Yeah??
You partied with 'adult fairies'??
:uhyeah:

ha
Your Brother
John

 

[Kenpodoc]

Adulthood is a process that occurs somewhere between about 16 and 100. No single day of magical transformation and no steady state once it's reached.

Jeff

 

[TonyM.]

Biologically speaking, children start pulling their head out of their fourth point of contact at about fourteen. As mentioned, sometimes it takes another eighty six years to complete the process.

 

[Deuce]

Some kids mature faster than others, but a standard age of 18 or 19 for all adult activities is reasonable to me. Why not make it 20? This way nobody can be an adult and a teenager at the same time. What I don't understand is the variances with age requirements for legally drinking. If you're an adult at 18, why do you have to wait till you're 21 to legally drink? Here in Alberta, the magic number is 18 for everything which IMO makes sense.

I'd be very interested in hearing any arguements or reasoning regarding the drinking age issue.

 

[ginshun]

I can understand the legal drinking age being above 18. If it is 18, the you have high school kids who can legally drink, and I don't think that is right. Where the 21 age came from though I have no idea. 19 would make sense to me.

 

[Ceicei]

My son once asked me if the word "teen" in number makes the person a teenager, then is a nineteen year old considered a teenager? Good question. Some people call twelve year olds a teen (although there is no "teen" in the word twelve).

Now if we relate his question to this thread, it could make sense to have the "age of adult" as twenty across the board for everything. That, probably, won't be feasible though as it would require too many changing of rules and laws.

However, I do know of some very mature teenagers and some very immature adults and that has nothing really, to do with their actual age. What marks the change to adulthood? I think it is the level of responsibility that society is willing to give.

- Ceicei

 

[Andrew Green]

Well, there has to be a number given the way our society is structured.

But on a individual basis, it depends. I've met 13 year olds that where adults, and 35... ok even 50+ year olds that where petty and childish.

As for voting... well, Most adults don't have a clue about what is going on and just vote for the guy in the party they always vote for. If there is going to be a test, lets make it for everyone that wants to vote.

Drinking - Mixed feelings on this, when I was in High School it was usually the ones that got told "Never, no where, under no circumstances" that abused it the worst. Those that got told, be responsible and call if you need a ride, that didn't, they got introduced to it gradually. Same with smoking... There is something to the argument that if you make less of a big deal out of it it will be less of a big deal...

Driving - There is a test! The age, 16 seems to work, some might be able to do it younger, some shouldn't. But they don't pass the test. Old people on the other hand.... Ok, and the younger ones that feel they should race and do donuts...

 

[shesulsa]

Where the 21 age came from though I have no idea. 19 would make sense to me.

A nurse practitioner once told me that the human liver doesn't fully mature until about 21 years of age and that this is where the drinking age was established. Has anyone else heard this?

 

[Kenpodoc]

A nurse practitioner once told me that the human liver doesn't fully mature until about 21 years of age and that this is where the drinking age was established. Has anyone else heard this?

This would be new to me.

Actually I doubt that any legislature put that much thought into it.

Jeff

 

[hardheadjarhead]

I'm reading an interesting book called "The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager."

Up until the 1940's, the term "teenager" wasn't even in existence. We referred to them as "youngsters," "young people," and the like. Until the 1920's or so these young people went into the labor pool, working as soon as they were deemed large enough to do the job. With the spread of high schools, child labor restrictions (which actually started in the 19th century) and compulsory education standards, this changed.

Prior to that change kids worked on the family farm or in the factory (often earlier than their teens). Age of consent laws were younger...as young as ten, but more often around 12-14. Youngsters might be married at a very young age. One Byzantine Empire account mentions a marriage that was annulled because the bride was not yet 12, and I read an account of an eleven year old bride and seventeen year old groom who celebrated their nuptials during the seige of a Christian city. The Muslims laying seige heard of the marriage and were chivalrous enough not to bombard the tower in which they were housed.

Eighteen was the age a peasant could enter the Roman or Macedonian armies. 43 was the compulsory age of retirement. At eighteen most males achieve nearly their full growth and strength. (Current military regulations likely stem from that as well as this simply is the age of graduation from high school.) Not so long ago children...not teens, but pre-adolescents...might be found as drummers on a battlefield.

Recently the issue of "teens" has been a hot topic in the press, wherein their role in society, how they develop, how they're different, all receive attention. It is as if we just discovered this group and started studying them last year.

When are they mature? Brain scans show that they aren't neurologically mature until about 21 or so. The creators of the "Jackass" series show that some twenty-thirty somethings are lagging behind. Still, the turmoil brought around by adolescence largely recedes at that age. Driving statistics and crime states all show a marked drop off in risk taking behavior, homicides, and accidents as youngsters enter their twenties, as do rates of depression. It declines further as they age.

Much of that is evidence for the legal drinking age. A drop in vehicle deaths correlated with raising of legal drinking ages. So the young soldier's lament that he can die for his country but can't legally drink a beer might be true, but invalidated by the number of lives we save by not allowing him and his friends to get past the bouncer.

As for joining the military at eighteen (seventeen with parental consent, true?)...one could argue that you want young and aggressive people in the military, and that makes it a good age to take them in. Further, if you don't recruit them until 21, recruiting would fall drastically as youngsters settle into jobs and family responsibilities. That maturation process also gives young people time to mellow to the point of reconsidering their choice of joining a potentially dangerous occupation. Risk aversiveness goes up with age. Likewise growing political awareness might cause a person to reconsider signing up. A recruiter's promises might seem somewhat more supect to an older candidate for military service. As we age, our B.S. detector becomes more refined.

At eighteen you must pay taxes. Why? You've supposedly entered the labor market. High school is over and most teens either work or go on with their education. They're not, technically, dependent on their parents and have to assume the weight of their share of the tax burden.

But the question as to "when" they're adults might best be asked them as well, for the following reasons:

At eighteen they can legally own real estate...but most don't. Universally everywhere in the United States you're at the age of consent at eighteen, meaning an eighteen year old can (supposedly without legal or moral penalty) sire or bear children with another person of at least eighteen...but most don't. An eighteen year old can vote...but most don't. If they're ready to assume the mantle of full adulthood at eighteen, or even younger, then ought they not assume the responsibilities of same?

Now please don't let this be misconstrued. I am a staunch defender of the young and detest the vitriol from curmudgeons who gripe "what's the matter with kids these days?" The teen years are an age for them to model behavior and figure out what they'll be once fully grown. Its somewhat of a dress rehearsal for adulthood. That dress rehearsal doesn't necessarily have to have all of life's props, however, and perhaps a little stage direction is required.

Are there precocious teens who might well be ready to assume the mantle of adulthood? No doubt. But certainly not all are and society isn't capable of judging their fitness individually. Hence we have ages of consent, ages for driving, ages for political participation and ages for drinking.

Hey...even later, you'll have ages at which you get your AARP card. Don't be in too much of a hurry to get older.


Regards,


Steve

 

[Brother John]

Driving - There is a test! The age, 16 seems to work, some might be able to do it younger, some shouldn't. But they don't pass the test. Old people on the other hand.... Ok, and the younger ones that feel they should race and do donuts...

I know where you are coming from on this Andrew, but with car accidents where teens are at fault being THE LEADING cause of death amongst teens, I think the test should be more difficult and a DL harder to come by.
...and maybe not just ONE test, but several, over a three year period.

hmmm...

your Brother
John

 

[Kane]

I'm just curious on this subject and wondered what other people think.

"Law"...says you're an adult at 18.
Basically...you can vote and die fpr your country at 18.
Why can't you vote at 16?
You have to pay taxes at 16 if you have a job.Shouldn't you be allowed to voice your opinions if you have pay taxes just like everyone else?
Drivers license at 16.
You can enlist in the military at 17.
You can be tried in a court of law as an adult in some states as young as 15-16 depending on the crime.
Still can't drink til 21 though........hhmm.
I saw a show a loooooong time ago,DONAHUE to be exact(remember him?),
and he had 2 teenagers who had written a paper on "testing" for teenagers to qualify them for voting.
Thier point being,and I agree, was that some people have higher intelligence levels at a certain age than what the "law" will recognise.
Now....
Lets forget about BB gradings,society perceptions and such.....
At what point do you think a person could qualify as an "adult"?
Life experience?
IQ?
Type of education?

Just because you have a college degree doesn't mean you are entirely smart.
Hell.....
I'm a firm believer that if you took the majority of "educated" politicians in the world and put thier brains in a gnats ***, it would be like putting a bb in a boxcar!

So whaddya think?

In many countries in the world the legal age is either 18, 16, and in some countries like Iran it is 15. Japan I think has the highest legal age, which is 20 years old.

You do bring up a good point. At 16 you can drive, drop out of high school in many states, get a job, pay taxes, enlist in the army, ect. ect. Should children over 16 be allowed to vote? I don't know, the United States is known to have young adults that are oblivious to politics. Either way will a 16 year old have the maturity to vote? I dunno, I was pretty active and interested in politics when I was 16, and knew what was going on (my views where even different than my parents). I dunno, maybe if more kids today get more known at what is going on in politics and not follow every word their parent says like me, maybe.

I also think it doesn't make much sense that a 18-20 year old can't drink. 21 is not the legal age, it is 18. Gambling too should be open to all adults, not just those over 21.