At what age does a person become an adult?

Honestly I believe when you are 20 no matter what. You are officially an adult. If the word "teen" (seventeen,eighteen,ninteen) no longer comes after your name anymore you are an adult. But that dosen't mean you aren't young at heart or incredibly immiture.
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When it comes to sex; I definitely think the law should be 16-18 at the youngest. We don't want perverts sleeping with toddlers.

Technically, a child of 14 can do anything an adult can physically. So outside of sex, I'd say in all other aspects a 14yr old should be treated like an adult. A 14yr old knows how to work, what the rules and accepted behavior of their society/culture dictates, right from wrong, basic survivor skills, vote, drive, etc.

But also, just because a 14yr old physically can do something doesn't mean that they should. So although I think 14 would be a great age to cap off legally, every individual is different. And certain situations and backgrounds would make 14 impossible. Parents should try to raise their children early on to be independent.

It's sad, but I know some 14yr olds who don't even know what a checkbook is. The same 14yr old has no idea what a president does or why a president (executive leader) is important, and doesn't even know the geographic layout of her city. If she was dumped 5miles from her house, she wouldn't know how to find her way back home. It's sad.

 

I think it's relative, in all cases.

 

This is either an incredibly easy question to answer.

Or an incredibly hard one.

Physically, adulthood is achieved when the capability to conceive a child is gained.

Emotionally? There are people who never achieve emotional adulthood. What makes emotional adulthood? I'm not entirely sure. Maybe when one develops the ability to make sound reasoned choices irregardless of what they 'feel'. Not to say everyone utilizes the skill all the time after it developes. But I think that use (or non-use) of the skill also leads to the independent verification that using reason instead of emotions also leads to better outcomes; thereby encouraging the increased use of the skill.

 

It's the age at which point a person is charged with taking responsibilty for their actions. That ability is (in my view) what distinguishes an adult from a child. As alcyone points out, some people can go through their whole life and never really become an "adult" in that sense.

I'd say the reason "youth" has been extended in modern societies well into the 20s (and even 30s -- didn't Bush II claim that his alcoholism was a product of youth??) is because the age at which a person becomes a "producer" of wealth is much higher now. In pre-modern societies, at 13 you could pick up a spear or bow-and-arrow and start contributing. Because society is so specialized today, you have to go through high school and even college and grad school to really being producing (and thus earning a wage as well). So, you see youth being extended concurrently -- since people aren't really responsible for their financial well being until their mid 20s or 30s anymore.

Ironically, many people fight taking on rseponsibility as they get older and glorify youth (and we definitely glorify youth in the west!!) but, you don't really have full freedom and probably don't deserve any freedom until you choose to become an adult. freedom and responsibilty go hand-in-hand like that.

 

I think what you are referring to here is the ability to take into consideration the long term consequences of ones actions.

Which is why we see so many teenagers get into alcohol related incidents, or into tragic car accidents cause they aren't wearing seatbelts (which isn't 'cool'). Because after all.....[sarcasm]Nothing like paralyzation, or a persistant vegetative state, or DEATH can happen to them. [/sarcasm]

As for legal sexual consent. 18 all the way. That way the girls parents have the choice as to whether or not they will contribute to their grandchilds care. As crass as it sounds, I wouldn't want to have to provide for the childcare, lawyer fees (for getting child support from the baby daddy) and feeding (formula is damn expenseive) not to mention the medical expenses of my 16 (or younger) yr old daughters child (when she gets to that age that is). I would choose to provide that care in order to help my daughter complete college so she could then have a better chance of getting a job to support herself. But the difference here is choice.

Another reason, young teenagers are so impressionable. They can't tell that the older guy hitting on them and doing all these things to make them feel 'special' and 'loved' are nothing more than tactics used to lure that teen into sex. The teen is nothing more than a notch on their bedposts. A conquest. A temporary satiation for an immoral addiction.

 

I see where you're coming from -- but in my view the younger we teach kids to be responsible for themselves, the better. I think our drinking laws for example are ludicrous (and are puritanical in comparison to Europe's) and probably cause more binge drinking because we treat it as something that is so forbidden. The same with sex. Again, European consent laws are a lot more flexible. Should a 19 year old who is in a juvenile but loving sexual relationship with a 16 year old be treated as a sex offender? There's more nuance in relationships than our laws make room for. Again, like alcohol, sex is treated as something forbidden, so parents never prepare their kids for the predators (who certainly exist but are not as common as I think we conventionally believe)

People say that teenagers love to break boundaries and test limits but that strikes me as an excuse. Paternalism is always in constant tension with liberty; and given the choice, my view is that we should always err on the side of liberty, and not control.

 

I agree. That's the problem with age-related laws (not to say that some of them aren't still necessary). Mental development follows certain patterns, but life experience can profoundly alter the speed at which a child matures, and can also cause a child to be much more mature for some purposes than for others.

 

Some people are adults at 15, some never grow up.

 

Interesting question which I have come across before. What makes someone an adult anyway? their age, knowledge and experience?
I think there is an emotional side to it as well depending on maturance of handling them.

 

a 19 year old who is in a juvenile but loving sexual relationship with a 16 year old be treated as a sex offender?



YES! Because if it were truly love, and they were that dedicated to their relationship, then the 19 year old would be capable of holding off two years to start exploring the physical side of their 'love' when the other one has reached their age of consent.

Love doesn't necessarily have to include sex.

Of course if they are both 100% sure that they are going to be together forever etc...with whipped cream and cherries. Then the parents of the underager can give them consent to marry at 17.

Lack of education as indeed made things like sex and alcohol 'forbidden' fruits. Which is why I am a very vocal proponent of a complete sex education. However, once again I have to go back to the lack of ability of the youngsters to take the consequences of their actions into consideration.

It's not just pregnancy that is a consequence of sex anymore.

 

Agreed. It's relative.

 

The problem is, it would be very expensive, time and resource consuming in order to test the entire population to determine their relative maturity in order to grant 'permission' (I can't think of a better term) to do things like drink, buy property, vote, have jobs, engage in sex, and procreate.

Not only that but you'd be putting an unreasonable burden on the parents (well maybe it would spur more parents to put some effort into raising their kids right...but I digress, that topic can hold out for a different debate) who up until a kid reachs the age of majority are responsible for the decisions, actions, and keep of the minor.

Not only that, who would provide the 'testing' or guidelines in order to determine a persons eligibility? What authority would be able to set those types of thresholds?

Next to impossible, so the next best option is to set a physical age guideline and let the rest sort itself out.

 

We mean it is relative, not that it can be legally defined that way.

 

I think there are differing sort of "ages" in regards to one's emotional development and or maturity and one's mental developments and ones physical developments, and they do not always coincide. I'll post here a writing of a Hindu sage that was called "Gurudeva" that I think says much of how I would see it as well. I don't always agree with what I have seen of his talks and writings (you can google him if you like) - but I agree very closely with this particular take/assessment:

I think his last statement here says a lot.

 

I agree with all of this -- and if the 19 year old and 16 year old really love each other then they should get the parents' blessing -- that's true. But, from my perspective, it's the very codification -- the very statement that "this is forbidden until you hit 18" -- which creates the forbidden fruit angle. I think this is why the US in particular is so hung-up on sex. I mean, we have some of the strongest and puritanical sexual laws in the West, yet you see some of the most obscene and horrifying sexual crimes committed here as well. In addition, we also have this obsession with young girls in the mass media which you just don't see in other countries with more flexible age of consent laws. I dno't think that's an accident.

Also, it's no controversy that kids and parents sometimes dont' see eye-to-eye on the issue of relationships (which is why some states like CA allow for teenage abortiosn w/o parental notifications, which I favor).

Maybe the real question is, what does it mean to be an adult? If it means excercising sound judgment, having good life experience, and being a wise and rational human being, then many of us wouldn't be adults until well into old age!

If it means being able to make your own choice and accept the consequences for those choices, even at the risk of making mistakes -- that would mean something else.

I agree with you that ultimately, for legal purposes, you probably just need an arbitrary age (to sign contracts and own property). I guess my own quibble comes down to when a person should be prevented from making their own life choices -- be it with drugs, alcohol, or relationships. I think the more liberty and concurrent responsibilty, at an earlier point in time, the better.

EDITED TO ADD: this is probably not the most heard position in the universe, and I may come across as radical in my notions of responsibility/freedom! So I hope I've explained myself clearly. And of course I could be all wrong about all of this -- I've heard the other point of view as well and think there are good points. I hope I'm not offending you acylone in so stating my opinions...they are just that, and they very well could be wrong!!

peace and love