Is 18 really the proper legal adult age? should we change it?

[MistressMonster]

https://drinkingage.procon.org/view.res ... eID=002591


For the drinking consent laws.

[MistressMonster]

It needs to be one way across the board. You're either an adult at 18 or you're not. IMO , if you're old enough to get drafted in the military and die for your country, you're old enough to buy alcohol. I have 2 boys, 16 and almost 19 and I think it's bullshit that my oldest son was required to register for the selective service but he can't buy a drink.

I agree with this. It's such a strange thing you are adult enough to enter the military. Yet you aren't allowed to drink until 21. If you can die for your country at age 18, you should be allowed to drink.

[Traci_Momof2]

I lived with one parent or the other until I was 23 and married my DH. But beyond the rent and utilities that they were paying for, I paid for pretty much everything else for myself. My parents didn't really give me any additional monetary support. I was paying for everything else beyond high school. I was paying for a lot for myself even in high school those last couple years. And I put myself through school with student loans which I paid off after getting my degree.

I already know there is no way I can pay for my kids' college. They'll have to do loans or earn the money themselves. We can't afford it. And we are a lot better off financially then a lot of other parents out there. But that's ok. I paid for my own college through loans. They can do the same for themselves.

I see no problem with that. In many countries around the world, children aren’t expected to leave the parents’ home until they’re educated and financially independent. Here in Mexico it’s pretty much the norm. I lived with my parents until I got married, I was 22. Same with my DH, my brother, my sils and all my friends.
And yes, our parents paid for our education. I feel it is a parental obligation. Raising your children to Ben productive includes giving them a full education. I was still studying when I got married, my parents still finished paying for my college education. When I decided later on to go to culinary school, that I paid for myself. My parents had already fulfilled their duty of providing me with an education, any “extras” were on me.

Studies show the human brain continues developing until our mid-20s. At 18, our brains still function as they do throughout our teens, meaning we lack certain cognitive abilities to make mature choices.
So yes, I think the legal age of adulthood should be risen to at least 21.

Here's the thing though. Say we raise legal adulthood to 21. That basically means that parents are required to support their children until age 21. Does that mean we are requiring parents to pay for college? Or does that mean the government would then have to provide free schooling until age 21? What about kids in foster care? They'd have to stay in until 21?

It just seems to me that if you think outside of the typical suburban family, raising the legal age of adulthood could have huge consequences that aren't always in the best interest of the young person in question.

[Shaken1976]

Many counties don’t consider 18 an adult. I think by having kids move out of the parental home at 18, we are setting them up to be more in debt. Some countries have children living with family until they have been married for five or six years. The goal is to have them financially stable before moving them out. I think it makes a lot of sense.

[Deleted User 638]

Many counties don’t consider 18 an adult. I think by having kids move out of the parental home at 18, we are setting them up to be more in debt. Some countries have children living with family until they have been married for five or six years. The goal is to have them financially stable before moving them out. I think it makes a lot of sense.

It does make more sense. My stepson entered the adult world after college with zero debt because we covered his costs. I'll do the same for my daughter.

[Anonymous 3]

I plan to support my children through undergraduate, living on campus hopefully, and they can live at home when they’re trying to establish themselves as long as they’re working or going to graduate school (and we live in a NYC suburb, so living at home will be a real option for them). If they choose to move somewhere else after college, I’ll help them get a place, furniture, etc.

However, I get to see what I’m paying for, so they will need to share their grades with me. I would also probably have a very serious conversation with one of my children if he wanted to major in something like English or History and wasn’t attending an Ivy League or equivalent school.

My job is to prepare my children for adulthood, and part of that is preparing them for a good career that will allow them to comfortably support themselves.

So no, I don’t consider them adults at 18.

[Msprekteacher]

You have to remember that when many of the arbitrary rules were made our life expectancies were far shorter and our military needs greater. WW2 and Vietnam were accomplished in large part due to the draft.

My paternal grandmother was married at 18 and a mother the day before her 19th birthday!

Now who in their right mind would encourage their 18 year old to marry!

Certainly there needs to be a line where parents are no longer legally responsible for their adult children but I don’t think it should be 18. Our youngest will have turned 18 his junior year in high school (September baby) but I certainly wouldn’t consider him an “adult” in the sense of maturity or even ability to care for himself.

[bluebunnybabe]

https://drinkingage.procon.org/view.res ... eID=002591


For the drinking consent laws.

Now you’ve gone and ruined every troll post about underage drinking. Lol

[LuckyEightWow]

I think 18 is a good age, but I believe we have to be realistic when it comes to how they think and behave. Their brains don’t just magically grow up, nothing special happens between 16 and 17, they still require a lot of guiding while handing over the keys to their lives.

[Anonymous 4]

You have to remember that when many of the arbitrary rules were made our life expectancies were far shorter and our military needs greater. WW2 and Vietnam were accomplished in large part due to the draft.

My paternal grandmother was married at 18 and a mother the day before her 19th birthday!

Now who in their right mind would encourage their 18 year old to marry!

Certainly there needs to be a line where parents are no longer legally responsible for their adult children but I don’t think it should be 18. Our youngest will have turned 18 his junior year in high school (September baby) but I certainly wouldn’t consider him an “adult” in the sense of maturity or even ability to care for himself.

So your son will graduate high school at 19 3/4?? Almost 20 years old! That is ridiculous and has nothing to do with being a September baby. If he entered K at 6 he would still be 18 (and 3/4) at graduation. Something else happened.