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Differentiate between childhood and adulthood
Differentiate between childhood and adulthood
Differentiate between childhood and adulthood
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At what age exactly are all young people believed to enter adulthood? Should there even be an age to define adulthood? Some may say yes , adulthood should be based off of age, others however, disagree and say adulthood should depend on maturity and responsibility. Adulthood has caused many controversy leading people to question at what age or when teens should be considered and treated as an adult and be given no restrictions. Therefore, Steven Mintz, a historian at Columbia University states, “In other words, the only thing that is consistent about our notions of when a child becomes an adult is our inconsistency.” (Rampell 6). Alternatively, we are confusing young people concerning to adulthood. Society nowadays views adulthood in different matters. However, a person enters adulthood at the stage of their life when they are mature and responsible enough to make their own decisions. …show more content…
Thereby, to support this belief in the article How Old is Old Enough by Catherine Rampell it states “ Professor Steinberg who has won a one million research prize for his work on the development of young people, has found through laboratory experiments that young teenagers seek out risk and have trouble controlling their impulses. That’s a very bad combination when it comes to crime…” (Rampell 10). For that reason, it is said that teens ask for trouble without thinking through the consequences. Therefore, it is shown that teens who aren’t mature yet are not capable of controlling their own
American teenagers are often criticized for being irresponsible and immature. Some in the older generation will also state that kids are taking too long to move out of the house. These views of young adults are pessimistic and demeaning to the current generation. While the adolescent stage has been extended, American kids are taking an ample amount of time to accept the responsibilities of becoming an adult.
But is emerging adulthood a period that every young person experiences through their life, in every culture and exactly the same ages or are there any restrictions for young people to experience this emerging phase. Marriage was the significance that a person entered adulthood, it usually happened between the ages of 16-18 for females and 18-20 for males. This small window before marriage only allows for a period of adolescences but no emerging adulthood. So this means that emerging adulthood is not a universal phase but one that only is experienced by those people that delay taking any adult like responsibilities until past their teens. Because some countries are extremely industrialized the requirement of people to have a higher education is reinforced, many emerging adults remain in school until their early or mid twenties to obtain a gainful position.
"The teenage brain is like a car with a good accelerator but a weak brake. With powerful impulses under poor control, the likely result is a crash.” (Ritter). An adolescent does not have complete power over their impulses, unlike fully developed adults. “The frontal lobe includes the prefrontal cortex, which controls executive functions like planning, decision-making, the expression of emotion, and impulse control. The prefrontal cortex may not be completely developed until a person is in his or her mid-twenties. This explains why adolescents have less impulse control than adults, are less able to think through the long-term consequences of their decisions, and are more susceptible to peer pressure. Does it make sense, then, to punish a youth in the same way we punish adults?” (Harris). The brain w...
Some examples that shows that one is responsible is when they have a job, a companionship, and are financially stable. Establishing connections within the world is important so one can have things they become responsible for. Being able to accomplish something from by one’s word shows their maturity in many scenarios. In my opinion, showing the obligation to acquire something is the most relevant when determining one’s consideration of adulthood. An adult is responsible for their own choices and are aware that their decisions can affect other people around them. The ability to balance out priorities like family, friends, work or school can be difficult but hitting the age of adulthood brings reason into a person. If a person is acknowledged to be responsible in another person’s point of view, it is most likely right to consider them as an adult despite of legal “laws” or accepted
Juveniles are not mature enough or developed psychologically, and, therefore, do not consider the consequences of their actions. In the article, “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” by Thompson,
Arnett may not be inaccurate as he explains the differences in young adults today as previous generations based on the timing roles take place, nonetheless suggesting it as a novel universal stage causes concern globally. As mentioned in Cote’s 2014, Dangerous Myth of Emerged Adulthood, Arnett’s theory cannot be correct for all 18-29 year olds, nor did Arnett explore other countries across different demographics or non-college students, (L. Drew, Emerging Adulthood lecture, August 26th, 2015). Young adults appear to bounce around the workforce, however it could be because young adults are accepting employment they are not favorable of to aid them through college where at that point they can inevitably find the career they intend on keeping, opposed to Arnett’s reasoning for this to be “identity explorations,” (Cote, 2014, pp. 184). Arnett’s theory may be plausible for a selection of people in industrialized societies where their behavior can be seen as prolonging their “adulthood”. For example, young adults not feeling like an adult and who search for self-exploration, on the other hand perhaps he should consider a innovative term other than a developmental stage in life universally, (Arnett, 2000, pp. 479).
According to Vander Zanden (1997), Erikson says that during each life stage of development, individuals will have to encounter unique life events. These life events enable the individuals to achieve their level of growth through life (Vander Zanden, 1997). Papalia and Olds (1998) say that young adulthood is a can-do period. This is the stage where decision making is important. Exercising their freedom to be independent, and using what they have learnt in their adolescent years. This is the time of exploration, trying things out, and weighing up the pros and cons. This is also the stage where the individual chooses to be away from family, to be independent, make their own decisions, buying their own home, budgeting, finance, accommodation, and day to day living.
Adulthood has often been associated with independence. It serves as a turning point in life where one has to take responsibility for oneself and no longer being dependent on his or her family. Early adulthood, usually begins from late teens or early twenties and will last until the thirties (Santrock, 2013). Early adulthood revolves around changes and exploration while middle and late adulthood are more of stability. The transition from adolescence and adulthood differs among every individual. The onset of the transition is determined by many factors such as culture, family background, and the personality of the individual. Emerging adulthood (as cited in Santrock, 2014) is the term to describe the transition period from adolescence to adulthood.
“Definitions of ‘youth’ in Western societies usually refer to the life stage between childhood and adulthood, the transitional period between being dependant and becoming independent” (Kehily, 2007). The age of this transition can be best defined by the House of Commons as starting at 16 and ending at 24 years old (2013). This transition from youth to adulthood has altered considerably in recent years; the traditional norms and values that youth once followed are no longer respected or easily attained. Current youth have very different life styles and expectations, consequently; adolescents are taking longer to complete the transition into adulthood. Twenty-five years ago the traditional norms we...
Childhood and adulthood are two different but equally important times in our lives. Childhood is the period of time when we are still growing up. Adulthood is the time in our life when we are grown up, though we may still be developing as people. Throughout the world, the beginning of adulthood is usually legally deemed to occur at a certain age, for instance, 18 or 21 years old. However, it can also be argued that we become adults as soon as we become independent, responsible for our own actions, and able to participate as a part society.
Many people believe that age determined adulthood but they are wrong because age is a number and everyone grows up in different rates. You can’t always expect everyone to become mature at the same age, because everyone is different. Many teens become adults faster for certain reason and some of them were not give the option they just had to too. Becoming an adult is not an option for everyone but sooner or later you have to grow up because you can’t stay a kid forever. Being 18 years old makes you legally an adult in united states, but in reality we know that 18 years old are very different from maturity as well responsibilities and life experience.
Transition and change are some of the most difficult obstacles for people to overcome. It is no surprise that adolescence, defined as the transition from childhood to adulthood, is full of obstacles (Feldman, 2012). During this time period, adolescents are neither adults nor children; they do not appear to belong in any stable group. However uncomfortable this may seem, it is also a fitting definition. For during the adolescent stage, adolescents face puberty, sexual curiosity, self-esteem issues, and doubts about their future (Feldman, 2012). Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson aptly argued that adolescents pass through the identity-versus-identity-confusion stage in which teenagers search for defining and unique characteristics about themselves (Feldman, 2012). When a teenager struggles with this stage, a crisis emerges in which they are unable to find an appropriate role in life, often acting out or pursuing dangerous behaviors (Feldman, 2012).
Childhood and adulthood are two different periods of one’s lifetime but equally important. Childhood is the time in everybody’s life when they are growing up to be an adult. This is when they are being considered babies because of their youthfulness and innocence. Adulthood is the period of time where everybody is considered “grown up,” usually they begin to grow up around the ages of eighteen or twenty-one years old but they do remain to develop during this time. However, in some different backgrounds, not everybody is not fully adults until they become independent with freedom, responsible for their own actions, and able to participate as an adult within society. Although childhood and adulthood are both beneficial to our lives, both periods share some attributes such as independence, responsibility, and innocence that play distinctive roles in our development.
Becoming an adult, also known as young adulthood, is a very crucial stage in one’s life. This is the climax of physical and health processes. This is the point in life when we make plans of our futures. It is the time when we think of what life will be like as an adult and make plans for the future. Most importantly, it is when we lay the starting point for developmental changes that we will undergo throughout our lives. An adult is a person who is fully grown or developed. Some people believe that you become an adult when you are 18 years old, other believe you are an adult when you can legally buy and consume alcohol, that is, at age 21 in the United States. Others believe that you are an adult when you are supporting yourself
When you think of the word adult many things may come to mind; age, responsibility, being the bigger person and goals are just a few. Everyone eventually becomes an adult but just because you turn eighteen does not mean you should be considered as one. “I think one of the defining moments of adulthood is the realization that nobody 's going to take care of you. That you have to do the heavy lifting while you 're here. And when you don 't, well, you suffer the consequences.” (Adam Savage, brainyquote.com) Adulthood requires sacrifice and a good mindset. Sometimes people aren’t shown how to take care of themselves, this being either too babied or not having anyone to look up to. Growing up is hard but no one says you have to do it alone. It is nice to get advice here and there from those that have been through the newly-adulted stage. Being an adult is not just an age.