Once you turn 20 years old, should that make you an legal adult instead of 21? Here’s the way I view it:
13-19 = Teen Years (Younger/Older Teenager)
20+ = Adulthood
You can drink, smoke, get married, and go fight for your country once you turn 20. Although, you can still drive once you turn 16. The drinking age is absurd IMO, but I understand why the lawmakers did it. I also understand that once you turn 18, then you obviously have more responsibilities, but you can still enjoy your last 2 years before you turn 20 without drinking or smoking illegally, but I know that they’ll still do it.
Overall, I think that this simple law change would help them in the long run.
It’s only in some areas that 21 is the standard. You can be married, go to war and vote at 18. You can quit school and sign up for credit cards and loans. There are some things that they want to see you handle for a couple of years until 21 when drinking and smoking are ok as well.
It’s like a probationary adulthood form 18 to 21.
Also if you are on parents health and auto insurance until 26 there’s other adult problems that get pushed a few more years as well
To add to @TomSrOfBoston Not only do you need to move out of your parent’s home on a permanent basis, but you also need to be self-supporting and self-sufficient to truly be an adult.
The OP is conflating so many different ideas (not all of which are accurate) into one post that I don’t know what his/her point is.
In the US, the legal definition of adulthood is achieving the age of majority, which is less than 21 is every state except MS.
The drinking age does not make one an adult. I will also point out that with very very few exceptions, the US is the only country with a drinking age of 21, so the OP’s entire argument only applies to 4% of the world’s population.
Now if the OP wants to ask when one becomes an adult emotionally, I would posit that there are many people in their 30’s and beyond that I would not classify as adults.
@skieurope There’s probably a 30 year old man out there who still acts immature for his age. There’s even 18 year olds out there who probably act more mature than he’ll ever be, unless if he ever decides to grow up.
I also need help with quoting on different sections of comments.
I think we should consider kids to be adults when they turn 18 and graduate from high school. Not everyone goes to college. I don’t think that we, as a society, are doing anyone any favors by treating 18-21 y.o.s as children, even if they need financial help for college (who wouldn’t? they can’t get FA on their own) or to get started in a job or apartment. Living abroad, I didn’t see this attitude as much as I do here.
I agree with you about the drinking age, but what can you do.
I’m American but grew up in Japan, where the age of majority is 20 (which includes drinking, smoking, and voting) and the only motor vehicle you’re allowed to operate while under the age of 18 is a moped (which you can get a local license for at 16). It seems to work pretty well but there’s a much more drastic transition from teenagerhood to adulthood in that system, because I’m pretty sure you also become legally independent at 20 as well, so your parents’ insurance, etc. doesn’t cover you anymore. While college tuition and medical care cost a lot less there (they’re socialized), it’s still difficult for many young adults.
