I have heard that research shows that the part of the brain that enables one to appreciate the consequences of one's actions does not become fully developed until around 25.
It also seems that younger folks are less responsible and respectful than they were "back in my day". I know part of that might just be me being an old foggy, as I know adults at the time would have said the same thing about my generation of teenagers.....
However, I do wonder if it might just be that "kids" aren't becoming responsible as early as they used to simply because they are not required to? I mean NOTHING will make you aware of the consequences of your actions than a good dose of those consequences, behind the wood pile, for instance.
In "olden days" 13 year olds in this country were starting families and taking them across the frontier driving a wagon in a train.
Old laws all around the country have been changed from listing the age of consent as 13.
I know that the amount of education required to be a capable adult in the world today is very much greater than in the past, so I can understand where entry into adulthood has been delayed. When I was in the Army (1965), NCOs were worried about new requirements that they would need either an 8th grade education or HS graduation (I don't remember which) to be eligible for promotion above E6. At the time it was not at all uncommon for career soldiers to have only a 6th grade education.
And that was not an uncommon situation for the generation before mine (I was born in 1947).
A 6th grade education would bring someone to about age 13, by the way. So I can see how "studenthood" would be extended until the completion of HS, age 18+.
Now what the problem is is that most of the 18yr olds don't have anywhere near the increased knowledge that the extra years in school should have provided. And if you look at "common sense" and responsibility, they fall way behind the 13 year old 6th grade grad who is about to start working for a living.
So basically, what I am wondering is... Do folks "come of age" when they are required to do so by having to face the consequences for their actions? And does not holding them responsible at an earlier age actually extend childhood until they are finally held responsible.
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