When A Person Should Legally Be Considered An Adult

1 Running head: Adulthood Adulthood Student Professor Course Date The question of when a person should legally be considered an adult has remained a contentious debate in both scientific and political circles. Most of the legal bars that have been set are politically inspired, scientific studies in the recent times have shed light to the numerous anomalies that these legal bars of adulthood possess. However, it is common agreement that age is the most convenient parameter in which to measure adulthood and thus makes one assume both adulthood rights and responsibilities. Until recently, not much effort had been put into finding out how different regions of the brain develop into maturity. It has however†¦show more content†¦However, many people note that there are very significant variabilities in growth that disqualifies age as the sole measure of maturity. Those include factors such as culture, environment, class, and ethnicities. For instance, the Dutch set the legal boundary for drinking to be 16 years. Comparatively, children there cannot drive till they reach the age of 18. That is pale in comparison to what is witnessed in the United States, where the drinking age is much higher and the driving age a bit lower. The environment is also another factor. Children grow in different environments. A child that has been brought up in a well to do background will normally mature slowly than one that one raised in a relatively disadvantaged background(Johnson, Blum, Griedd, 2009). The latter have to learn to fend for themselves at a much lower age and thus reach emotional maturity than the former. Parents that consider themselves to be in the upper echelons of the society will be more protective over their children. They are provided and pampered and provided for, for much longer than their counterparts from humble backgrounds. The two sets of children will be therefore logically mature at different rates all other factors kept constant. However, even though those are logical arguments against using age as the yardstick in measuring maturity, age remains the best means of doing so for various reasons. First, age is universal in nature. A child born in 2000 will still beShow MoreRelatedWhy The Drinking Age Should Be Changed1652 Words   |  7 PagesThe feasibility of why the drinking age should be changed from 21 to 18 can be shown in a variety of reasons, which would show that the drinking age should be changed. If this law was changed it would benefit several people for it would create less stress for certain people and it simply makes sense to change it. Although there will be a few people that may not agree with it, although the reasons that will be shared can help change those people’s minds. 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