Why move out at 18?
26 May 2009, 5:59 am
2ukenkerl wrote:
zer0netgain wrote:
2ukenkerl wrote:
So HOW can you let a person that likely has so little experience, and funds, into the world to fend for him/her self.
Do keep in mind that until recently (the last 30 years or so...basically MY generation), it was not uncommon for a person to leave the home at 16 and be able to get a job and support themselves. Society chooses to coddle young people and hold them back from being productive members of society until they reach 18-21. It used to be that as early as 12 a boy was expected to start conducting himself with the maturity of the adults.
Well, I was talking about supporting THEMSELVES LEGALLY!
[snipped for brevity]
You are correct. Society has legally established that you are not an "adult" until you are 18. However, even if you can't go out and support yourself in TODAY'S world (the 18 standard wasn't always so, and it is reflective of the coddling mentality we have as compared to how society used to expect people to mature), you can begin working at 15...it's limited if you work for another, and you can work for yourself even younger if your parents ENCOURAGE and entrepreneurial spirit (no law can tell a child it can't go out and make money selling a product or service of it's own creation).
Assigning a child chores (and not stupid stuff like cleaning your own room), encouraging them to go out and mow lawns for neighbors for money, etc. all teach valuable lessons in responsibility and form the building blocks that lead to self-sufficiency.
In contrast, a kid who waits until 18-19 to go out and get a real job (self-employed or otherwise) has no clue on how to meet the expectations of an employer compared to the kid who started working (even part time) when they were 15.
My post was reflective of how in the last 30 years or so, the emphasis of a person going into the workforce (in any capacity) as soon as possible has almost disappeared and what we see are kids becoming adults with no knowledge of how to hold a job, and being able to hold a job is key to being self-sufficient. Go back to the turn of the century and even with child labor laws, the requirement that a kid be able to go out in the world and take care of themselves at 18 was not unreasonable because most kids grew up with more responsibility on their shoulders at 15 than they do now at 19.
Society has gotten soft to the point that it has no foundation anymore.
