Extended Post Adolescence

Our BYU Magazine arrived in the mail yesterday and, as always, I devoured it within a few hours. I was drawn to this article in their Family Focus section, "In-Between-Ness: How to help your emerging adult through an extended post-adolescence."

Do you know anyone between 18 and 25 years old experiencing an "extended post-adolescence?" I do, and according to the article, this is becoming common. I think this article especially attracted me because I am just barely still in their target age. Being the mother of two children makes me feel that I am certainly an adult.  I didn't feel like an adult at age 18, but sometime when I got married and became more financially responsible I took on that heavy, burdensome title of "adult."  

I got a kick out of this article. Some statements I gave my full-fledged agreement, other parts left me wondering. Their main argument behind the slow emergence to adulthood were two-fold:

1. It takes longer to receive enough training and education to land a well-paying job.  Especially one that could raise a family, thus the tendency to wait later for marriage.
2. "Children are getting a message that adulthood is onerous." a.ka.  They see their parents going through divorces and hating their jobs, so they think, "I'll take my time and do it right."

Since it's a long article, and the HTML version not nearly as fun looking as the glossy magazine page, I'll put out a few interesting quotes:

"Most men and women ages 18 to 25 do not consider themselves adults, and neither do their parents."

"About a decade ago researchers identified the emerging-adult idea and found that this age group no longer believes traditional milestones mark entrance into adulthood, such as marriage, parenthood, and home ownership. Rather, says Nelson, they believe that adulthood is reached with 'internal markers—developing greater concern for others, accepting responsibility for the consequences of your actions, gaining financial independence.'"

"[...] Cutting a child loose at age 18 would be like letting a 13-year-old fend for himself in the 1950s. The realities of life are simply different, and most emerging adults need more time to search out their beliefs, explore careers, and learn about relationships."

I know several twenty-somethings that show no interest in "growing up." I have no idea what support will help them or hurt them. I picked out some of my own useful tidbits of advice from this article. Do you agree with these ideas?