Posted by:
Nightingale
(
)
Date: June 17, 2023 10:40PM
schrodingerscat Wrote:
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> To say that they are too young to handle questions
> that make them uncomfortable is coddling them.
> Calling grown adults ‘kids’ is setting them up
> for failure.
An article in NPR states that while young people are recognized as adults at age 18 “emerging science about brain development suggests that most people don’t reach full maturity until the age of 25”.
“Most of the privileges and responsibilities of adulthood are legally granted by the age of 18. That’s when you can vote, enlist in the military, move out on your own, but is that the true age of maturity? A growing body of science says, no. That critical parts of the brain involved in decision-making are not fully developed until years later at age 25 or so.”
Dr. Sandra Aamodt, neuroscientist was asked “Is this idea that the brains of 18 year olds aren’t fully developed a matter of settled science?”
Her complex response was “Yes”.
She adds that “brain scans show clearly that the brain is not fully finished developing until about age 25”.
She continues: “…the changes that happen between 18 and 25 are a continuation of the process that starts around puberty, and 18 year olds are about halfway through that process. Their prefrontal cortex is not yet fully developed. That’s the part of the brain that helps you to inhibit impulses and to plan and organize your behavior to reach a goal.”
Dr. Aamodt says “It would be nice if we had a little more flexibility to distinguish the two in the legal system” (i.e. “which 18 year olds are competent to go out into the world and handle things by themselves” and which are not).
Her interview was in a different context but I think the principles widely apply:
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=141164708> The Coddling of the American Mind:
I wouldn't conclude that giving 18 year olds room to grow, literally and figuratively, is unnecessary.
Leaving home at 18-19 to go on a mission, even though ostensibly supervised by an adult (although not individually or constantly) can be a huge challenge for someone who goes right from their parents' close control to the mission field. First time to live in their own space (although with a companion), first time to handle their own money (even if of limited funds), first time relatively unsupervised for portions of every day, first time trying out their wings as fledgling adults, many with little life experience beforehand and all their days mapped out for them 24/7 so they're still not growing into adulthood in any way that can be deemed natural.
Maybe it works for baby birds - getting pushed out of the nest to either fly or die - but not so much for adolescents. Especially as they're expected to go out and proselytize, not much of a welcome activity in many areas or with most people anywhere.
>Mormon missionaries are not just what they pretend to be, naïve, innocent kids brainwashed to do the bidding of their spiritual leaders. Ignorance is no excuse 23yrs into the Google Age.
I think they can be pretty inexperienced in many ways, at least the ones I met.
Maybe many of them didn't get a chance to participate in the Google Age. No computers, no permission to use one, close supervision if on one, somebody checking their browsers to see what they're looking at, etc.
I wouldn't make assumptions or harshly judge people based on what could be a misconception or an unfair conclusion.
How many of us knew at 18 how to navigate the choppy waters of life? I give them a bit of a pass. There's a well conceived, purposeful plan to snare them for life and it's put into motion the day they are born, or before. That's a bit of a big handicap to start out with.