In the UK you are considered an adult when you are 18, however I've been discussing this with my friends and in class and they definitely do not feel like they are an adults yet even though many are slightly older than 18.

Most people thought it was down to their parents mothering them still, even one guy said that he did not think he would be a proper adult till his parents died... :anxious:

 

Couple of poll options

When you feel like one. For some it can be turning 18, some it can feel earlier then that (But normally thats an illusion unless some harrowing event happens in their life which means they need to be independent quicker), some it can feel like at marriage (But after that initial feeling or literal 'honeymoon period' but I'd imagine after some weeks it just feels like you're going out exactly how it was before) but I would think that for a lot of people it would be having a child.

 

That's the point where you have a responsibility and essentially there's no excuses anymore, you can't rely on your parents, your friends, or solely on your partner, what you do from there on affects a persons life.

 

But it is different for every person, and I doubt many feel like an adult at age 18. For me I started feeling more adult maybe around 20-22, so I do now consider myself an adult.

I don't know. I'm in my twenties and I don't live at home anymore. I might act like an adult in many situations but I still don't feel like a proper adult.

When I'm married and have children...

That's the point where you have a responsibility and essentially there's no excuses anymore, you can't rely on your parents, your friends, or solely on your partner, what you do from there on affects a persons life.

 

True but I think most people already feel like adults when decide to have children. (I'm not talking about unintended pregnancy obviously)

 

 

A lot of my friends are a lot more mature then me. Many of them don't go out clubbing anymore, some of them have kids and quite a few want to have children and/ or get married in the next few years. I'm happy for them but at the same time I'm a bit upset because we'll probably never get to do all the cool things we wanted to do when we had no money.

Well yes I didn't really mean at the actual moment of birth but at some point between marriage or preparing the thought of conceiving (Which doesn't necessarily involve marriage) because that's not just thinking about your next weekend or holiday with your partner, its 20+ years of being dependable and I'd hope most people take that very seriously.

 

But to be honest, the end of that last sentence kinda depresses me as a lot of people really dont take it very seriously.

I think it's just whenever you feel like you're really in control of your life and you feel mature enough. I guess I'm more mature than most people my age but I wouldn't say I'm an adult yet, probably not until I'm at least like 20..

I became an adult at the age of 15, the day when my beloved grandmother died after an operation. I remember I was alone for support my family, all a little out of his mind and me to called on phone my family in Italy.

grandmother died in a foreign country France. I remember been kept for months in a hotel dirt, without much food.

but because my grandfather thought it was the best doctors in France for my grandmother .

and arrived in Switzerland. I had no interest in life and I am staying for months in bed without moving.

The day I left Malaysia for the States. :|

I felt like that the day I left Ireland to go to England (Which I do realise is on a much, much smaller scale but I was the only person I knew who was doing that) but when I got there, the complete independence initially made me feel like even less of an adult haha.

 

So when you got to America, and settled into work/social life, did that feeling stay? It can depend on circumstances, I wasn't worrying much at all about money and even if it got to that my parents weren't far away to bail me out, but I felt even more like I could do whatever I wanted.

When you start getting bills addressed in your name, that you have to pay for; and that (typically) means you've got a job that pays for those bills.

 

 

Although technically I was an adult at 18, I didn't really entirely feel like one because not much had changed. I was still living with my parents, but instead of going to high school down the road I just drove 5 more miles to college.

Once I GTFO of this house.

I should be 19 when I leave college for uni, so I'm just gonna build up as much money as I can while I don't have bills to pay so I don't have to feel like an adult when I finally do leave home :P

when i stop staying up all night watching sherlock and actually get up for my morning class

I think I start feeling like an adult at age 18, hahaha, because that's when I flew from my parents wings. I moved out, started to live on myself, which meant paying all the bills myself too. I already was a responsible person back at my parents place, but now I felt more responsible and self-sufficient as well. I might come back to this if I would ever get a child. Friends tell me that getting a child changes you even more. You are then not only responsible for yourself, but also for others. For some that's really being an adult.

 

I guess some people consider themselves an adult where others would totally not.

 

- Sidenote: I know this one case where silly girl thought she was so grown-up she should have a child. She was 16/17, living at her parents place, still in school, not paying any bills, not working either, she just met a badboy (more or less 2 months ago) and decided she wanted to have a baby with him (I know this sounds like MTV's 16 and pregnant, but I know this girl personally). She got pregnant, mum didn't only freak out but was on the verge again of a depression and when the baby was there she still lived in her parents place. But hey, that was convenient, because now her mum could take of the baby while she and badboy would go out and partyyy. Also the parents would now support the baby. I really wonder if she thought about her parents and the burden she would put on them when deciding she would have a baby. She couldn't even support herself, let alone the baby. That's not mature imo at all.