Kids NOT growing up to fast these days:

[jeffreyab]

According to a Statistics Canada study today's youth are about 5 years behind the youth of 30 years ago in terms of key life transitions to adulthood.

The transitions used were:

Finishing education - well today you need a college diploma for jobs that used to require a high school business education or an apprenticeship program.

Getting a full time job - see above and if you don't do more school you often have a minimum wage job

Leaving home - new homes are more elaborate and expensive, youth don't want to give up the luxuries of their parents' houses for the less elaborate starter apartment

Getting married - many reasons I think, not enough money, want to be a "playa"

Having children - postponed for education or for economic reasons

Article is here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070918.wgrowup0918/BNStory/National/home

Comments

[leduck.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting study, although I wish they'd given a citation or named the authors. Some of those transitions, like marriage and children don't seem to me to define adulthood. Self-sufficiency, like having a job and leaving your parents' home, seem more on the mark to me.

Knowing the young adults that I do, I'm not surprised by the findings. Many of them live at home with their parents and seem quite dependent on them. A 25 year old I know, who lives at home, complained that he couldn't afford his own place. Those of us in our 40's looked at him disbelievingly and said that he should get a place with 3-4 other folks and then he'd be able to afford it. He shrugged and dropped the subject.

Self-sufficiency has always been a big deal to me. I didn't live at home past 17, and I have earned my way in the world since I was 21. It's hard for me to understand wanting to remain dependent, but it sure seems to be a common trait that folks in our generation have encouraged among our children.