how old is an 'adult'

[Bugsareinthebrook]

niece is 19.
Therefore an adult in my mind
sister in law calls her a child.

what do you think

haus properly thought provoking.

Legally an adult. I’d probably describe as a young adult. At 18 mine will be at School 6th form wearing school uniform.

Certainly depends on maturity level and life experiences.
There’s a wide range but generally thos

Those less than 25 are too immature emotionally to be considered adults in my books.

Is this related to gift giving?? My ILs say Christmas gifts are only for children, no exchanging of gifts for adults. DN is 25 and we still give her a gift!

19 legally an adult but still a lot of growing up to do, I think the brain isn't fully developed until early twenties.
So teenager neither adult nor child!
I have DC similar age and tbh they still need support at that age so they aren't fully grown up also still financially dependent on parents.

@fallfallfall

Those less than 25 are too immature emotionally to be considered adults in my books.

The youngest prime minister in British history was 24. Many truly great and brilliant people achieve a huge amount before 30.

I would say young adult. Not long out of childhood and obviously not going to have the life experience of a 50 year old. LOTS of learning and maturing to do.

Your adult but not necessarily fully mature. 'Coming of age' used to be 21.

My children are adults, they are still my children

I think from 25 is an adult. Up to and including 24 is a young adult 😃

She is both an adult and her mother's child, she might not have a lot of adult experiences yet. My sister is in her early twenties and I absolutely respect her as an adult but I also offer her guidance and advice if needed because I recognise she's not fully established herself yet.

18 and 19 are strange ages. Supposedly still teenagers but also adults. I don’t consider my 18 year old an adult in most ways but when she’s allowed to vote and she earns her own money (subsidised by us because she also studies) and pays tax. So based on that I would say she’s an adult child.
The criteria above about “five year relationship and owning a home” are utter rubbish!

18 years old.

@mishmased

I think from 25 is an adult. Up to and including 24 is a young adult 😃

I always find this strange. I was managing staff by 24 years old and caring for other peoples kids. Do we really let children care for children?

Our sons are all middle aged. We still call them "the boys".

I was reading my mum's Christmas cards this weekend. She's 86. My sister and I are in our 60s. Loads of the cards sent best wishes to "the girls". Her friends, who I still call aunts and uncles, know we're adults but they still think of us as children in a way. I quite like it.

18 is an adult. If it were based on maturity, some would be 'adult' before that, and some far later, but it's not. Being an adult means you have full legal rights and responsibilities in society. It's not about what life experiences you have had or whether you've reached a certain stage of intellectual or emotional development.

You're still the child of your parents, though, whether you're 18 or 68. That's different.

Context is important and you haven’t provided.

Also I doubt she’s independent if she’s at university. That mostly means she’s financially dependent on her parents, lives away from her parents term time only and still with them most of the time etc etc

18 imo
dd was moved up by ss then
my dear old dad used call me and db the children and we were 50 ish.

My sons are 20 and 22, both with additional needs/disabilities which mean they are vulnerable adults. However, even though they can act younger than their ages, they are still adults. They became adults in the eyes of the law and in terms of services at the age of 18.

Your niece is a young adult. At 19, though, her mother could, technically, call her a teenager.

25? I think that’s the age when the brain has finished developing. 18-25 is ‘young adult.’

33 is when hobbits come of age. I reckon it’s about the time I became an adult.

She's an adult but she's still her child

@MorningStarling

18 for legal responsibilities, but older if you define adult as someone who is no longer a child.

There isn't a set age when someone is truly an adult but for most it is between 25 and 30. Basically until you've done at least two of the following you're not an adult yet:

• had a fulltime job for five years
• had a permanent relationship for five years
• owned your home (incl. with mortgage) for five years

What rot - by this measure some people never become adults!

I say 18. I’m 26 and my single friends who live in flatshares are also adults!