How Old is grown?

How old is grown?

At 12 years old, society considers a child old enough to be left at home alone, while their parents are at work. If there is a younger sibling in the house, they are left to care for the little one. Does that mean they are grown?

At 16, the law says, we can send our children to Driver's Ed, get them a license and hand over the keys to a large dangerous machine. They can get a job and a bank account. Does that mean they are grown?

At 17, if a child commits a crime, they are arrested and tried as an adult. Unless of course, they are caught buying or in possession of tobacco products, then they get a ticket and their parents are required to go to court with them. Mom and Dad are held responsible for making sure they attend court ordered classes. Obviously, they are not yet grown.

At 18, they are old enough to sign up for the military; they are trained to kill, given guns and taken thousands of miles away from their families. They are old enough to vote, old enough now, to buy cigarettes and get credit cards. But, they are still not old enough to buy alcohol. If they are caught buying or consuming alcohol, again, they are issued a ticket and their parents are required to go with them to court. Most of our children are still seniors in high school at this time and we, as parents, are responsible for their attendance. We can be issued citations for too many absences. Are they grown, yet? Of course not.

At 21, they are old enough to buy alcohol, attend clubs, make major life decisions and more than half, still live with their parents. Grown? Not really.

If our children stay in school, full time, we can carry them on our health insurance until they are 23 years old. Additionally, it usually falls to the parents to pay for or aquire funding for their education. Grown?

If they manage to drive safely, not get any tickets and not get into any accidents, their auto insurance rates will decrease by the time they are 25 years old. Is that the age when they are considered grown?

So, how old is grown? My opinion, grown is when you are mature enough and responsible enough to hold a regular, full-time job, buy your own car, pay your own bills and make responsible decisions about your life. Grown is when you realize that your parents raised you the best way they knew how and did without many things so that you would not have to. Grown is when you come to terms with the fact that life is not just one big party and sometimes it's downright difficult.

The Bible says, "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things." 1 Corinthians 13:11

For parents, the Bible tells us,"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Maybe then, we can consider our children grown.

For the record, I am very proud of my four GROWN children.