why are young people taking longer to grow up?

Question

people are delaying leaving school, delaying getting married, delaying getting proper jobs, delaying having children, why is this? people who use to have children early (like 21-24 years of age) are now having them when they are 28-35 years old..why is this?

FROM A PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY..THANKS

Answer 1

In this day and time people have a much longer life span and the harsh reality of survival has been reduced by advancements in technology .
The quality of life is so much better for people and the variety of things to indulge ones body and mind in are varied .
We can travel great distances quickly and efficiently and move products of great value to many people .
Less then 50 years ago 20% of the homes had no electricity .

We live in a great time and with this, comes, or should come , an awareness of the future and how our actions today will effect the future .

Its not that they are taking longer it is there is much more time .
We no longer need to replace ourselves as quickly because we are in much better health for much longer .
Much of the need for a family was to work the fields and care for the older members of ones family who wore out much younger because of the life they lived which was much harder .
Some times a son or daughter remained at home to care for older parents . You did not need to be smart or well educated to draw water from the well or plow a field and sow seeds for the harvest or take those bushels to the market in town .
With our faster lives has come a loss of the closeness of family and the need for many children and much of this has to do with society also .

When kids get out of college they have many debts to society and the income does not come quickly and if one wants to provide for their kids they must have a home and savings and a stable career .

So by the time one feels they have these things they are much older then once was considered the time to fall in love and have a family .

They have loved and lost a few times and look at marriage as more of a business arrangement in which both parties are expected to equally participate in all the aspects equally .
And with this has come new roles for fathers who are no longer worn out from 10 hours at hard physical labor .They work shorter hours and less physically demanding jobs and have more energy to devote at home to a large house and yard and boats and social climbing which kids tend to put a damper on . .

Life has truly changed dramatically in the last 50 years and while it still takes many hands to accomplish the work it takes less muscle of the body and more of the mind . Go back in time just 50 years and try to sell home gym equipment to exercise and people would laugh at you . Push mowers , hand saws ,rakes ,and brooms not to many leaf blowers , weed whackers , or riding mowers . The guy who lived the farthest out drove a truck and picked up 4 or 5 men headed to the mill or factory . People walked a lot more had one car they only used for shopping once a week .

Not to long ago people may have never traveled more then 50 miles from where they were born and today most people are not even in the same state they were born in .

Its also possible to have a family much later . If reproduction is a problem a doctor can take care of this . Women and men who could not conceive a couple of decades ago can now . Its a brave new world .

People are still falling in love young but with birth control almost a given with young women at 16 , 17 , and surely before they go off to college young women are no longer having children and choosing the time and circumstance when they want children .

So does this help a little or would you like a list of books to read on the subject .

Answer 2

My opinion:

In the olden days, people were less connected, traveled less, and family came first. Mom stayed home (stereotype, I know), while dad worked, etc.

Now, the youth growing up are connected to everybody. This means they have larger and more complicated social networks. This leads to dating different people, and realizing that you don't have to settle for the first guy or gal you meet (the first answer made me almost fall out of my seat laughing...what a joke!). Typical conservative.

Anyways, that is one aspect. Then there is the added dimension where we "expect" our youth to move on to college and get degrees. The better students understand that marriage should not interfere with this. What's the saying? First school, then love, then baby carriage?

So, right away, the young adult is at 22-23 years old, maybe moving on to a masters degree, so 26 or 27 years old.

Then comes a first job, which one usually only holds for a short period of time (1-2 years). After which follows a move to a different city for a better paying job.

Now the person is anywhere between 24-30 years old....and finally they start courting seriously.

So: being more connected, and an emphasis on continued education past high school.

Neither of those variables were present a few generations ago.

Answer 3

Because we give our children to much. Everyone thinks they should give their children more than they had when they grew up. People that get something without working for it start thinking that the world owes them something and they don't appreciate it the way they would if they had to work for it. We live in a, get it today, if I don't have enough money I'll charge it, society. We now have more single parent families than married 2 parent families raising children in the United States,and that's sad. Kids are taught its OK not to believe in God, that Homosexuality is OK, they don't recite the Pledge of Allegiance, we allow them to watch the trash that's on TV, and the Kids raise themselves because the parents are working. Who teaches the child about Responsibility, consequences, patriotism, God, and Family values? Then we wonder why the Kids of today are screwed up and lazy.

Answer 4

I don't view politics as the proper place to ask this question.

Not only that, but this requires the writing of a journal article or book. There are already many on the subject.

It's cultural, in my opinion. I don't think you can separate out the combined affects of public education, the media and changes in family structure.

To many, marriage and family represent enslavement and burden. I am not one of those people. I view marriage and family as necessary foundations for the continuation of a society.

Answer 5

If you understand the domestic dog, there are some parallels. The dogs we keep at home are essentially puppies with dog bodies. They never fully mature and become the independent minded wolves from which they're descended. This was accomplished through selective breeding. In the case of humans, the same thing is being accomplished, but it's through conditioning. My opinion is that the wealth of this world is focusing its activities on selling bigger and better toys. By selling us things to play with (ie. DVD players, iPods, BMW's, etc.) they effectively keep us in the same mind-set as a child. When we finish work, we want to play... so we do. By keeping us in the mind-set of children, we're more impressionable, and thus easier to manipulate. This is advantageous to those who have or crave power. People become more dependent on government and financial institutions, and less dependent on themselves. Another good thing is that children rarely question authority. By keeping people in this state they're easier to control.

Answer 6

It starts with the parents. They raise their kids with the primary focus on their self-esteem, being happy, and having things. This focus teaches kids that they are important in the world and what they want is highly relevant (as opposed to humility). They focus on getting all the gadgets and acquiring things. This endless and unreasonable pursuit leaves kids unfulfilled.

Then from there, they do not manage their money correctly. They spend it on things that they want, but think they need.

Add to this the unending tax system that makes it hard for anyone to create wealth. I do not have kids because I cannot afford them. Plain and simple. It costs $1200 a month for daycare, which I have no interest in. Having mom stay home and be able to afford to stay where we are, not possible.

Answer 7

humm
where have you been . The young are growing up, and doing so very fast.
as for woman having children late, it is mostly because women want careers first, children later. So they wait..they climb that ivory tower to "success" and then they wake up one morning and find themselves getting old -- hair with strands of grey, t tummy bulging; faces beginning to sag...etc. In the interim they've had abortions and miscarriages, for whatever the reasons......
women need to realize that they do not remain young forever...no matter the job or position, before they know it, the years have flown by and there they are
CHILDLESS, shapeless, unattractive...
sad really.

Answer 8

This is true in all western societies and has its basis less in psychology than in SOCIO-ECONOMICS.

affluence breeds education, prudence and a reordering of priorities -- I don't know about the delaying getting proper jobs part

In poor agricultural societies CHILDREN 12 -13 years old often have children

Answer 9

Probably for the same reason you posted this question in the politics section of yahoo answers.


(because they cannot rely on their future, it's a sub conscience reaction to limited expectations, so they live for NOW. Basically a by product of diminished resources and any attempted escape from the status quo.)

Answer 10

They delay having children because they can (thanks to the birth control pill) and that delays everything else.