IWP
What are the main similarities and difference between childhood and adulthood?
I think that overall there are a lot of similarities and differences between being a child and being an adult. These have a big effect on how people function in the world.
I think a lot of this revolves around the fact that adults take on a lot more responsibilities then kids do. In general, kids get to lean on adults for both support and guidance in their actions. As an adult you are for the most part on your own. A kid can make a mistake but get out of it because of their age. As you grow older you become more and more responsible for the things you do. I think that one of the major differences between a child and an adult is the ability to make a decision that was a long term affects on you. In coming of age you become more responsible for making decisions. For example in middle school kids got to pick and try out for high schools. I think for many this is a big land mark in coming of age because they are choosing something that can effect them in the long run. They are not totally alone in this decision because they still have the help of their parents and guidance councilors. As an adult you are expected to take steps that are important for your life on your own with out the help of others.
I think that another main difference between childhood and adulthood is the physical appearance and puberty. Going through puberty the body of a child changes to one of an adult, this is a big part of how a person is regarded in the world. While looking more womanly doesn’t make someone a woman is changes how people act towards you. I think as peoples bodies change they become exposed to more aspects of society. In general things become more sexualized for teens even though they are not grown up yet. I think that contributes to the fact that a lot of kids are growing up quickly. Also, changing appearance affects your feeling for other people which affects how you interact with people on another level. I think that part of growing up and becoming an adult is falling in love and taking on a more serious relationship. Overall, I think in some ways this is affected by how you look.
One big difference between kids and adults is that as an adult you are exposed to a lot more and shielded less, parents often form a barrier in attempt to hide their kids from things that are hard or difficult to understand. As and adult people expect you to be able to deal with more and you have to deal with things on your own with out others to protect you. When there is a killer in the neighborhood parents aren’t running to their kids telling them about it and how they should deal with it. Adults have the burden of making sure nothing happens to them selves and the people around them. Also being a child is more carefree, worrying only about what to play, while adults have to provide for themselves. Adults have more burdens on this level too.
I think there also some similarities between childhood and adulthood. One of these is that both children and adults have to deal with relationships. Kids
can love just as much as adults even if its a different kind of love. Also, both kids and adults go through loss when they loose someone they love. People have different ways of expressing it but a person’s age doesn’t stop them from mourning. Kids also have friendships just as adults do that are really important to them. They both do activities with their friends hang out and share secrets. Friendship is universal and everyone can have friends.
Another similarity between being an adult and a kid is that they can both learn. I think that there is no point at which you can stop learning. No one knows everything and their is always things that you don’t know. Learning is both important to kids and adults because it changes the way they both live their lives. Learning really helps people accept each other and get along better in the world. I think that as an adult learning about certain things can go into more depth but children learn so much just from the world around them with out even trying.
In conclusion, there are a lot of similarities and differences between being an adult and a child. For one an adult makes more decisions for themselves while kids don't have to worry about that as much. While both kids and adults learn things everyday and function in important relationships. In the end there are a few things that separate a child from an adult but that doesn’t mean they aren’t very much the same in other ways.
