July 19, 1999

Compact Adults

What is a person from the ages of 0-18? Do we call that person a child, a kid, or a compact adult? It seems the latter is a common reference nowadays by which apply many attributes of adults to kids regardless of their age and experience. Sure, kids watch the same shows the adults do and many are beginning to explore such once adult topics of alcohol and sexuality. However, I'm pretty certain that the mistake frequency is absurdly high. They are still learning. Sure, they might be skipping ahead through the school of life faster than the previous generation did, but they are still immersed in life studies. We are not tolerant of a thirty year old man who gets severely drunk since we feel he should know better. However, can we use the same reasoning with a fifteen year old? No, the kid does not know better. He had no experiential basis to judge upon. He might have had education about underage drinking and social morality, but he does not have that cold, in your face truth that comes from life. The kid is not a compact adult, but an adult in the making.

The point is not to go easy on kids. They need to learn and strict guidelines and punishments can go a long way in their experiential education. When they do go wrong, don't judge them as a forty year old. Judge them as a novice instead.