Obviously the term "grown-up" is a child's term, reflecting the way children look at the world. It defines those who are responsible for the events in the world, the people running the show.

Adulthood legally is defined by physical age. But functionally, it begins when you genuinely become responsible for your own condition -- physically and socially. That means you are acting as a conscious and responsible member of a community in some degree. The minimum degree, probably, is not being a liability to the community you participate in. Like all such values, it is a continuum, not a black and white division -- some people are more responsible in some areas than others, and most grow in responsibility throughout their lives. But the critical change point is the assumption of responsibility -- meaning owning the decisions, predicting the consequences, and stepping up to the situations of your own life.



A