" consensus of neuroscientists agree that brain development likely persists until at least the mid-20s – possibly until the 30s."
I think it persists throughout life. I heard we always feel like we've recently achieved a static point in brain development, but we're always developing. At age 42 I feel like I finally stabilized in my 30s, but I heard a talk saying people in the 50s feel like they finally stabilized in their 40s, and it never stops. That's good that we never stop growing. I know a 14 y/o mind is different from a 42 y/o mind. But I want to give that 14 y/o every chance to fly free to the extent of her abilities. Even if it's safer that an older person should always being watching her, I want her to accept the risks and live to the fullest extent possible.

"Teaching your kids to be "responsible" sounds good, but I have to ask, "Responsible to whom? and for what?""
Maybe it's teaching them to be "responsible to themselves", to be "agents", or to be "proactive". I'm not sure the word. People are sometimes surprised we trust our 9-y/o to walk a half mile home without supervision. But when my wife was 9 y/o at a school two miles south our kids', she was a crossing guard with a badge helping the younger kids cross. I walked with a friend half mile to my school l two mile east of here, starting at age 5. The student crossing guard program is long gone. The kids don't leave from school when the bell rings; they're lined up with teachers checking off their names releasing them parents. At recess the kids literally have to submit any game they want to play for approval. Basic games that seem harmless are now banned. Picking up sticks is now allowed. Adults feel a responsibility to mediate minor disputes even when kids are in the process of resolving them with respectful words and no hitting. When 8 y/o kids literally run behind a tree or play structure, parents tell them that they must stay within unobstructed line of sight every second. Climbing trees is much rarer because parents area always hovering, at least one parent won't allow it, and the other parents go along to avoid the hovering parent's kid from being left out. I have heard parents saying they want an open floor plan so they can make visual contact with their 8 y/o kid at all time. No event, including school, can happen without a snack and water, even if the event is not atheletic and comes right before lunch or dinner. They have snack every day at school, shortly before lunch.

I'm not sure the formula. Maybe we treat them as if they were current age times 0.8 minus 2

Any one of these things would be no big deal. But it's a troubling pattern. I think it's more than just the trend that there's more to learn in an information society than an agrarian society where people got married at age 14.

You know, if you asked most people here what the 14th Amendment was, hardly any of them would get it right. (We can all look it up, of course.). Or putting it another way, you could ask "When did it become a federal crime to make disparaging remarks about federal money?" And most people here probably would go for the Federal Reserve Act or the New Deal.

Yeah, but how many people can design a tunable oscillator? ... or build a NAND gate ... and yet, they all function well enough in our electronic world...

Neoteny is the retention of juvenile characteristics into adulthood. It allows species to be adaptable when the environment changes. in The Ascent of Man Jacob Bronowski calls it "The Long Childhood."

"In humans, all fontanelles are generally fused by the fifth year of life with 38% of fontanelles closed by the end of the first year and 96% of the fontanelles closed by the second year. In contrast, apes fuse the fontanelles soon after birth: in chimpanzees the anterior fontanelle is fully closed by 3 months of age." -- https://carta.anthropogeny.org/moca/t...

"It is widely debated as to which age the brain is considered “fully mature” or developed. In the past, many experts believed that the brain may have been done developing in the mid to late teens. Then along came some evidence to suggest that development may last until at least age 20. These days, a consensus of neuroscientists agree that brain development likely persists until at least the mid-20s – possibly until the 30s." -- http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/02/...

Regarding that, I think the reason that new research pushes the age upwards is that the age is moving upwards. It is a moving target.

At the same time, I look to the Flynn Effect: we are getting smarter, in part because we continue much longer to learn like children.

Teaching your kids to be "responsible" sounds good, but I have to ask, "Responsible to whom? and for what?"

Thanks for spreading the word, OUC.

Agreed.
I meet a minimum of 100 people a week at Hospice. Those people that have young kids, if we hit it off, I advise to go on line and let their kids watch...also I suggest that they do too.
I've had a 50% success rate...just by word of mouth.

PS...even though my state is disgustingly over run with ignorant liberals...only a few, over the past 7 years have ever ventured here.
The one's that have, were politicians and got a frosty reception.
Congresswhatever, Delora got the frostiest reception of all recently.

If only parents recognized the need and could find the resource without being completely misled by media outlets like the NYT, et al.

"Free"*** Lectures at Hillsdale College...could begin to turn the tide. hillsdalecollege.com

Hillsdale, as you might know, was established exclusively, to teach the constitution and our founding.

It sounds like he's running for president. He could be my first vote for a Republican, esp if he runs against someone promoting socialism.

This makes me wonder how it would have been if they had asked the questions in very plain language.
"Can the gov't make a law banning saying things because they're hugely unpopular or offensive to most people?"
"To fight the most violent crimes, like child kidnapping and terrorism, does it violate the Constitution for police to search people's homes without a warrant on the possibility that any home might contain evidence that would save lives?"
"Can the gov't ban all weapons from citizens if it shows the police force is effective and banning weapons decreases accidents?
"In cases where witnesses are afraid to testify, can the gov't use statements as evidence while keeping their source secret for the witnesses' protection?"
"If someone is suspected of a serious crime but refuses to cooperate with investigators, can we jail them for refusing to cooperate if police suspect they might commit future crimes?
"Are all rights are listed in the Bill of Rights?"

I wonder how people would do. If people answer yes to these questions, it seems more than just lack of knowledge. It seems like they're not concerned with turning over power to the government.

I also wonder how it would be on all questions if they think people a) have those rights, b) if they think Constitution guarantees those rights, if courts back the respondents' view of the Constitution. On whether people in violation of immigration laws have any rights, some respondents might say they have no rights, the Constitution is ambiguous about it, and the courts are backing those false rights. This would allow us to distinguish people who ignorantly believe the Constitution spells out the rights only apply to citizens from people who just disagree with the courts' interpretation.

"Being worried about politics just takes time away from the things in life that you actually have control over."
Why people care so much about candidates who are not all that different is one of my biggest mysteries.

"Most people are ignorant about most of the things you consider important. "
That's true. I'm ignorant about things like cooking beyond frying and egg and the rules of soccer, American football, and other sports. I don't know how to fish, camp, or have any basic survival skills. I also suck machine shop stuff, cutting drywall, and cutting wires to right length so they can be bussed together and look good.

The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis--and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance
Pub. Date: 05/16/2017; Publisher: St. Martin's Press.

Reviewed here
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/...
and here
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/bo...
and here
http://www.nationalreview.com/article...
among very many other places.
(Only $13.99 from Barnes and Noble.)

Most people are ignorant about most of the things you consider important. That's life. A while back, I posted about our ignorance of the military (https://www.galtsgulchonline.com/post.... "Most people" think that most people in the military are conservative or Republican. Most people do not know the quadratic formula and very few of those who do could derive it. Most people who can name any planets think that Pluto is one of them. Most people do not know how many chromosomes a human has. For work on two different jobs, I spent several hours with the Texas Government Code. I never read our state constitution.

I could argue that the Annenberg Public Policy Center itself is an example of collectivism. Individualism is capitalism; and capitalism is lived the marketplace, not the legislature. Being involved in public policy is an example of what Harry Browne called "The Burning Issues Trap" in his book How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World. Being worried about politics just takes time away from the things in life that you actually have control over.

The news story is misleading.

Here is the link to the actual survey report:
https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycent...

"The APPC survey, conducted Aug. 9-13 among 1,013 adults in the United States, finds that 53 percent think that people who are here illegally do not have any rights under the Constitution. That incorrect belief is especially strong among self-identified political conservatives – 67 percent think it is accurate, compared with 48 percent of moderates and 46 percent of liberals."

>>* In Plyler v. Doe (1982), for example, the Supreme Court ruled that a Texas law violated the equal protection clause by denying a public school education to undocumented children. The Court held: “The illegal aliens who are plaintiffs in these cases challenging the statute may claim the benefit of the Equal Protection Clause, which provides that no State shall ‘deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.’ Whatever his status under the immigration laws, an alien is a ‘person’ in any ordinary sense of that term.” The majority also wrote: “In addition to the pivotal role of education in sustaining our political and cultural heritage, denial of education to some isolated group of children poses an affront to one of the goals of the Equal Protection Clause: the abolition of governmental barriers presenting unreasonable obstacles to advancement on the basis of individual merit.” <<

I used to think this was crap, just kvetching about "kids today". I am starting to see it though. Keep in mind I suspect average citizens are more aware of their rights today than in the past. So I do see the glass half empty. But I also see kids developing slower, and I wonder if they'll ever feel like "the adults", the people with adult rights and responsibilities. Or will they look only to authorities for every decision? Some of this is middle-aged "kids today" grousing. My wife has been reading me excerpts from Sen Ben Sasse's book on the topic, and it's echoing things I see in my daily life.