Transition From Childhood To Adulthood

American author Gail Carson Levine reflected, “When you become a teenager, you step onto a bridge. The opposite shore is adulthood. Childhood lies behind.” She describes the transformations a person experiences from childhood to adulthood by the means of parties, drinking, driving, marriage, and families. These are important rites of passage everywhere, so as a result they are communicated and celebrated differently depending on the culture. For example, in the United States sweet sixteen parties driving licenses, exercising new freedoms exhibits the transition from childhood to adulthood. In contrast, the Mexican transition to adulthood displays values of family, community, and maintaining tradition.
One of the most anticipated events during …show more content…
Women play a significant part in family and faith relations. They are "seen as the caretaker of morality and hence take center stage in the domain of religion" ("Mexico" Countries and Their Cultures 1457). Mothers are role models for their children because they lead a lifestyle with good ideals in hope that their children will mirror the morals. Since most ethics sprout from religious sources, the mother helps instill faith in her children. The religious aspect of the culture is carried over from the Quinceañera to shape the way a family is built. Unfortunately, not every young adult remains sexually pure, so young parents have to grow up faster than usual. Teen pregnancy is frequent, tasking inexperienced women with taking care of a child (“Mexico” CultureGrams). Since Mexicans value family, most babies are delivered. After having a baby, the young woman raises the child with the help of her family. Her newfound responsibility of caring for her child also transitions her further into mature adulthood. Even after marriage, "birth control is not widely practiced, and many women become pregnant shortly" (Jermyn and Reilly 63). Part of marriage is creating one’s own family. The lack of birth control allows for the creation of families by the mid-twenties of a Mexican adult’s life, but the adults have to be qualified in order to support …show more content…
Life within a family and community is important in the Mexican society, so adults are expected to contribute to the general will and their family. "Mexican families form the core of the country 's social structure...family includes immediate family and extended family. The family provides emotional and economic support to each of its members."(Jermyn and Reilly 61). The father economically supports the family and teaches his children morals. The mother also teaches morals; her main household responsibilities include tasks such as cooking, cleaning, sewing ("Mexico" CultureGrams). Often families will live together as one unit and share the burdens of life. The males support the family unit by working, strengthening the community economically, while the females keep the house in order and raise the children, which therefore promotes family life. The adult responsibilities may be plentiful, but, in the end, it helps them fully come of age. Legally, a Mexican youth receives their identity as an adult at age eighteen when they become eligible to participate in previously age restraining laws, therefore receiving new freedoms and responsibility. In Mexico the “official legal drinking age is 18 ("Drinking Age in Mexico"), the voting age is “18 years-compulsory, but not enforced” ("Legal Voting Age around the World"), and the legal driving age is