The other day, in a discussion at work, an interesting question came up. At what age do children stop being children and start to be considered as adults? 18? 21? Actually, the answer to this seemingly simple question is not that simple at all.

In most countries, including the US, 18 is the “legal age” that delineates between childhood and adulthood. In some countries it is a bit older (e.g. it’s 19 in many parts of Canada) or younger (e.g. it’s 16 in the UK). And in the wizarding world of Harry Potter, it’s 17.

Now what does “coming of age” mean? In most countries, adulthood comes with a lot of privileges and responsibilities. As an “adult” member of the society, a person can

• Vote
• Run for office
• Have a “real” job (and pay taxes!)
• Engage in a contract
• Drive
• Purchase, possess and drink alcoholic beverages
• Serve his/her country (e.g. be drafted into military service)
• Get married without parental consent
• Make medical decisions without parental consent

There are however, some ambiguities and inconsistencies to this list.

In the US, for examples, a person is considered an “adult” at age 18, and is treated as an adult in most of the items listed above, except the part about alcoholic drinks, where 21 is the minimum drinking legal age.

In some cases, a court of law can decide whether a person who is legally a minor can nevertheless be allowed to make a legally binding decision without a parent’s or guardian’s consent.

This was the case of Hannah Jones, who refused to have a heart transplant that she badly needed. She’d rather stay home and take her chances, she said, after having gone through lots of medical ordeal since she was diagnosed with leukemia as a child. Hannah was only 13 years old but the British court upheld her decision despite the objections of health authorities. In supporting her decision, the court accepted that she was “adult enough” to make her own decision in this rather critical issue.

There are many cases in history when the distinction between children (also called minors) and adults become blurred. I just hope that for my children, the transition would be easy, smooth, and uncontroversial.

This is not to scare parents out there. This is for your awareness.

The American Heart Association (AHA) issued a scientific statement on the management of stroke in infants and children last month. According to AHA, the risk of children and adolescents from age zero to 18 years to have a stroke is 10.7 per 100,000 children. This is definitely much lower than the incidence of adult stroke. But that doesn’t mean we can simply take it for granted

Childhood stroke is very different from adult stroke and the differences are presented in the table below:

For more information about childhood stroke, parents can download this AHA brochure Let’s Talk About Children and Stroke.

Sources:

American Heart Association News Release

AHA Scientific Statement, Stroke. 2008;39:2644-2691

When my daughter was in her terrible twos and my son was a newborn I often stumbled around like a zombie, not showering for days on end and crying in anguish if dinner was burned. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but I took solace in knowing that it was probably something my kids wouldn’t remember. After all, my earliest memories are from around the time I hit four years old, so I figured it was relatively safe to be openly haggard and exhausted around my babies because they probably wouldn’t remember it.

I’m a lot more careful now. My daughter is four, and I know that every little thing I do can be a lasting memory for her. When I take a nap instead of helping her color I wonder if someday she’ll recount this to a therapist because she’ll have all these dramatic memories of me “ignoring” her.

For the record, I only do the nap thing when I’m sick. It’s not like I forgo time with her every day in order to catch some rest.

At any rate, I wonder at what age memories actually start to stick. I know there are some people out there who claim to vividly remember being born, but my guess is that these people might have some confused memories. Will my son – who is now two – be able to recall things that happen to him right now when he’s an adult? Will those memories get twisted around to form something else in his mind? I remember when I was young and my mom cried hysterically when John Lennon was shot. The memory never really made much sense to me until I grew up and got the full story: Amazingly talented musical icon, shot to death by a crazy guy. Now I can see why she cried, but back then I remember thinking, “So what? Some old guy died.” If I never got the full story it would remain an odd memory in my mind, and one that I wouldn’t fully understand.

I’m interested to see what childhood memories my kids bring up when they’re much older. For now, though, I’ll just work on filling their minds with happy, interesting memories.

My computer sits by my window and I have a great view of the snow blowing down my neighbor?s driveway. Times like this take me back to when I was a child. It seems like it would snow more often in the winter back then. At least, to my blurry memory it did. Memories are like that, you know. When twenty years have passed it seems like only the very good and the very bad stick in your mind like clear photos taken the day before.

I remember so strongly the taste and smell of the snow cream my grandmother made. She would take a large bowl, go outside and gather as much clean snow as would fit into it. She would then mix in sugar, milk, and vanilla. I still make it now for my kids when the snow is fresh and ?sticky?.

Hey, I like it, too.

I think that everyone remembers the tastes and scents from childhood. That is the main reason we have such a popular line of comfort food cookbooks all over the world. For me, the warm scent of vanilla or anything with a spice smell gives me a moment of peace.

I thought I would offer an alternative way to make this treat for those of you who have never had it. This recipe is suitable for vegans, vegetarians, and most children who may have food allergies.

Maybe, some of you have had this, but do not remember how to make it.

Snow Cream

• 1 large mixing bowl brimming with clean, fresh snow
• 1 cup of vanilla soymilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup of sucralose

Mix all ingredients well. The snow will melt down as soon as the milk hits it, but keep stirring. Eventually it will clump, then become smooth. The texture you are looking for is thick and smooth, just a bit softer than real ice cream.

When you taste this, it should be slightly sweet with a real vanilla flavor. Feel free to play around with this recipe to get the flavor you prefer. I have also added in a touch of cocoa powder, but was not as pleased with the results. I am a vanilla fan!

If you do try this recipe, let me know how it works for you and please share your variations!