3岁时，和小伙伴抢糖吃；7岁时，背着小书包成为一名小学生；13岁时，开始有点小叛逆，有点小骄傲；18岁时，会注意到隔壁班的女生今天梳了高马尾……人生像是无数个时间节点写成的美妙故事，你的“成人加冕礼”究竟何时开幕？故事正要开始~



Forget 18. New research shows that the human brain does not fully mature until much later.忘记18岁这回事吧。新的研究表明人的大脑要等到更晚才能完全发育成熟。 When is a kid not a kid anymore?孩子到底什么时候才算真正长大呢？



If you asked my 12-year-old daughter, the magical age would be 13 — the age when you're officially a teenager and can no longer be considered a "child." If you asked my 15-year-old niece, the age would be 16 — that's when she will be able to drive a car and get an after-school job. 如果你问我12岁的女儿，她会把那个奇妙的年纪定为13岁，在这个年纪，你就正式成为了一名青少年，不会再被人当成是个“小孩”了。如果你问我15岁的侄女，她会说是16岁，因为在这个年纪就可以开车了，还可以找份课后兼职。

According to the U.S. government, a child officially becomes an adult when she turns 18. That's when she can vote and start paying taxes. But interestingly, even though an 18-year-old can go to war, the government does not consider that person mature enough to drink alcohol. The magical age for that rite of passage is 21. Still, even a kid who can go to war and buy a beer is not old enough to rent a car; for most car rental companies, the minimum age for rental is 25.根据美国政府的规定，青少年在年满18周岁之后就正式成人了。到了这个年纪，他们就可以开始参与选举，开始纳税。但有趣的是，虽然政府认为年满18周岁就可以走上战场，却不认为年满18周岁可以饮酒，实际上，21岁后才被允许饮酒。然而，一个孩子够年纪上战场，也可以买啤酒，却还是不够租车的年纪。大多数的租车公司都将租车的最低年龄限制在25岁。



As it turns out, the folks at Hertz or Alamo may have a better idea about the age of maturity than the U.S. government. According to the latest research, the human brain does not fully develop until around age 25. And it's those last few years that are critical when it comes to things like impulse control and risk taking.事实证明，对于成熟的年龄界定，赫兹和爱路美两家租车公司的人好像比美国政府更明智一些。根据近期的研究发现，人脑直到25岁左右才能完全发育，而临近25岁的几年更是控制冲动和承担风险意识形成的关键期。



In studying scans of the adolescent brain, neurologists have learned that when kids are around the age of 18, their prefrontal cortex is only halfway developed. This is the area of the brain that helps control impulses, solve problems, regulate emotions and organize behavior. That's not to say that kids in their late teens and early 20s can't take on these tasks, but it does mean that it's harder for them to do — at least until around age 25 or so when this area of the brain fully develops.通过扫描研究青少年的大脑，神经学家发现，青少年18岁时，他们的前额叶皮质区只发育了一半。大脑的这一区域能够帮助控制冲动、解决问题、调节情绪、组织行为。这并不是说处于青少年后期或是20岁刚出头的人不能承担这些任务，而是对他们而言，处理这些任务难度更高，因为至少要到25岁左右，大脑中掌控这些能力的区域才能完全发育。



Thisisn't exactly a news flash for generations of parents who have watched their teens take crazy risks while seeming unable to get their lives together until they hit their mid-20s. For the average teen growing up in a supportive family (and I mean emotionally and financially), the latest findings are not really a big deal. Moms and dads will continue to bail out their college-aged kids if they get themselves in a mess.对于很多父母而言，这已经不是什么新鲜事儿了，他们曾看着自己的孩子做出各种疯狂的冒险举动，似乎只有到了25岁左右他们才会安定地生活。对于成长在一个比较支持自己的家庭中（包括情感上以及经济上）的孩子来说，最近的研究结果都不是什么重磅消息。哪怕是到了上大学的年龄，只要孩子遇上挫折，父母还是会竭尽全力帮助他们摆脱困境。



But this information sheds new light on the way kids without as much support are treated. In the foster care system, once a child turns 18, he is considered an adult and can no longer receive state-sponsored support. And many people think this is way too early for a teen to be on his own, especially a teen who has experienced an unstable childhood and who may be more likely to have problems controlling impulses than his peers from more stable homes.这样的消息让我们想到了那些无法从家庭获得同等支持的孩子们，他们在社会中又会受到何种待遇呢。在领养体系中，一旦孩子到了18岁就会被认定为是成年人，就不能再享受国家资助的支持。很多人认为，在这个年纪就让一个青少年自力更生，不免为时过早。尤其是当一个青少年经历了不稳定的童年，与其他家庭安稳的同龄人相比，他可能无法有效控制自己的冲动。



Because of this, some foster care advocates think it makes more sense for 25 to be the new legal age of adulthood. They want the age of maturity to be based on science, not arbitrary numbers.因此，一些支持收养体系的人认为，将25岁作为新的法定成年年龄更加合理。他们希望把成熟年龄的评定建立在科学的基础上，而不是任意的几个数字。 I'm not sure that this concept will fly with my 12-year-old, or even my niece. But then again, when they mess up in their teenage years, my family will be there to (hopefully) pick them up and get them back on their feet.我不确定我12岁的女儿或是我的侄女会不会接受这样的想法。但是，当她们在青少年的时期闯了祸，我的家人都会满怀希望地帮助她们，鼓励她们振作起来。 Not all teens have that luxury.然而，并不是所有的青少年都能有这样的待遇。