Hmm. I asked my friend this question yesterday. When do we grow up? (Don't ask me why I keep asking my friends strange questions. It's just interesting to hear their replies.) Ok so she was surprised, as usual. She exclaimed, "why did you ask me this sort of question??? People just grow older day by day lah! You don't see someone who's just born and suddenly becomes an adult!" Hmmmm... Think think. Hey good answer. So we just grow older day by day and learn new things each day. But is there a point of time when a person is no longer a child and morphs into an adult? Well there is this period of time in between called adolescence, which is where we are right now. But what is the difference between a child and an adult?

child ( P ) Pronunciation Key (chld)
n. pl. chil·dren (chldrn)
A person between birth and puberty.

An unborn infant; a fetus.
An infant; a baby.
One who is childish or immature.
A son or daughter; an offspring.
A member of a tribe; descendant: children of Abraham.

An individual regarded as strongly affected by another or by a specified time, place, or circumstance: a child of nature; a child of the Sixties.
A product or result of something specified: “Times Square is a child of the 20th century” (Richard F. Shepard).

a·dult ( P ) Pronunciation Key (-dlt, dlt)
n.
One who has attained maturity or legal age.
Biology. A fully grown, mature organism.

adj.
Fully developed and mature.
Relating to, intended for, or befitting adults: adult education.
Containing or dealing in explicitly sexual material; pornographic: adult movies; adult bookstores.

Hmm. Maturity seems to play a big role in differentiating a child from an adult.

ma·ture ( P ) Pronunciation Key (m-tyr, -tr, -chr)
adj. ma·tur·er, ma·tur·est

Having reached full natural growth or development: a mature cell.
Having reached a desired or final condition; ripe: a mature cheese.
Of, relating to, or characteristic of full development, either mental or physical: mature for her age.

Suitable or intended for adults: mature subject matter.
Composed of adults: a mature audience.
Worked out fully by the mind; considered: a mature plan of action.
Having reached the limit of its time; due: a mature bond.
No longer subject to great expansion or development. Used of an industry, a market, or a product.
Geology. Having reached maximum development of form. Used of streams and landforms.

(Dictionary overload :P)

Ok so from the dictionary, if one is mature, one can be considered an adult. But maturity is relative. Full development, either mental or physical. So it's either huh. So lets say someone who is 9 years old has a maturity of a 30 year old. Is that person a child or an adult? He seems to be a child physically, but an adult mentally.

But then, is it possible to have full development mentally?
There's always something new to learn. Most things (or everything) are relative. There must be some kind of benchmark which tells you whether a person is matured or not. Any suggestions?

Personally, I don't think I'm matured enough yet. And I don't think anyone our age is matured. Immaturity is the reason why I don't like to re-read my entries. Cos I'm constantly reminded of how immature my thoughts are.
Why is maturity so important? Cos you need maturity to do "great" things. Can you imagine an immature LKY or his son ruling the country? Havoc man....