Unless my friend was suicidal or my mother agreed (knowing my friend's
circumstances), our heart-to-heart could wait until morning. As for
running around Denver all night just to see what turns up, no way, not
for me, and having been chased (me in a group with 3 other girls) by
strangers on an after-dark, I wouldn't let my children either. You may
not find trouble, but trouble may just very well find you. It is as
simple as that.

Are you actually implying that the children that never had a curfew
don't go hogwild, stay out late, partying? Puhlease. They go hogwild
because that is the freshman way, period. College isn't perceived only
as a place to learn. LMAO. The only difference is that those with
stricter parents find more creative ways to bypass the rules while
still at home, which every parent knows happens. lol.

I was one of those working and supporting myself fresh out of
highschool, so I don't need any lecture there. As a result, I didn't
have the time to stay out all night, as I'm sure 18-year-old parents
didn't either. lol.

That's exactly right, stupid decisions are made all of the time by 18-
year-olds, and as someone else here mentioned, there have been studies
conducted on their perception of/capability of adequately gauging
cause/effect, actions/consequences, reasoning skills, etc. And at 18,
the legal consequences of even stealing a yard ornament are much more
serious than when you were 16 and can result in a rap sheet. lol. The
biological mother of my cousin thought it would be okay to put her in
her bassinet next to the furnace as a newborn so she could go out and
party in the generation past at the age of 18. lol. Heck, she must've
been thinking "No big deal. Baby is going to be sleeping anyway, and
in case she wakes up to sooth herself back to sleep, the furnace noise
or just being in the basement won't give me away." @@ While there are
creepy parents that do this very thing as mature adults, well into
their 20's, can't say for certain this woman would have had she
another few years under her belt. Some college kids go hogwild
overboard only until they see it is affecting their grades or studies,
and others don't give a rip, and neither is based on whether or not
they had a later curfew than another or none at all.

18 isn't a magic number - some kids may display more readiness for
freedom than others earlier and some just plain later, and it isn't a
light switch that gets flipped on their 18th birthday either. Again,
we disagree. I find it a bit ridiculous that you were able to turn
anyone's response to the initial poster into all of this.

Just as there were kids I went to school with who had more freedom and
some who had less than I, there will be so in my generation. Not
everybody is going to, nor wants to, do it your way Banty. Good for
you and good for your kids, as you and they are sooo much luckier than
I was or mine might be. LMAO. @@ In hindsight, I believe my parents
were correct, especially when I compare the differences between the
liberties afforded my younger siblings, and them, based on being the
eldest setting the stage. They were more than fair, as many times
friends with stricter parents wanted to stay over at my house so they
could have my curfew.

We don't even know what the OP's ex's curfew was either. I don't think
an 18-year-old needs to be home by 10 p.m. on weekends or during
summer break, and that is me, but other's might.


This is why a lot of young adults go hogwild the freshmen year of college.
There's a heck of a lot of deferred exploration and self-discovery. �And just
plain fun.

Eighteen year old fight wars for us, Chris. �Only a couple of generations past
eighteen year olds were commonly married and raising families. �Or at the least
already taking on trades and embarking in other ways.

It's our nutty society that takes young adults and expects them to be
quasi-babies well past adolescence. �And throws up its hands when it sees stupid
decisions made by 18 year olds, and decides to pull the reins even tighter..