We talked about this at the dinner table just the other day:

Figuring out when a youngster becomes an adult is a difficult process. They are recognized as adults in some arenas before finishing elementary school while, in other areas, they won’t be considered adults until they have nearly completed college.

They are quickly granted adult status in some areas but denied or even punished for many adult undertakings.

A good example is a movie theater.

A youngster can be charged the same price as an adult for a ticket, but a pre-teen isn’t supposed to get into a PG-13 movie without an adult, or an R movie without an adult until they are much older. Or even be in the movie theatre without an official adult after a certain time. Yet, these movie-restricted kids are still charged as adults.

And the ages when a child is an adult, as the movie theater indicates, vary on numerous levels from place to place.

Some parks, concerts, theaters, etc., consider a youngster an adult at the age of 8 or 9 years old. They’re charged for an adult ticket anyway. Many buffet restaurants consider 8-, 9-, 10-year-olds as adults when it comes time to bring the bill.

One odd and oxymoronic rule often appears when places charge children the same prices as adults then say that youngsters a certain age or younger must be accompanied by an adult.

It would seem that if a place considers a child an adult in pricing then the child would be considered an adult when attending a function.

In business, money seems to be a factor when it comes to determining the point when a child is considered an adult. Children are usually considered adults in pricing at an age when many are still playing with dolls and action figures.

There are even more confusing adult/not-an-adult rules when it comes to the laws of the land.

A person under 21 cannot buy alcoholic beverages because they are not considered an adult. Yet, if an 18-year-old is caught with a six-pack of beer, police can charge him as an adult in the court system. Actually, 17-year-olds caught breaking laws are charged as adults, too.

An 18-year-old is considered to have good enough judgment to vote for the president, run for some local elected offices, join the military and handle multi-million-dollar pieces of equipment, drive a car, get a job and live independently.

An 18-year-old is considered adult enough to be sent to prison or be executed because of a crime. But an 18-year-old is not considered adult enough to legally buy a beer or tobacco products for three more years.

In some religions, a youngster is recognized as an adult in the church by the early teenage years. In some households, young children handle the same chores as adults. In some cases, grade-school children are the ones who must explain to parents how computers and other high-tech equipment work.

It’s no wonder some folks of older generations think today’s kids are confused.

Given the confusing world which adults have created for youngsters, it seems more amazing that most kids don’t look at 21-and-over adults with utter contempt.

After all, the guy at the buffet has been saying your 16-year-old has been an adult for nearly a decade. The law says he is and isn’t an adult. The movie theater says he’s an adult ticket that can’t be used to see certain movies without you. His shirt size says he needs to shop in the men’s department. And his parents say he can’t have the car keys unless he eats all of his peas.

Dean Poling is an editor with The Valdosta Daily Times and editor of The Tifton Gazette.