There are so many children trying to grow up and act mature and, at the same time, there are several adults still trying to act their shoe size. Has the world flipped somehow? It seems that everywhere I go, I hear children talking about love, sex, cell phones and, if I’m lucky enough, boys.

Their lives seem to be consumed with this 24-hour drama.

Today, many adults are making the decision to live at home and not take the chance of living out in the real world, while children as young as age seven seem to be given the choice of staying a kid and living out their childhood, or are being tempted with friends, access to cell phones and daytime drama.

“The younger the children get, the more mature they seem to want to be,” said full time babysitter, senior communications major Emily Hart. “Children have to grow up faster in society today. With so many things going on in our world, it forces kids to mature a lot faster and start learning how they can depend on themselves.”

Hart sees the growth spurt today’s children go through firsthand. Cell phones, make-up, boys and gossip are all a part of the lives of children today at a much younger age. When I was young, all those things weren’t even an issue. I still remember tetherball and wondering who was going to buy me my Lisa Frank folder being my biggest worries as a child. Kids don’t have to worry about a lot of things these days, yet with everything they surround themselves with at school, they fill their lives with so much drama, anticipation and worry. I didn’t even get a cell phone until my freshman year of high school, and when I did it was my sister’s old one.

Today, they are getting top of the line $400 cell phones, which they will probably drop in the toilet at school, while I, on the other hand, still don’t have a decent one.

Times have changed. Call me old fashioned, but I personally don’t find it OK for a child under the age of 10 to own a cell phone, or wear make-up and discuss adult matters. What happened to holding hands and a peck on the cheek being a big deal? What forces children to mature and grow up so quickly that it seems they miss out on childhood?

Forced to mature quickly seems to be in reach for today’s children, but far from reach for many adults today. As more students graduate, you would think that they would start to explore their options of education, careers or travel. But it seems the farthest they’re traveling is to their parents couch. Many are looking to not grow up at all. Their future plans consist of living at home and seeing how long they can stay before they overstay their welcome.

“Why leave when my parents cook, clean and pay for all my expenses?” asked sociology graduate Lin Vuong. “I have a job and everything, just not the urge to actually be fully independent. Not quite.”

I just hope the next time I visit home, my young cousins will be talking about Barbie and Disney, not Cosmo’s Top Ten Sex Tricks.

Rosa Pastran can be reached at [email protected]