<p>
He needs to be 21, unless you road trip to Canada.</p>
<p>^^The minimum age for many strip clubs in US is 18( most clubs don’t serve alcohol).
In BC - don’t know about rest of Canada, drinking age is 19.</p>
<p>The biggest issue in turning 18 was the medical one; DS has a couple of chronic conditions and it has been a learning curve for all of us. He has had to learn to be more active in his own care and we have had to learn to back off - hard for this mama bear!</p>
<p>Will say that registering for the draft felt really scary, but it’s the law for boys.</p>
<p>I never had a curfew, but my car had to be in the driveway by 1am, so if I was driving I effectively had a 1am curfew-- which lasted until I was almost 23 and was about to move out anyway. I am nearing 24 now and I am sure if I still lived there I would still have a curfew. My sister is 20 and her curfew appears to be situational… it’s always 1am at the latest but they also make her ask permission to leave after a certain hour, but they own the car she drives.</p>
<p>I can’t really think of any other rules we had, other than not doing anything illegal (drinking underage, etc). I am pretty sure they threatened to make my sister move out when they found out she was smoking even though she was 18.</p>
<p>
The example was going to a strip club and getting drunk.</p>
<p>I don’t think the strip clubs around here would stay in business if they couldn’t serve alcohol.</p>
<p>Thank you notrich, for helping to clarify. The full example was (theoretically) me, as a married man with a child living at our home, a job, and coming home at 5 a.m. drunk after a night with strippers.<br>
The age of admission for a strip club, or my state’s drinking laws are completely irrelevant to the example since I am well over 21.</p>
<p>The big bday for D was when she & friends turned 21. They went to Vegas for the weekend & had a nice time–it was a large group & they shared a nice suite and had some fun. Didn’t hear about any strippers or anyone getting drunk and knowing D, don’t think that happened. </p>
<p>No big deal for either kid when they turned 18–always have had mutual respect and ask for an estimated time when they will be back home, which they have always given to the best of their ability. </p>
<p>Bigger deal as well when kids got their licenses and are able to drive themselves out & back on their own–no longer need to wait up for them. YEA!</p>
<p>I don’t even remember what I did for my 18th bday and it was only about four years ago. Guess it wasn’t too important.</p>
<p>The big stepping stone to adulthood in my family is getting a job rather than some arbitrary age. Not that I ever had a curfew or anything to begin with.</p>
<p>In our family, getting a job was a big milestone. Moving out of the family home was another milestone. Buying or acquiring your own place was yet another milestone. Particular ages were not really all that important in our family–nuclear and extended family.</p>
<p>Son got his IB diploma, registered for the draft, dealt with the possibility of cancer, represented another country as their musician and got his license. It was a good year. I never had to deal with curfews or drinking. And today, I am present, I am quiet, and I am truly thankful for 18 and that it was years ago.</p>
<p>Regarding Canada: Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec are all 18 for alcohol. All other provinces are 19.</p>
<p>My apologies to OP. I had no idea that my example, intended to show how someone at 18 might mistakenly think they can do anything they want(without consequences) would turn into a discussion about the drinking laws in Canada.</p>
<p>Not much really changes in our house. The “letting the kid grow up” is a gradual thing that happens over time, and there’s no real line in the sand.</p>
<p>Everyone in our house is in the house and quiet at 10:00 pm on weekdays and 12:00 am on weekends. Quiet meaning that no one on the other side of the house can tell you’re awake - REALLY QUIET.</p>
<p>And no one is allowed to take food in their bedrooms and they have to keep their areas clean and do chores.</p>
<p>The rules apply to everyone regardless of age.</p>
<p>Our kids, so far, have not really pushed to do things we strongly disagree with, so there’s been no real conflict. Our oldest moved out to go to college and will not move back in because she doesn’t like the rules.</p>
<p>My kids always stayed at the same level developmentally for a long time then they made a huge leap.</p>
<p>When my youngest turned 18, for example, she wanted me to take her to a weekend music festival on the other side of the state.
Once we were there & she had seen the acts she came for, she wanted to go back to the campground. I was staying for the main attraction and they didn’t allow reentry.</p>
<p>So she found the shuttle and made it back to the campground herself, normally wouldnt be a big deal but knowing she has “special needs” made me more anxious than I think I would have been otherwise in that situation, however considering she spent her 19th birthday in Goa, on the west coast of India- Im glad I dont know everything!</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies! Ha ha Hoss, no worries about the temporary direction the thread took - it’s amazing how that happens online. :-)</p>
<p>My kids are 18 this week, and bit by bit their actions and words are signaling that they are seeking their independence and looking forward to the next stage - going to college. As my son was looking for a new color to paint his room, he said ‘Mom, I want to go with something neutral so you can use the room for a guestroom when I’m gone’. Yikes! And we bought him a TV on Black Friday that he ‘can take to school and use in my dormroom’.<br>
Time marches on…</p>