All over the world, the discussion about age and maturity is a serious issue but more serious in one place than the other. In Africa, age is taken very seriously. It is not just a number. For instance, among the Igbo people, children who are born in the same period, say in the space of two to three years are said to be in the same age grade. They come together to form social gatherings to foster unity and progress in their immediate environment.
Only recently, through modernization the act of considering age has been downplayed. Before I delve into this discourse, I will like to define what age is.
According to Google, age can be defined as:
the length of time that a person has lived or a thing has existed.
Oxford Language Dictionary
Since age has a definition, it then could be said that it is relevant. Age can be used to determine a lot of things for an individual.
Maturity on the other hand can be said to be the state of being fully developed or adult.
Maturity and Age more World Apart
Following the definitions of the above terms, it can be said that age does not determine maturity since the ideal adult age of maturity for individuals can not be weighed as several factors can military or promote maturity of individuals.
Speaking as an African, we should always consider the fact that age is relevant in the traditional societies in deciding what becomes of our norms and keep the trajectory of guiding rules.
In deciding which child is to be seen as elder or older, age plays an important role. This is to say that age cannot be pushed aside when we get talking about life generally.
Maturity Is Not By Age
While age is a great ingredient in determining a demography in life for proper planning and developmental programmes for countries, it is not a factor for determining maturity.
Research has shown that individuals get mature by experience and not by age. Individuals who do not have some measure of experience may not be able to get mature in that area because they have not seen or learned the ropes of such matters.
Maturity can be a personal issue based on what goals and circumstances an individual pursues or the path he or she has worked.
Environment may also affect how mature an individual gets. Individuals who grow up in an environment where the older generation cares a lot about security will also grow up to become security conscious, thereby becoming mature security. This is to say that maturity is dependent in the area we have exposure in.
Physical Maturity vs Age
Have you heard of people who have stunted growth? Yes, they exist. Such people would be aged but not be able to display physical maturity. However, because of their life experiences they may be mature in their thinking and reasoning.
A typical example is the Nigerian movie actor, Chinedu Ikedieze. The popular actor is brief in height but mature in thinking. In his case, one can say that he is an aged fellow and also mature but cheated by nature.
However, there are many individuals whose age does not depict maturity. And as said elsewhere, you will know that their background, experience and environmental factors might have contributed to their immaturity.
Some adults by age may not be reasonable like some younger folks. So, as age is relevant to human existence it does not determine maturity. Maturity comes with the ability to be thoughtful.