Adult Children, Endangered Species

Special care must be taken with children of any age. They are precious creatures, almost a different species from the adults most of them grow into.

It is one thing to be childish. It is something else all together to be a child. Children have an openness, a vulnerability about them that means they are still growing, still being molded into the man, or woman who might someday emerge from this lovely creature who exists right now.

There are a few who never make that transition. They are not peter pans, nor are they childish, they are just adult children. They are no slower as adults than they were as smaller people. Some may be doctors, or teachers, or firemen, or even writers. Some may be waitresses and some may be dancers. They are what they are.

Why this happens I don't know. Some people think it comes through traumatic events that halt development at critical ages and perhaps that is true, but it isn't that easy to put a finger on.

It isn't even easy to identify adult children if you are one. There is no formula, no pattern, no descriptive checklist that I know of and they are relatively rare.

They do not seem to lose the intensity of childhood, the idealistic hopes, the sweetness, or the occasional tantrums. They seem to be creative, but then aren't most children?

I only know that when one adult child stumbles into the presence of another, there is a bond that seems to form quite naturally. It is a deeper bond than many people ever experience, because here you have two very open, very idealistic, very loving individuals who lack the inhibitions and restraints most people grow into in order to survive. I am talking of deep connecting friendship, not necessarily sexual relationships, they also tend to have a naivete that carries through.

That makes their survival somewhat problematic too. They do best in safe environments where they are protected from some of the worlds worst hazards, even finding mates who serve as surrogate parents, or support systems that help them cope.