As a parent (and former youth for that matter), it continues to intrigue and concern me the paths people have out of their older youth into adulthood, including my own kids, Emma now 21 and Eric 24. This developmental phase is obviously awash with cultural expectations and normative behavior for the transitioning youth, their parents and larger family circle. These expectations are interwoven with Calvinist, materialist and social-engineering threads in our cultural zeitgeist, along with the emerging economic realities. What is intriguing (and of concern) is that my own kids and much of their circle are not going with the conventional program, but may be going with the new flow.

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