In different countries around the world, people become “adults” at different ages. Being an adult means having the right to do certain things such as vote, get married, or get a license to drive. It also means accepting the responsibilities that accompany these rights.

In many countries, sixteen or eighteen is the age at which a person becomes an adult. Young men and women at this age can get a part- time job, and begin to receive an income of their own. In many parts of North America, sixteen is also the age when one can obtain a driver’s license; in England, it is seventeen.