In Germany, the age requirements of things such as marriage, drinking, driving, and working are quite different compared to the United States. In Germany teens are allowed to drink beer and wine at a restaurant with a parents permission. At the age of 16 they no longer need permission and once they reach the age 18 they can drink hard liquor. In the United States we have much stricter law of 21 years old to be able to drink any kind of alcohol. Even with parent permission young adults are not allowed to drink alcohol at all.
Another second age difference in Germany is the legal driving age. Currently in Germany at 17 years of age a young adult is allowed to drive a car with a parent present in the vehicle. Once they reach the age of 18 they are allowed to drive by themselves. In the Unites States, a minor of 14 years of age and 9 months is allowed to drive with a parent present in the vehicle if he/she has passed a drivers education class. There are two classes the minor must take in order to receive a drivers license at the age of 16. There are driving restrictions once the minor has received a license. Until they have had their license for a year they are not allowed to drive passed 10:00pm.
A third age difference in Germany is legal marriage age. According to internations.org "The minimum age for marriage in Germany is eighteen. With parental consent, one party may be younger than eighteen, but not younger than sixteen years of age". In the United States the age of consent differs from state to state. In Michigan, with the consent of a parent, between the ages of 16 and 17 you are allowed to marry. If the person is younger that 16, consent from both parents is required and it must be approved of a probate court.
A fourth major age difference is the working age. In Germany the youngest age a young adult can work is 13 with parental permission. But the options of work are very limited. Usually young adults will start work between the ages of 15-18. Teens are not allowed to work more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours per week. After 4.5 hours of work teens must be given a 30 minute break and after 6 hours of work teens must be given a 1 hour break. In the United states a teen may begin work at the age of 14 with parent permission and a work permit. At the age of 14 a teen is not allowed to work more than 3 hours a day on a school day and no more than 18 hours during a school week. Once a person reaches the age of 18, there are no longer restrictions on hours.
Work Cited
http://www.usmarriagelaws.com/search/united_states/teen_marriage_laws/
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20120418-42023.html
http://www.internations.org/germany-expats/guide/15985-family-children-education/marriage-in-germany-15962
http://www.howtogermany.com/faq/faq-youth-labor.php
http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/childlbr.htm
Do you think that the work constrictions on US teens have been the result of poor working conditions in the early ages of the industrial revolution?
ReplyDeleteAs far as the driving laws go, I find it interesting that although German teens can drink alcohol as early as 14 yrs old, they have to wait until they're 18 to drive. It makes me wonder if that's by design, so that teens can gain some more serious responsibility before they start driving.
ReplyDeleteI think that young American have a huge range of opportunity regarding work compared to many other countries like Germany. Jobs are very limited in germany and it is not easy to hop around from job to job to finallly get the one you want. In America, we can basically get into any field you want. We often use jobs as stepping stones to our career.
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