What happens when your kid turns 18? They're still your baby, but...

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Everything You Need to Know When Your Child Turns 18

Quick tips from celebrations to legal implications

By Jackie Burrell, About.com Guide

Source: http://youngadults.about.com/od/collegeprep/tp/Turning18.htm

Turning 18 is a big deal, not just from a parent's emotional perspective, but legally too. Here's a quick rundown on everything you need to know when your child turns 18, from celebrations to legal implications.

1. 5 Ways the Law Impacts New 18-Year-Olds

Eighteen is a magic birthday, a milestone into adulthood accompanied by great privileges as well as serious legal implications. At 18, your teen can vote, buy a house or wed his high school sweetheart. He can also go to jail, get sued and gamble away his tuition in Vegas. Here are five major ways the law impacts new adults.

2. Selective Service, the Draft & Your Teen

There hasn't been a military draft in the United States since the 1970s, but your son still has to register anyway. Here's the lowdown on who, why, where and how, plus a little background on the Selective Service and its link to college financial aid.

3. 5 Ways an 18th Birthday Impacts Parents

It's natural for parents to get all sentimental when their kids turn 18, but that milestone carries profound legal implications for parents too. Want to see your 18-year-old's medical records? His grades? No can do. Here are five, often unexpected ways your child's big birthday will impact you.

4. Teens, Sex & the Law

You know that sweet teen romance, the one between your 18-year-old child and his or her slightly younger beau? Be careful. While statutory rape and similar laws were written to protect children from abuse by older, predatory partners, teenagers can get caught in the crossfire. What's permissible in some states means jail time in others, and enforcement can range from a slap on the wrist to a decade in jail.

5. Federal Privacy Laws, Your Child's Grades & You

Those same federal privacy laws that allowed you access to your child's school records, and the opportunity to inspect and review his transcripts and disciplinary records, morph into a locked door when your child turns 18. Here's why.

6. 18th Birthday Party Ideas

Swirled frosting? Check. Goody bags? Got ‘em. We all know how to host a kiddie birthday party, but an 18th birthday is a big deal.Suddenly, your baby’s an adult, and it’s nice to mark the occasion with a little added oomph. Only question is, what kind of party? Here are five 18th birthday party possibilities.

7. Family Vacations After the Kids Grow Up

Just because the kids are grown doesn't mean you have to give up family vacations. In fact, an increasing number of families with teens, college kids and 20somethings continue to vacation together, at least occasionally. So here are tips on structuring the perfect family vacation - when everyone's grown up.

8. 5 Great Vacations for Families with Older Teens and College Kids

Teens and 20somethings are adventuresome travel companions, who enjoy a mix of outdoor adventure, cultural immersion, fine dining and cool shopping. So here's a sampling of five great vacation destinations - Montreal sightseeing, voluntourism in New Orleans, beaches, jungles and adventure - for families with young adults.

5 Great Books on Parenting Young Adults

How To Let Go... But Not Too Much

By Jackie Burrell, About.com Guide

Source: http://youngadults.about.com/od/parentinggrownups/a/lettinggo.htm

There's a sudden shift in roles when children grow up. Do you simply let go and shut up? Stay involved, no matter what 20-something wrath you invoke? And where's the how-to book, anyway?

Unlike the toddler parenting years, there aren't 4 million books out there on parenting grown-ups, but here are five good parenting advice books to add to your bookshelf:

1.    The College Years: Karen Levin Coburn's Letting Go: A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Years is a top choice among freshman parents and beleaguered college deans. Coburn, dean of freshman transition at Washington University, and co-author Madge Treeger delve into how to reinvent the parent-child relationship, and how to encourage "independent decision making with an expression of support for whatever is decided." In other words, how to offer loving guidance without anyone throwing objects at your head.

2.    20-Somethings and Young Adults: Jane Adams' gently funny I'm Still Your Mother: How to Get Along with Your Grown-Up Children for the Rest of Your Life offers down-to-earth advice packaged under such irresistible chapter headings as “Maybe This is Just a Stage You’re Going Through” and “I Don’t Care What You Do, Darling, As Long As It Makes You Happy, and Other Lies Mothers Tell Their Children.”

3.    20-Somethings and Young Adults: Brandeis University's Ruth Nemzoff tackles family dynamics in Don't Bite Your Tongue: How to Foster Rewarding Relationships with Your Adult Children. The old dictum about letting go and shutting up may have worked back in granny's day, when lifespans were considerably shorter, but you and your adult children may have another half century together. Shouldn't it be in the context of a loving and supportive family relationship, rather than in the spirit of "I disapprove of your decisions but I'm going to zip my lip and ooze unspoken disapproval instead"?

4.    20-Somethings and Young Adults: Jane Isay's Walking on Eggshells: Navigating the Delicate Relationship Between Adult Children and Parents shares real-people stories and practical tips to demonstrate that even the smallest changes in behavior- how you communicate and how you relate to the other people who are important in your kids' lives - can make a big difference.

5.    The Entire Family: And finally, Georgetown University linguistics professor Deborah Tannen offers up I Only Say This Because I Love You: Talking to Your Parents, Partner, Sibs, and Kids When You're All Adults. Tannen explores family arguments, conversations and misunderstandings. It's not just the messages that count, she says, it's the "metamessages" - the words we say and the words they hear.