A college freshman walked to a hospital emergency room at midnight and said she feared that she was going to harm herself.
Twelve hours later, after it was determined that she was no longer in danger, she decided to call her parents — but only after a long conversation with a nurse at the hospital about whether she wanted to talk with family members about her experience.
“It was initially a shock to realize that if this had happened the day before, we would have been called immediately,” said her mother, who asked to be identified only by her middle name, Jo, to protect her daughter’s privacy.
Why the difference? The daughter turned 18 at midnight that night and by law had the right to keep the episode private — even from her own parents and even though they would ultimately pick up the bill.
Most parents know — in theory, at least — that their children are no longer children when they turn 18. But the full significance may not be apparent until something happens that drives that reality home.
[For more of this story, written by Alina Tugend, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11...s-an-adult.html?_r=0]
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