Adolescence, an artificial extension of childhood?

psychologytoday.com In every mammalian species, immediately upon reaching puberty, animals function as adults, often having offspring. We call our offspring "children" well past puberty. The trend started a hundred years ago and now extends childhood well into the 20s. The age at which Americans reach adulthood is increasing?30 is the new 20.
: adolescence is an artificial extension of childhood?

I didn't read the article, but I've seen similar discussions before. The requirements of society - especially in regards to education and ability to provide one's own needs - have lengthened the time of learning past the point of the biological ability to reproduce, while improved nutrition has lowered the age of reproduction to the point that it is earlier than physical maturity, which is dangerous for the parents (especially the mother) and the offspring (younger mothers have a higher incidence of problems both pre- and post-natally). This creates a longer period of time during which teens are physically capable of reproduction, and experience a strong drive to do so, while society is telling them that they are mentally/emotionally/physically/educationally/etc. unready for adulthood and the responsibilities it brings. This is a cultural rather than physical issue. Historically, teens were considered adults, and expected to do an adults' job, as defined by the society. In agrarian societies, children were considered adults when they became self-supporting - usually in their mid-teens - although insufficient nutrition often prevented pregnancies until the mother, at least, had stopped growing, and began having regular menstrual cycles. Other societies stratified the genders by age, and considered girls adults as soon as they could bear children (as determined by a regular menstrual cycle - or at least by the onset of menses), but considered males to be men only when they could support a family; sometimes this was as old as mid-30s, before a man took a young teen as his wife. Today, however, there are many issues that need to be addressed (see above) before teens are ready to enter the adult world - while their bodies are telling them that they are already adults. This dichotomy creates and/or contributes to many of the social problems we see today - teens are seen as irresponsible because of their age and inexperience (how many of you have a grandparent who starts a story with "Why, when I was your age, I.... [had kids, owned a home, had a full-time job, etc.]), and yet are expected to meet the behavior standards of a time when teens were considered responsible adults. Adolescence, as it is seen today, is a very recent cultural invention, and society is still feeling it's way through this stage of development that was often overlooked in the past, or ascribed to other stages.