Premise:

The major point of this website is to determine which factors and at what age a child is most likely to successfully leave the parental home.  In order to successfully leave and survive on his own, the individual in question must have food, water, shelter, and a support system.  Many times, the decision to leave home is paralleled by something else, such as education or marriage.  These will be extremely important in deciding at what age a child can leave home.  Because these questions and determinants are frequently based on one’s culture, we will look into four different countries: the United States, Brazil, South Korea, and South Africa.  This is a sufficiently wide enough range to allow us to look at how both location and culture factor in to this crucial decision.

One of the most important parts of leaving the home is one's initiation ceremony into adulthood.  When a child becomes an adult, he is recognized as being prepared to leave his parents and start a life of his own.  These initiation ceremonies can be extremely important to each individual culture and are different throughout the world.  Because these are central for the passage from childhood to adulthood, and are usually a sign that the individual is ready to leave his parents, this website will also explore the different initiation ceremonies in the United States, Brazil, South Korea, and South Africa.

About Me

Hi! My name is Elizabeth Pallante and I’m currently a freshman at the University of Notre Dame.  I am originally from North Muskegon, MI.  Currently, I am majoring in anthropology and enrolled in the Arts and Letters pre-professional program.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

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