Most parents are the reason why their children go into certain acts that are not lawful inorder to survive. What that mother was literally saying was " girl, you are now a woman too, go get yourself what you need," that's bad, imagine the lady now chose to do something crazy to get money, who would they blame?

I don't see anything wrong with eighteen, for me it's like a starting ground, you can't just become a boss over night, you need to start from somewhere. 18 will give us enough time to experience life, touching both the bad and good, and gather experience required as adults, before the person reaches 25-30, you would discover that he or she has learned so much. Remember, our bodies are fragile, fifty is most times is the end for many but around that age 18-22 the parents are not supposed to allow the child take full responsibility yet, it will damage them