Do children have equal rights?

**Betrayer0fHope** · 09-01-08, 02:01 PM

Minors, do they have equal rights? Free Speech? The rest of them? Especially when dealing with parents/teachers.

**Norsefire** · 09-01-08, 02:08 PM

I think they have equal Human rights, but not necessarily equal legal rights.

**oiram** · 09-01-08, 02:21 PM

No! They have the right to limited free speech, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness but minors are not old enough to drink, vote, or other such things as they are not mentally able to consent to so there are limits to their rights. As for with teachers or adults I think that minors should respect them and obey them until they are 18 years old and legally able to vote.

Betrayerofhope you are 14 right? Here is a good hypothetical question for you regarding your question of rights for minors and schools.

Say you take a gun to school and shoot and kill a person then the authorities catch you, then they will try you as an adult claiming you know the difference between right and wrong as well as the seriousness of the crime, right?

But say YOU decide to have sex with some older adult who is over 35 years of age and regardless if there was money for you to do this or if you did this on your own the authorities would consider you a victim and the “predator” a scumbag who takes advantage of children, so why wouldn’t the authorities simply consider you an adult in this situation as well and say you knew right from wrong and the seriousness of the situation, is this a double standard and or an abuse of your rights by being able to decide what is and isn’t best for you? What are your rights as a minor as it seesm they can be manipulated to meet others needs.

**visceral_instinct** · 09-01-08, 03:08 PM

As for with teachers or adults I think that minors should respect them and obey them

Adults can be idiots too.

I've met adults who despite being around twice my age were still immature enough to take their own emotional issues out on everyone else around them.

**Nasor** · 09-01-08, 03:34 PM

Originally Posted by Betrayer0fHope

Minors, do they have equal rights? Free Speech? The rest of them? Especially when dealing with parents/teachers.

Which rights do you mean, exactly? Most legal rights like free speech apply to your dealings with the government, not your parents. Teachers censoring you in school is arguably a violation of your free speech rights since they are agents of the government, but there are limits on how much they can censor you.

**Tiassa** · 09-01-08, 04:37 PM

Of course they don't.

As to the question of should they? Well, they have the right to keep and bear arms, at least in this country. Even if they're dangerously stupid.

The answer to the question of should is probably best found in a consideration of both rights and responsibilities. I'll give it some thought, see what I come up with.

**oiram** · 09-01-08, 04:52 PM

Originally Posted by visceral_instinct

Adults can be idiots too.

I've met adults who despite being around twice my age were still immature enough to take their own emotional issues out on everyone else around them.

Yes I agree with you 100% on this… but I still gave those crazy adults the respect they earned if only by their age, even though behind their back I rolled my eyes and prayed to grow up faster so I wasn’t around such incompetence by obligation. I was smart enough like you to know this but still I bit my tongue and went about my business.

When I was young I remember having some really crazy adults around me, like a Sunday school teacher who made Michael Jackson look innocent. I still simply gave him the respect and obeyed for his age not for who he was and this was more out of respect for myself while at the same time made sure I was never around him alone as all the boys knew how this guy was and joked how we should never ask him to explain or show us how Moses parted the sea.

**visceral_instinct** · 09-01-08, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by oiram

Yes I agree with you 100% on this… but I still gave those crazy adults the respect they earned if only by their age, even though behind their back I rolled my eyes and prayed to grow up faster so I wasn’t around such incompetence by obligation. I was smart enough like you to know this but still I bit my tongue and went about my business.

When I was young I remember having some really crazy adults around me, like a Sunday school teacher who made Michael Jackson look innocent. I still simply gave him the respect and obeyed for his age not for who he was and this was more out of respect for myself while at the same time made sure I was never around him alone as all the boys knew how this guy was and joked how we should never ask him to explain or show us how Moses parted the sea.

But you should not have to in the first place. Being an adult does not give someone the right to be an asshole.

**visceral_instinct** · 09-01-08, 05:08 PM

I am glad you see my point though

and that thing with teh sunday school teacher sounds alarming. Did he ever actually abuse someone? O_O

**CutsieMarie89** · 09-01-08, 05:16 PM

No children don't have equal rights. In fact from what I've seen children are really just pets to a lot of people. They do what you tell them too after they are "trained". They can't make any decisions on their own. Any choices they make are considered invalid until their parents make the choice for them. I mean that's what their treated like at the daycare center I work at. Its kind of sad sometimes.

**Mr. Hamtastic** · 09-01-08, 07:13 PM

Children have the right to protection from harm. The right to considerate care. The right to make small choices, such as what color socks to wear. The right to an education in basic societal skills. The right to contact legal authorities if they feel the aforementioned rights have been maligned. That's about it. I think the "age of consent" should be raised to 25, myself, and Driving privileges held until this time.

**StrangerInAStrangeLa** · 09-01-08, 08:26 PM

Age of consent should be lowered. Why is it 18?

Children don't have the right to education. A right means choice. Children can't choose to not go to school therefore they can't choose to go to school.

Reminds me of people telling children "You have the right to say no (To drugs or sex)" Absurd! If a person doesn't have the right to say yes, they don't have the right to say no & vice versa.

**one_raven** · 09-01-08, 08:35 PM

http://www.aclupa.org/education/stud...dysearches.htm

**Challenger78** · 09-01-08, 08:41 PM

Originally Posted by Betrayer0fHope

Minors, do they have equal rights? Free Speech? The rest of them? Especially when dealing with parents/teachers.

Yes they should, they can say and do whatever, and be charged as an adult for the consequences of their actions. However, given that the law tends to pass all encompassing judgements based on a few cases, I'd say just lower the definition of minor to 15.

Because as we all know, you should be able to tell the difference between right and wrong right after you hit puberty.

**Asguard** · 09-01-08, 11:25 PM

good question. i dont know the answer though i can answer from the limited view of health treatment and confidentuality

in SA the concent to medical treatment and palitive care act states that the age of medical concent is 16. HOWEVER it makes clear that a child under that can concent and have that concent (and the confidentuality it entails) respected if the medical proffessional judges that the child is capable of giving that concent.

ie can they understand the choices and are they capable of acting in there own best interests.

now if a 14 year old came in and said that she and her BF were intending on having sex and she wanted to know the best options for contriception

now this action alone could show that she has the maturity to understand the conquesnces of her actions and there for has a right to both medical confidenuality AND treatment

**Betrayer0fHope** · 09-01-08, 11:27 PM

The Free Speech thing is what really gets me. If it's not "a disruption to learning," why cant I say it?

Edit: In schools

**StrangerInAStrangeLa** · 09-02-08, 12:40 AM

Schools are not primarily intended (In the USA) for learning.

**Asguard** · 09-02-08, 02:48 AM

so?

**lucifers angel** · 09-02-08, 05:07 AM

yeah they the right to have an opinion, but honestly if i asked my 8yr old if we should move house and his views on it he would ask to go to Burger King for lunch

**Asguard** · 09-02-08, 05:23 AM

children have as much right to the same human rights as anyone else. the only difference is that in certain circumstances they are unable to EXERCISE those rights. that doesnt mean the rights dont exist but that there parent or guardian needs to exercise them on there behalf IN THE CHILDS BEST INTERSTS.

now if the right your talking about is free speach there is no issue in the child no matter what age exercising that right

if the right is to concent to medical treatment or enter a finantial contract that is a different matter entirely.

children are treated the same as a temperally incapacitated adult with the only difference being that there was no pior expression of desire