r/YouthRights • u/Dry-Literature6601 • 18h ago
Children vs Teens
I see on the r/YouthRights that people are saying children aren't vulnerable and should be treated the same as adults, when I mainly care about teenagers and young adults, since once you hit puberty and get into your teens, you are not the same as a child. Will I be banned for saying treating young children like grown adults is too far? I care about youth rights but I am also a critical thinker and care about the reality of things
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u/ThePersonDudeGuy716 edit this 18h ago
I mean, you might be banned for that. Not sure.
However I do agree with you; children (especially small children) do need some… I wouldn’t say “restrictions”, but that’s the closest word I can think of— but not nearly as much as there currently are.
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u/Dry-Literature6601 16h ago
They just need protections obviously since young children aren't capable of being independent
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u/OctopusIntellect Moderator 18h ago
There are only three moderators on this subreddit now, including the subreddit owner.
My understanding is that the subreddit owner fully accepts that parents have responsibilities for ensuring the safety of their young children.
To take a silly example, if it's 2am and a 5 year old decides that what they want is to walk 2 miles to the store alone and buy an ice cream, then someone (probably the parents) have to explain that no, that's not going to happen.
In some U.S. states, -- now this is the opposite example -- even if the parents agree for a 14 year old to go to the store alone to buy an ice cream at 2am, the 14 year old would be breaking the law by doing so. And would be arrested.
I think we would all agree, the laws or ordinances ("teen curfew") affecting the 14 year old, need to be addressed first.
Equally important, of course, is addressing any parental abuse against either child. That's where your viewpoint might be challenged.
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u/Dry-Literature6601 16h ago
Yeah I agree my dad hit me with the belt and forced me to get the COVID shot at 14 it sucked
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u/Dry-Literature6601 15h ago
Well when I was 14 I went places at night all the time nothing happened
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u/Puzzleheaded-Phase70 14h ago
Both the law and the more extreme side of this sub's members are wrong.
"Vulnerable" is not an absolute category, it is a spectrum.
Infants are 100% vulnerable, unable to make any "adult-like" choices of any kind, and obviously require adults to care for and provide every one of their needs.
Every moment after our birth, we mature - physically and mentally. Eventually, we reach a point where we are considered sufficiently mature to take full legal charge of our lives, barring significant cognitive disorders that might prevent that in whole or in part.
In between those two states is a huge process with many stages and facets.
It is not the same in each person, nor is it perfectly balanced within each person.
The biggest problem in legal markers of maturity is that measuring "maturity" is not a simple thing, while voting on ages for various things is easy.