April 6, 2013
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She Is Just A Child
If a 13 year old girl has a problem, does she need the help or permission of an adult or is she mature enough to make these decisions?
And should there be laws against her actions if she wants …
To get a job.
To buy and take Midol at school?
To eat only candy and ice cream?
To stop going to school?
To smoke cigarettes?
To smoke weed?
To drink beer?
To to have sex?
To have sex with an 18 year old guy?
To buy birth control that has no bad side effects (condoms)?
To buy plan B birth control with a lot of bad side defects?
To buy the birth control pills?
To have an abortion?
To own a gun?
To sign sign a contract?
To vote?
To enlist in the military?
For a parent to say this child is not under my control and I have no responsibly for her, or her actions?
What are the limits on a child of only 13 years old?
Comments (51)
I predict this will become quite interesting.
You should add if she wants to smoke the forbidden and deadly cigarette.
@mtngirlsouth - I will right now
I think it is funny how inconstant some people seem to be.
You ask some great questions.
Why can’t kids wait until they’re older to fully understand, embrace, and cherish sex? (And yes, people, I understand that kids can be raped – I’m talking about the consensual “omg i luv my bf we luv each other 4evr and i wanna have teh sex w him” sex.)
I say turn them loose at 10. Let them figure crap out themselves and let Darwinism take over.
Children have so many cognitive faculties still developing up until around the age of sixteen or so. I think you know what my answer is to all of this.
@secretbeerreporter - As you think death is a cool outcome …
i’d add *have a baby
Lord knows that if my daughter ever got pregnant underage, she’d better abort or figure out how to support the baby herself.
@Marica0701 - And a parent or the law should not help a child after she is raped? That is a very silly argument other make. If it is a parent raping the child them the law needs to know. letting the child hide it is the worst thing
@flapper_femme_fatale - So you would make it were a child could be forced to have an abortion? Obviously all the over things on my list should also be controlled by law and parents if that can be
@flapper_femme_fatale - BUt you did make one great point. The parents are held responsible, they must have a say in these things
@firetyger - We are there parents and responsible for the results of a lot of the things I mentioned and many more
@trunthepaige - Yes, we are. Children are minors and we are legally and financially responsible for them until they reach adulthood. People may not like it but that’s the plain truth.
@Marica0701 - I was not saying you said that by the way. I agree with you
@mtngirlsouth - inconsistent or perhaps changed their opinion after receiving additional info and actually learning something? I think it’s improvement to grasp what others are saying instead of instantly rushing to try to prove them wrong, whatever one’s view on the topic
@firetyger - And your girls are very pretty. Scary
@kuai_le1011 - In those cases, I agree, it is good. But I don’t see much of that. What I see is a certain kind of closed minded ness to a certain viewpoint and complete acceptance of another, even when these two viewpoints are inconsistent with one another.
@kuai_le1011 - There must be a specific subject here. and I am sure it is interesting. There are exceptions to rules and they need outlets to be addressed. In this case in that rarest of events that a parent would not be able to be the best judge of their own child’s well being, there is the law.
I don’t think any of these are decisions that a 13 year old child should make. I also don’t think they are capable of making any of these decisions. You have changed the wording to say adult, instead of parental consent. I argue against parental consent because of the rare cases in which a child is being abused by their parent and other adults in the family where a child may need to make such decisions, but I don’t think they should do it on their own.
@trunthepaige -
sure. but that’s based on the idea that a parent should have a say in a child’s pregnancy at all. if a mom can force her daughter to have a baby, she can certainly force her to have an abortion. but in my opinion, neither should be done. i’m pro-choice, even for minors.
@flapper_femme_fatale - So on my list pick and choose is it all pro choice?
@Erika_Steele - I said adult because that is the way the law actually works. If the parent is a criminal there is the law. Though in the case of incest I would guess most child raping parents would be forcing an abortion to get rid of the evidence of their crime
@trunthepaige - That is one of the reasons why I value my Second Amendment rights so much. Need a shotgun for when the boys come callin’…
@Erika_Steele - Mmm yep I agree.
Street kids here are totally out of control. There are 11 year old girls working the street corners in South Auckland. These are the product of dysfunctional families and their parents do not care for them.
Our society has a lot of limits on them. I think if we removed the current limits we would also have to change the way we raise them and what we teach them. We have extended adolescence here too.
I have a lot of mixed feelings around these things. 13 year olds are children ultimately, no matter how mature or immature they are. At the same time, teens have sex and make decisions that perhaps aren’t the most well thought out, even with great, supportive parents sometimes. I’ve worked a fair bit with kids and I find the large majority of them have a very good head on their shoulders if you let them open up to you. For most of your list, I do not think kids should legally do.
Where it gets messy for me is things like birth control pills and plan B. I do not think a kid should be able to just buy that with no counselling, but I don’t believe parental/adult consent is necessarily a must. I think if they are screened by a doctor or nurse in a clinic for contraindications for their safe use, have regular pap smears, and are educated on safe sex and use of the medication, then that is more ideal than having unprotected sex, and no access to emergency contraception. Is it ideal for 13 year olds to have sex and make these big decisions without an adult? Oh, hell no. But I know a few friends who would have gladly taken the extra precautions if the option was available and avoid accidental teenage pregnancies. To me, it’s about harm reduction and helping teens make safer sex decisions.
As for abortion, that is where I get even more uneasy, as it is a surgical procedure that carries some risk (lower risk than childbirth surprisingly, but it is an elective procedure and there are risks). Again, if they are old enough to understand and appreciate the risks, I think some teens can consent to an abortion. Where I worry is what kind of support they would receive afterwards to prevent further pregnancy, emotional/psychological issues post-abortion. And I think there is a big difference between 13 and 16 year olds, where I kind of feel like there should be a cut off with regards to permission. My concern with 13 year olds getting abortions is if there is some sort of sexual abuse and they are being coerced to terminate the pregnancy. On the other hand, if the child can’t get permission for an abortion should they be forced to carry to term? That seems unethical as well. Maybe there is a balance, with adequate screening and support afterwards. Again, I haven’t resolved by opinion around this, so sorry it is so long.
@firetyger - See what I mean? “Consent” the concept you hold so dear is being redefined.
Once we give in to ingrained stupidity, the sky is the limit. Words can be made to mean anything.
@secretbeerreporter - Man already tried that and it was a total disaster. That’s why civilization was developed around strong belief in religion.
@ImNotUglyIJustNeedLove - This topic is on children. We’re not talking about consenting adults. I suggest you stop trying to drag the other subject into this one as they are not the same at all.
This is the last time I will be responding to you, C. We have our differences. I will leave it at that. I have no interest engaging someone in discourse who is so closed minded they will not even address what is presented. This is the last explanation you get for why further comments will be ignored.
@firetyger - It’s the same subject. Your entire argument for marriage is based on consent.
My response to you was, “Why not redefine consent just like everyone wants to redefine marriage?”
Here we see “consent” being redefined in real time right before our very eyes.
And you still don’t get it.
Most parents adopt such a rigid set of dogmatic rules that they almost force their kids into most of these things. You always want what someone tells you you can’t have, it’s human nature. I forbade nothing to my kids but I usually anticipated what they were likely to encounter in their stage of life and preempted the important stuff with training. Like alcohol, I drank with all my kids so they could at least learn how it feels and what it does to you in a controlled place. Same with pot, sex, you name it we’ve talked openly. Everyone has to have someone they can trust with personal stuff, so stop parenting by the book and treat them like little you’s and you will have better luck. Remember the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree so you know how they think, trust your instincts, raising kids isn’t about roles, it’s about raising a human being not to be a dick.
@ImNotUglyIJustNeedLove - Seeing as how the best thing that could happen to the human race is extinction, anything that drives the human race closer to extinction would be good. However, I’m not convinced this would do so because kids are smarter than we think they are and the “elite” could no doubt survive.
If anyone should be granted the right to survive it should be the elite only.
@secretbeerreporter - Atheists commit a common logical fallacy whereby they set themselves up as the authority for their own arguments.
If you believe in science, you believe in evolution. If you believe in evolution you understand that survival and reproduction are major factors that power all of live on Earth.
So how is it that a modern atheist can rant and rave about the importance of science and evidence on one hand and on the other, make a statement that has no evidence to support it and contradicts science?
that’s a tough one. I’d like to say no, they are too young but people are maturing much faster these days. On some I would say yes. We start our periods around 13, if the doctor gives his/her permission I think a parent should not have to give that permission. (own a gun, abortion and military, i say not without parental consent becuase those are life and death choices) But drinking honestly it’s better to learn how to drink and learn how to moderate it before you can drive.
@trunthepaige - ”… I would guess most child raping parents would be forcing an abortion to get rid of the evidence of their crime”. Strangely enough the pro Life folks want to stop abortions so that they can present the live evidence of a rape.
So I hope you are not that extreme and would allow abortion in “some” cases of rape?
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Back to the issue of what rights do 13 year olds have:
1. They have a right to choose their friends.
2. They have a right to choose a career.
3. They have to obey their parents to a certain extent.
Children often try to choose what type of clothes to wear but parents do have a say.
Children have set rules when they should be home at night.
No parent can but do forbid certain friendships, it is a tricky thing there.
Parents should force children to go to gun classes and instruction if they want to use a gun similar to when children want to drive cars or other vehicles.
when i was a kid, sometimes i based my decisions on what feels good. now my glasses are pretty thick due to long computer usage. my parents did stop me sometimes, but when they’re not around, yeah
I am horrified at the thought of my (as yet unborn) daughter having sex at the age of 13 and buying Plan B or any other type of birth control without my knowledge or consent. I think there is a serious problem in this society when parents just throw up their hands and use the “they’re going to do it anyway” excuse. That is just plain laziness in my opinion.
Children can be taught right from wrong, and it is up to parents to do so. I do not believe the federal government has our children’s best interests in mind, so it is our responsibility to look out for our own kids.
As a child growing up the rules were simple, it went my parents way as long as I lived under their roof. A thirteen year old shouldnt have any rights their parents hadnt given them.
No female should be allowed to make any decisions without prior ratification from a male authority, regardless of her age.
@the_man_who_broke_the_bank - Wow that was dumb
@Lewis1122 - SO old fashioned don’t you know 10 years olds can make any and all decisions all on their own. But their parents need to pay for it
@fruit_snacks_galore - We all know the government does such a good job raising kids. Just look at the job they do in foster care
@PPhilip - I like seeing someone address the questions. The law is already in place allowing abortion for any and all reasons. Restricting abortion to that degree is an academic question.
The only thing I see suitable for a 13 year old girl is to eat candy and ice cream, and maybe buy mydol and take it at school-although I am not sure if that is allowed in schools.
This is a good post and makes me wonder how many parents are being parents and allowing their children to be children. Children are put into adult situations that they do not have the emotional and mental ability to deal with, let alone with this stuff does to their body.
No 13 year odl girl should be doing or using any of the stuff on that list except buying candy and ice cream and maybe using mydol if they are having their period.
The exception to the rule is that I have heard of some girls having such awful periods their Drs have out them on birth control to help regulate it.
@Grannys_Place - Midol can get a girl thrown out of school.I think that many of our rules and laws are often created by morons.
@trunthepaige - Thats is what I thought but wasn”t sure.
@the_man_who_broke_the_bank - @somewittyhandle @ the_man_who_broke_the_bank So what site do you think of as your real site? Is there another real one the real you? Life must be real dull in London, you have been doing this a long time
No, this is my real site:
http://www.subgenius.com/bigfist/fun/tales/sterno/sterno1/sterno1.html
@the_man_who_broke_the_bank - Really a troll from the dark ages of trolldom. Were you once a meower as well?