Duke,
From when on do you think a teenager ought to be treated equal to an adult?

Frankly I feel right now the balance is not too far from wrong. Most hurdles fall from about 16 or 18. Smoking, driving, sex, drinking, voting, etc.

If you believe that society is patronising teenagers, as I feel you do, then where ought the boundary be in your view?

I have some sympathy with your argument that you feel some of the ‘protections’ on teenagers ought to be lifted. After all, I’m always arguing for the state to stop ‘protecting’ adults.

But by and large there is a feeling that a child needs protecting, whereas an adult doesn’t.
A teenager finds himself in that awkward spot where he’s not really matured into an adult yet, but is no longer a child. So I appreciate the difficulties. Believe me, we’ve all been there. :)

But adolescents have their own characteristics which mark them out as not quite adult yet. They tend to be risk takers and don’t bear up to responsibility very well.

Let’s face it, I was a fairly tame teenager, yet I don’t think I would today hand someone such as my younger self a car, drink and responsibilities.

Perhaps that attitude is patronising, spoken from the arrogant position of a 37 year old. I conceded that is easily possible, perhaps even likely.

But then do many of today’s teenagers do themselves many favours in that respect?
One often feels they act without any sign of care or consideration towards others in the world, often appearing aggressive and boorish in public.

You mention the kid who drunk himself to death in a park. Isn’t that a prime example of that very thing?

Now I accept that the media at the moment spends much of its time demonising our youth. Read the Daily Mail and you’d think they’re all alcohol fuelled vandals, turned into brain dead zombies by mind controlling computer games and pop videos.

I don’t agree with that view at all, as I know there to be a great many very decent and intelligent young people out there.

But I’m not really sure were the law needs changing to allow young people more rights and freedoms. Perhaps you can elucidate.

yes! come back Luke you've started a lively tread " UNLESS YOU HAVE ACHIEVED " your aim by doing that lol.....

yes! come back Luke you've started a lively tread " UNLESS YOU HAVE ACHIEVED " your aim by doing that lol.....

sorry duplicated

I do hate ignoring peoples posts but I'm afraid I dont have time to answer any of your questions because I took so long answering the questions put to me on my other thread.
but please do read my posts carefully... because all of the questions I have scanned my eyes over so far have been answered before (many in the first post).

just so you all know what I want I will say it again:
I want equal rights for everyone who is aged 13+ with no or (perhaps) little exceptions.

I am very dissapointed with the amount of people who have attacked me, directly and indirectly, about my age.
just so you know doing so simply proves one of the points I have made, which is that attitudes need to change thus the laws that create these attitudes need to change as well. and I think any idiot can see that.

I have a lot to do off this computer right now and that is why I have been in-active and that is why I will continue to be so.
I might be back to post or read every now and again but dont expect me to come on and post all the time.

oh, and do not be racist in my thread.

thank you very much and I hope you all have a very merry christmas (apart from the racists, facists, idiots and biggots).

*-Duke-*

Duke, If by 'rights' you mean freedom to drive on the public highway, drink alcohol in a pub, vote, marry, have sex, raise children, join the armed forces, stand for election to parliament, and all the other things that are the preserve of adults, I think you may have to wait a while for this particular proposal to hit the statute books.

Young people in the age range around 13-16 are not treated legally as adults because they are in that transitional stage of life between being children and being adults. Individuals mature at different points in their development. There are plenty of people who, despite being over 18 and therefore officially adults, behave like children. Conversely there are people who develop earlier than average for whom the constraints of being a teenager might be difficult to accept.

Given such a spread of developmental speed, the government has chosen 18 as the nominal point at which adulthood is achieved. Of course, being government (and never managing to get things quite right), it then goes on to fog the issue by determining that the age limit for some activities is fixed at a different age.

It's a bit of a mess, but whatever the position it's going to be a compromise. Personally I think setting the age of attaining 'adulthood' at 18 is about right.

One of the reasons why I don't think you will ever see the age of majority being moved as far as 13 is all about brain development. The area of the brain that evaluates and assesses risk does not develop until late in the teen years. In those circumstances it would simply be inappropriate to expect youngsters to make adult decisions.

Earlier in the thread a few posters suggested something along the lines that you will look at things very differently in a few years time. As I recall you gave them both barrels in your response ;-)

I won't be so presumptuous as to tell you how you might feel now or in the future, but I will say how I found things. Like one of the earlier posters, I had no fear in my teens. That was simply down to brain development or, more specifically, its frontal lobes. As a result of that, some activities (had they been legal) would have been dangerous both for me and for those around me. I thought I knew everything, but time has proved that I didn't. I did and said some things as a teenager of which I am truly ashamed today. I was a complete idiot. That's how it was for me.

I take your point that being a teenager today must be very different to what it was in the past. In my time and social group, teenagers were definitely children until they attained the age of around 15. There were no ifs and buts. We were kids. Nowadays I accept that attitudes have shifted a long way. To be honest I wouldn't want to be a teenager in today's society. It was much easier being a teenager in the 50s.

Mike

Duke

if you want those rights they would have to be earnt which would mean:

Kids leaving school and starting work full time when they are 13.

Is that what you want?

Or, like many moaners of all ages do you just want to pick and choose.

We too are "busy" but take the time to respond to you.

You still have not answered the question. What would you PERSONALLY like to do that you cannot do now?

Buy a house on your own?

Drink?
Marriage?
Drive ? (Get a C5)
Put "chavs" on the street(homeless) for their behaviour in class?

The world you crave existed i think over 100 years ago.

It was good in a working class industrialised unintelligent world.

You will never get the rights you crave, get over it and move on.

Supposing as an adult I demand unemployment be ended. All adults are guaranteed a job.

It has been done before: communism, nazism.

But it wont happen any time soon in the UK.

Cliff

Duke suppose you got your wish and as you put it nearly all rights were at 13.

Can you explain to us why a 10-12 year old should not have those rights?

Can you explain why a 12 year old could not buy thier own home but a 13 year old could?

Can you explain why a 12 year old can't leave school but a 13 year old can?

Can you explain why a 12 year old cant smoke but a 13 year old can in your eyes?

If not, then you are no better than us.

Cliff

Luke some People on this thread have gone out of their way to see your point of view,

But when you make comments like these you show yourself as a rebelious teenage brat..... need grounding, and your computer taken away... If that's what 13 year old teenagers would act like with the power you want, god help us all.

Up until now I and others, have tried to treat you as an intelligent young adult, and if you want to be taken seriously and obtain your goals ACT LIKE ONE!!

When you are 13 if you want a playstation you cry like a baby and play up until your parents buy you one.

When you are 18 you will be told to go out and earn the money to buy yourself a playstation if you want it.

That is the difference.

Cliff

This whole post is about age. YOU have made the point that YOU would like to do things WE WONT LET YOU because of your age.

However you would deny a 12 year old the rights you wish to give to 13 year olds.

Where have we said your views on nuclear power etc are not relevant because of your age?

We are just saying we do not feel you are old enough yet to drive a car, buy a house or whatever laws prevent you from doing what you are doing.

Concentrate on your studies and getting your qualificatons. Do you really want to be bogged down with finding somewhere to live and paying bills?

When you are older you will wonder what all the fuss was about.

Duke - 21parque has got it down to a tee. That is the second time you have made a direct attack on people on here made through juvenile means. I think on the previous one you said it was because of your age? Enough said on this debate.

Plus Mike has all the answers you are looking for in his above post. Great post there and clearly explains the reasons why Duke will never get what he wants to happen.