Should children be allowed to vote?

do you think that children at about the age of maybe 12 should be able to vote.about that age we start coming up with our own political opinions.when you walk into a voting both ALONE your parents cant force to push a button.for example my parents...

are going to vote for hilary but if I could vote I would go for obama and I express it.we are all american citezns we are all humans.why cant we vote?

I think anyone over the age of 12 should DEFINATELY be able to vote. I go to a democratic school where the students, teachers and parents all have an equal vote, and I think this is the way our country should be run. I don't see politics as an adult issue. the government's decisions affect us all, whether we are age 5 or 50, and I know many children who know as much, if not more, about politics than your average adult. As for kids running for president/prime minister, of course this should be allowed! They would go through the same election process as an adult, and it would be the public's decision whether they got in or not. Kids are equal to adults and should be treated the same.

No, I don't think so. A 12 your not quite mature enough to vote.
Children at the age of 12-years-old don't completely understand and I think they would be voting for the person for the wrong reasons. I personally don't believe that at age 12 your educated enough about politics and the world enough to vote I feel you should be an adult before being eligible to make adult decisions. When voting you have to look at a lot of different perspectives, all of the pros and cons, a 12 year old should be focusing on other things. Here where I live, the voting age is 18-years-old, which I think is still young but its a fair age.

I read a poll online about this; 33% of the people said that children should be able to vote, 63% said children should not be able to vote, the rest were unsure.

do you know why most of us arent educated in polotics?because we are sheilded from it.adults believe we have no buisness in polotics.

but think about this.if children could vote politicoins would want to please us so that would mean a great rise in school quality and chidren health care.im sure there are plenty of adults who arent educated enough to vote smart.for every four voters there is one minor that cant vote.we would play a major role in polotics and there fore become more educated in it.

as children we just have to sit back and deal with all the problems in our nation because we have no say.adults can vote so they can do something but we have to sit there lolling while so many things are going on.no matter how old you are we are all in the same catagorey.humans.you can be of any race,gender,or age we are all really the same.
we are told adults here ---
children here--- but why is the question.

You might know a bit about politics for being a child, but do you really think all children in America are educated enough to really vote about adult issues?

If we are going to let them vote, then we might as well let them run for president too, right? I would never even entertain the thought of children running this country.

Sure we are all humans... but this nation is based on knowledge. Knowledge is indeed power. If children who haven't even gone through high school are voting about things they have no idea about, what would really happen to our country.

There are so many issues going on in America. A child does not understand half those issues until they themselves are an adult. Could a child really understand anything that has to do with taxes, social security, or healthcare without actually working a job?
Its not just about that child being educated in politics... its about that child being educated in the WORLD...meaning- Living, working and dealing with adult issues.

Your parents make those choices for you when it comes to politics, they speak on your behalf, until you are 18 years old. And after that, you can do all the voting you want to.

I teach kids for a living. I know a great deal about them, and how they learn. There is no way I would let them vote, even if they thought they knew quite a bit about politics- I would not leave our countries fate in a childs hand. Lets be real here.

well ask23 with your veiw on equality I wouldnt what the nations fate in your hands.there a a great number of adults who dont understand what is going on.

and what do you mean our parents speak on our behalf.is that a laugh or what.they speak for what they what and stick our words up their butts.if we tell them we want lets say obama for president and they prefer hilary who do you really think they are going to vote for?

You are twisting the words of my own opinions. Children are not inequal to adults, but they are promised the same rights that any adult was promised at the age of 18. Do I believe children are unequal to me? NO. But I do believe they are incompetent to vote. Have you heard of Jean Piaget? He was a developmental biologist who discvoered the different stages of children. His work shows that a child does not reach the ability to even come close to reasoning with adults untill the age of 15. These are called the stages of intellectual development. The brain is not fully developed untill late adolescense (in males, not until they are in their early adulthood). The problem with many parents is that they do sometimes expect their child to think like an adult, when in fact they are not capable of doing so.

So from the ages of 11-15 children are still in their formal operations development stage.
So would I let a child who is still in a intellectual development stage vote? No.
Facts will go against this argument, no matter what.

On the other hand- If voting age was lowered to the age of 16, I could see that being more reasonable. I wouldn't be for it, but I wouldn't have as much as a problem. Most 16 year olds can drive and work, and have a taste of what the working world is like.

Also- As far as your parents speaking on your behalf- Most parents vote with the intentions of their childs needs in mind. You might not be well aware of your needs at this point- That is why your parents take care of that for you. Im sorry if your parents dont do that, since you seem to have some resentment for them. Most parents in America are concerned with the well being of their child. Im sure every parent enters the voting booth thinking about how their vote will influence their family.

Although a lot of adults shouldnt vote (because a lot of people are just plain idiots) leaving it in the hands of children who for the most part dont know what is going on, dont care, and are easily inlfluenced, is just plain irresponsible...
I am not saying all children are stupid, or ignorant, but you need to draw a line, and kids in their teens is really not where the line should be draw...

I personally think the voting age should be lowered to 16. I love politics and I think I could make a really well informed decision right now at 15. I actually think I would be a more capable voter then a lot of adults. I wouldn't go any lower then 16 and even that is pushing it. Just because I'm well informed doesn't mean other kids my age are. In fact, 99 percent of them don't care and wouldn't know a thing.

ok...

I think that 16 yr olds and up should be allowed to vote.

forget about it! that's crazy for children to vote! I'm sorry but I used to think I was so smart and I knew what I was taking about (I was always very educted and acted like a little adult) I'm not saying you're not smart, there are plenty of young kids out there that are very intelligent and follow politics but as far as voting goes...NO-WAY!

yes I think kids should be allowed to vote Because we are voting for our furture. The saying The kids are the furtuer is right. Parents and senoirs arent in school any more so how can they vote for whats best for us, Only we can vote for wats good for us. Our O-zone layer is so krappy that you cant be outside for more then 3 hours with out getting burned. By the time kids that are in grade school get to Middle school, By the kid that are middle school...ect but the point is by the time the new generation of Kids growup the world is going to so deep in the krapper that We are not going to be able to fix it.

well, for little kids if you`re talking about them voting, I think that they shouldn`t because obviously their parents have a BIG say in who and what they may vote for

I reckon voting comes to older hands...yes we children may not be able to vote, but, couldn't we wait till our turn? I mean I'm not saying us children aren't intelligent or dumb, but think about it...if we voted-this means we could alter the opinions of other adults, who, might know more about the government order than we do. Do you really want to change the government like that? We don't have enough experience!