Q: Should children be allowed to vote?

A: 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.

A: 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...

A: 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!

A: ok...

A: 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.

A: 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.

A: 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.