Legal ages in the UK...

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Reply 60

shadowdweller

Volunteer Section Leader

Original post by StretfordEnd

I believe they used to say this about women. :wink:

Perhaps. But you have to draw the line at some point. Or should we let small children vote? :tongue:

Reply 61

BurstingBubbles

Life & Style Forum Helper

Original post by XMaramena

Nope not even with an adult.

If a 5 year old just decided to go to the fridge and grab a cold one, neither they, nor their parents, would be breaking a single law if it was within their own home.

Of course, this doesn't override social services coming and taking a child away because they're the world's youngest alcoholic because of ****ty parenting!

But they need to be in the same household as an adult in general otherwise that's breaking the law. Children are not allowed to a left alone. I think it's that they must be with an adult until the age of 14.

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Reply 62

StretfordEnd

Original post by shadowdweller

Perhaps. But you have to draw the line at some point. Or should we let small children vote? :tongue:

At 16 children are at the age when they're expected to make life changing decisions for themselves. I don't mean to over-dramatise with that statement but it's plain to see on TSR; the ridiculous amount of people applying to University means your A-level choices have a massive impact on where and what you may study at higher education. That's a big decision.

First of all, I'd argue that if 16 year olds have the ability to weigh up those decisions, they can have something to say for themselves on elections. Many of the policy promises and hot topics of the 2015 GE are going to have a huge impact on young people. Should 10 year olds vote? I don't think so; but I think it's fair to see that 16 year olds have the deductive ability and critical thinking skills to allow them to make an informed choice.

Reply 63

beccagood95

Yes, you can get married at 16, but that's with parental consent. So in those situations, it's really the parents calling the shots. (Although any parents that would agree to that aren't good parents).
And the age of consent is fine as it is. Sure, having sex could mean making babies, and 16 year olds aren't ready for that. But raising it wouldn't do any good, because I'm very sure that there are 18 and 21 year olds that are in absolutely no place to have a baby. And you can't actually stop people from having sex if they're both underage.

I'm fine with alcohol. Having a sip of your mothers champagne on special occasions as a child won't do much harm and usually the child won't see alcohol as such a big deal when they grow up.

Reply 64

Chicken.M.

Voting age should be much lower. The government is always making decisions that affect people who can't vote. Wrong.

Reply 65

russellsteapot

I think I'd put the marriage age up to 18. Sex should vary depending on the age of the partners (e.g. a 15 year old and 16 year old should be OK, a 15 year old and 25 year old should not). I'd get rid of 18+ films/games, 16 is sufficient for those.

I can't imagine anything worse (in the context of voting ages) than lowering the voting age. The state of student politics should be sufficient to tell anyone that most 18-21 year olds are embarrassingly incapable of doing politics, imagine what'd happen if they let 16 year olds in. Until they introduce voting requirements (which is unlikely), I think 18 is a fair age. I appreciate that some 16 year olds are more politically aware than some adults, but 18 seems like the age at which people are quite likely to be contributing tax-wise, more likely to be moving out, more likely to be financially independent, etc.