this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2024
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We ban gambling, cigarettes, alcohol, media for children, because of harms we understand that they inflict on children. Should these be parental discretions too?
Largely yes, but within reason, and only when under direct parental supervision. Drinking and smoking can be part of religious or cultural practices, so a small amount of that should be completely acceptable. But these should only be allowed within the home, with an exception for media, which should be allowed w/o supervisio with explicit permission (e.g. a written note or verbal confirmation at a theater or something).
Allowing these could constitute child abuse, but I don't think there should be a blanket ban.
Ok, good to understand your viewpoint. It’s clear you seek an entirely different way of managing vices for children. I can appreciate the world you’re describing, where responsible adults help and guide their children to maturity.
I live in the U.K., not sure where you live, but it is my utmost conviction that many parents here do not guide and shape their children and that should your approach to vice management be instituted, you’d see an heap of children slip into dependency before 10.
But you may live in a different part of the world, one where your approach could work. What do I know?
I live in the US, and we certainly have our own share of problems with parents sucking, but other people sucking shouldn't impact my ability to make choices for my own family. Rules like these merely restrict law-abiding citizens like myself, those who would let their kids have a phone, drink, smoke, etc won't follow the law anyway.
These types of problems are often pretty easy to detect at school or something, so we should probably instead focus on empowering social workers instead of creating laws that are unlikely to do much.
There are good and bad ways to use a phone. It's not comparable to things like cigarettes.
True, but there is good and bad ways to use media (educational content done well vs cheap Chinese children’s TV) and we do have age ratings there.
You’re right that cigarettes are universally bad (smokers would argue not, of course, and probably highlight social moments, pauses to reflect etc) but much of my list has good and bad sides. I’m perfectly open to removing cigarettes from the list, but it doesn’t change the validity of the other areas where we regulate minors’ usage.
I'd argue that gambling doesn't really have good sides and alcohol is ambivalent at best. We could compare it to other media like TV, that's perdectly ok. But when it comes to restrictions concerning other media, they are not as strict and act mostly like guidelines for parents.