I wrote: > > > So who exactly is a child, and who is an adult? What magically happens >that > > makes a person a child the day before they turn 18, and an adult the >next > > day *after* they have turned 18 (or 16 or 12 or whatever age defined by > > their culture)?
Sonja replied: >A parent is legally no longer responsible for the misbehaviour of the >adult, >whereas the parent is legally fully responsible for a child. So although >physically not much changes, legally it becomes a whole different ballgame. >So if Tom now smashes a window, I'm responsible and have to pay, like it or >not. >If Tom is 18 and smashes a window, he has to pay it himself and nobody can >make >me pay for him. But Tom would never smash a window so it is a rethorical >example >at best..... or would he? Hmmm, .... only soft toys from now on. Allow me to clarify. I understand the legal consequences. What I'm asking is, why? Why should you be legally completely responsible for Tom one day and not the next? Why should Tom be able to get away with anything one day and nothing the next? It's a completely arbitrary, black or white way of handling things. Growth and aging is more like a dimmer switch that can be gradually dialed from all the way off to all the way on, not a traditional light switch that is at either extreme but nowhere in the middle. Reggie Bautista _________________________________________________________________ Join the world�s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
