I think you should be totaly responsible for your actions at the age of 14-15. You should be able to tell the difference between right and wrong by then.
At the age where they are able to comprehend the specific action you want to talk about.
I remember reading a long time ago that kids can tell the difference between right and wrong by age 7...but I'll go with 10 since I've never met a 10 year old who didn't know what he was doing, below 10 also seems awfully wrong...but maybe some kids are evil then too.
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This is a good standard in my opinion, since children mature at different rates. Many children's dogs or cats have bit, scratched them because of hugging them too tight or holding them wrong, but that video is outright cruelty and I want them to be shot on end with a high powered air soft gun to make up for it. Stupid little twits can't find a scumbag to make use of it on so they choose a squirrel!?
I was in school when i first saw animal cruelty in action (also the time i lost faith in the current punishment system in the UK), some guy i knew rolled a log over a rabbit... it was half dead, most likely a cat got it, but really its disgusting.
Sorry kinda went on OT rant, but this topic pisses me off ¬.¬
In my opinion after the age of 8-10 both the parent and child should be accountable for there actions, since the parent should have raised them better and the child should also know better. At the age of 16 though (since most children have left compulsory education at that point) should be held 100% accountable for there own actions; parents should still be named and shamed for raising said child though.
Voting age.
Until they can vote, its not fair to hld the accountable, its rhe parents responsibility
A .22 is nothing like a BB gun, completely different. That said my 10 year old nephew is apparently having a .22 for christmas because "all his friends have one", though I'd be surprised if that didn't turn out to be a BB gun. Can't believe it, I wasn't even aloud to have a BB gun when I was like 15, let alone a 22 air rifle/pistol. I think by the time you're 9-10 you're well aware of what you're doing, but at that point you haven't necessarily matured to the point that you truly understand the meaning of what you're doing.
I did some stupid stuff as a child, was considered "the worst behaved child in the school" when I was in my first school and I had difficulty learning, wasnt getting the help I needed, it was a native language school (not english) and I spoke english at home. Anyway I recall smashing car windows for fun and always wanting to steal my mothers lighter so I could go burn stuff, I got into a lot of fights and was in a lot of trouble. I also remember going to my grandmothers house and finding a stash of 20p coins in her wardrobe and stole £6 worth of it while she was out, went to the shops and bought the biggest bar of chocolate, not before going to another shop to ask the woman behind the counter to count it for me, then not buying anything. I also lost my virginity when I was 9, had sex with the girl in my street who was 1 year older. That girl had a brother with a porn mag collection, stole one of his mags and was caught reading it in a hospital while with my grandparents when my sister was there for a checkup. I mean, I was basically just a little fucking shit.
Moved to a new (english) school and was put in the "special learning" class with the other misfits but I quickly became the best reader in the class, best at maths and science and was later moved to the schools top tier class before going to secondary school on equal standings with the clever kids. My personality changed, I understood the world more and I got a lot of morals, and now i'm a very non violent person who is nothing like what I was as a troubled child. The teachers of my first school said I would ammount to nothing and would end up in a prison cell.
So yes, you are aware of what you're doing when you're young but you don't necessarily understand it or the effects/meaning of it, and what you do and who you are at the point doesn't mean it will reflect on who you are when you grow older (specifically through puberty and into adulthoot).
Last edited by Bigbazz; 2012-12-08 at 12:37 PM.
Probably running on a Pentium 4
When they've attained legal age? We already have that regulation. It's 18 in most countries.At what age should kids be responsible for their own actions?
I noticed that whenever this kind of thread comes up, the motive seems to be anger, rage and a demand for as harsh as possible punishment. The question is: what good is it for? Does it make sense to lock up 12 year olds for life or give them the death sentence?
That's not a polemic question, I'm really asking: what good is it for? Demanding harsh and merciless punishment is just an emotional reflex to settle your personal aversion and anger over something. Does it have any use or puprose for the society? That's the point of laws and regulations. Punishment isn't there to satiate people's hate, but unfortunately people generally sense it that way.
depends what they're doing. if it's something complex maybe 15-16, if they kill someone as soon as they know it's wrong
as soon as they are aware of their surroundings....so.... around 10-16
I say 10.
When I was 10 I understood how most social etiquette worked. I see no reason why other 10 year olds shouldn't.
Bow down before our new furry overlords!
Age really isn't a defining factor here, because no matter what age you are, if you do something cruel, mean or wrong you should be punished. I didn't watch the video, I loathe and detest animal cruelty and I can't typically watch videos of it going on, but from what I can assume happened, these kids need to be dealt with, severely.
Bad attitudes are like a parasite. You let it fester inside of someone, it gets worse. Then, the parasite will jump to other hosts who, again, if left untouched will make it worse. Things like this, people should be dragged infront of the local community, and made a severe example of. No only will it stop them from doing it again, but it'll deter anyone else from doing it.
We've become a world of soft pathetic beings, who while trying to make everything nice and soft, has actually made the cold reality of life even harder to bare because people go to more extremes. I'm not suggesting we cut of their hands, but they should be dealt with severely and in a way that puts a lot of physical and mental stress on them.
Humans are animals. When we're young we learn in a very primitive way, if something hurts, you don't do it again. People think we lose that primitive intuition, but we don't. Give someone a hard enough slap, and they wont do it again.
---------- Post added 2012-12-08 at 01:39 PM ----------
Read my post. Attitudes like these are infectious and systemic if not dealt with. Again, I'm not suggesting we kill these kids, or lock them up. But they must be made an example of, and made to really regret their actions. Make them do demanding physical labour for long hours with little rest. After 24 hours, with only one break they'll never do something so stupid again.
But more importantly, when made an example of, to everyone and for everyone to see, no-one else would even think of doing such a thing.
serial killers in the making. It is shocking how many of the known serial killers also abused animals when they where minors. Serious issue at hand and if things arent dealt with quickly bad things will probably happen
Nowadays criminology and doctrine tend to distinguish among individuals: one kid might be mature enough to understand the disvalue of certain actions, not some other actions, depending on his mental development, environment, familty, social condition, etc. There is not a set age for all kids and all actions. Most criminal systems adopt this point of view only past 14, though: before 14, you're immune from criminal prosecution. But it's an age limit that was set decades ago, it should be reviewed and allow more flexibility.
I don't know why but this made me laugh.
As a parent, I do believe the parents are responsible for their child's actions; however, they can't control them, so if they choose to engage in such behavior, they should be punished, as well. Having the kids do volunteer work at an animal shelter would be a great start to teach responsibility as well as instill some obviously much needed empathy for animals. Also, some type of early education for firearms so that they realize guns, regardless of type, are dangerous and should be handled as such.