At what age should kids be responsible for their own actions?

[ovm33]

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 see nothing inherently wrong with getting a 10 year old a .22 rifle. ASSUMING they aren't allowed to use it at any time without proper supervision and it's locked away when such supervision isn't available. Take away the mystery of guns, teach kids to respect them and you greatly reduce the chance of accidents happening.

I was 12 when I got my first BB / Pellet gun. I shot and killed a bird with it. I felt horrible. So I guess I'm not a sociopath.

Back on topic: I didn't watch the video, I'm a softy when it comes to animals. Which is odd, as I hunt, but I do it in a humane way. I.E. using the proper weapon for the job. Not shooting a damn squirrel with an air-soft pistol. These kids were old enough to know that what they were doing was wrong but "bloodlust" had them and they ignored it. 14 - 15 is well old enough to know what is right and wrong.

For those interested I hunt Coyotes and groundhogs. Nothing for "sport." I live on a farm and such animals are more than a nuisance as they can kill. Groundhogs killing via the hole they dig which will break legs and coyotes using the obvious methods. Depending on range, either a .410 shotgun or a .223 rifle.

[Jazara]

It'd be better to give them the BB gun and drop them in a pit and release a bear. Let's see how fun it is for them to shoot animals then.

I can't agree, but I'm not opposed to them having the shit scared out of them in a controlled way. What I would like to know, though, is why these children have these air soft guns and are out with them unsupervised. Parenting fail.

[Jakexe]

I can't agree, but I'm not opposed to them having the shit scared out of them in a controlled way. What I would like to know, though, is why these children have these air soft guns and are out with them unsupervised. Parenting fail.

It was a joke, but as i've said earlier they need some sort or punishment/education.

I'm not 100% sure but I think those guns are perfectly legal in the US if you're 18+ which gives easy access for a son, brother etc to grab one.

[Pony Soldier]

I say 12 -13 years old. If they're old enough to think that animal cruelty like this is funny or some other stupid act, then I think they should be punished in some form and I don't mean public service, I mean something like boot camp or something that will scare the stupid out of them for good. And not only the kids but also the parents too because if the parents are punished then that would make them get pissed at their kid(s) and (hopefully) the parent will punish the kid(s) as well, making them think next time before they do something stupid again.

I know if my parents got blamed for my stupidity they would beat my ass until I was black and blue. Good thing I had good parents because I never did anything stupid that would get my parents in trouble.

[Clockwork Pinkie]

Year 1, cause waiting 10 years is too long.

[shocktopuslol]

You shot animals with a bb gun, that is one of the three deciders for sociopathic behaviours later in life.

EDIT: To expand I don't think the kids should be locked up, but they need a harsh lesson in empathy. Send them to an abattoir and make them kill and gut a cow. The smell alone would be punishment enough.

call me a sociopath all you want, but 2 kids running round playing with their new toys and shooting things doesn't really amount to "torturing animals". its not like we killed them and strung them up like some of the pictures you see around the internet (those kids probably kill lots of animals), they are the ones you should be flaming on for being sociopaths, not kids just having a bit of fun with a toy gun.

[anveena]

BBs wouldn't kill a squirrel, at least not on the first shot. Pellets might, but not the little copper BBs.

I've killed a couple squirrels with a single shot from a bb gun before, but like you said, the vast majority of them take more than one.

[Jakexe]

call me a sociopath all you want, but 2 kids running round playing with their new toys and shooting things doesn't really amount to "torturing animals". its not like we killed them and strung them up like some of the pictures you see around the internet (those kids probably kill lots of animals), they are the ones you should be flaming on for being sociopaths, not kids just having a bit of fun with a toy gun.

You admitted to shooting animals as a source of fun, yes you are a sociopath. Deal with it.

[Grummgug]

When I was a kid, I remember the first (and last) time I ever hung around the neighborhood kids. We were about 8 years old. We were goofing around in this wooded area behind everyone's homes. It was autumn, and there were a bunch of dry leaves and sticks everywhere. So one kid pulls out a matchbook, lights one, and drops it into the dry leaves.

FOOMP! Everything starts burning.

All the kids start whooping and laughing. The fire is really starting to spread. My thought was "this could burn everyone's homes down!" So I pull off my jacket and try to smother the flames, and stomp the rest of it out. The other kids then got EXTREMELY angry with me. They chased me off, throwing rocks at me until I went away. From that point forward, for the rest of my childhood there, I was a total pariah. Any kid who saw me immediately would pick up rocks and throw them at me. Even kids that were never there for that event. I remember walking down the street and some 6 year old kid saw me, picked up some rocks, and throwing throwing them at me with a sneer on his face.

People are animals, especially at that age.

As it turns out, either I let the neighborhood burn down, or become an outcast. Nice choices.

[aztr0]

The fact that they went out recording a video shows that they know that they are doing and should be responsible for their actions.

[Deleted]

Talking from a legal perspective in my country kids are become legally responsible of their actions at the age of 15, on certain issues they are already responsible at the age of 12. I'm not going to go into further details since I don't think anyone is interested in the laws in Finland.

Personally I'd say anyone above 10 should understand the consequences of certain things, especially any sort of physical abuse towards anything. And one should be completely responsible for their actions at the age of 15-16, although people are at a different point of maturity at that age and some people act childish as hell even at the age of 20+ they should still be held responsible, what would be the point of laws if following them wouldn't change things at all. The reason behind all the jackassery that is going on is partly bad parenting (at least in my opinion, letting kids do whatever the hell they want) and partly kids are obviously influenced by the company they're in, and things they see online for example.

[Vokal]

What the...hell...

[Burgerberg]

call me a sociopath all you want, but 2 kids running round playing with their new toys and shooting things doesn't really amount to "torturing animals". its not like we killed them and strung them up like some of the pictures you see around the internet (those kids probably kill lots of animals), they are the ones you should be flaming on for being sociopaths, not kids just having a bit of fun with a toy gun.

They shot the animal, then they proceeded to shoot it again. Then it was still alive, and shot it some more. These were body shots with a low powered weapon so it must have hurt like fuck. That isn't torture to you?

[Deleted]

Hmm. Apparently studies show that brain development is not fully completed to around age 25 (http://www.hhs.gov/opa/familylife/te...rontal_cortex/). So, maybe the typical legal ages of responsibility, 16-18, we have now are too young?

I'd say around 16 is probably a time when most people should be capable of understanding national ethics and the morality of their actions though.