If a girl is old enough to physically be able to have children should she still be considered a child..?

Question

This is an opinion based question not a legally based one so please answer accordingly.

I asked this question to stimulate debate, not because of my personal opinion one way or the other. Yes Sinister you are right. I should have included boys too

Answer 1

Yes. Just becuase we have the equipment doesn't mean we can handle the responsibility or know how to use it. A lot of girls start ovulating at 11, an 11 year old girl is most likely in the 6th grade- no 6th grader is a woman, but still a child soon to transition to adolescence, the step before becoming an adult. Adolescence is not child, but still not an adult and some think they're (as adolescents) old enough to reproduce and care for their child. Society and life works differently than our bodies and that's why social and ethical rules are created.

Answer 2

Yes.

Adults have the skills, tools, and resources necessary to live their lives independently (or at least try to) of support from other adults. Children do not. Just because a young woman can become pregnant by 12 or 13, it doesn't mean that she has the skills necessary to be considered an adult or to live independently of her parents. As long as they are dependent upon other adults for their basic survival (food, shelther, energy, and clothing), then they are children, young people, or young adults.

Also, if you guage this off of maturity, then the answer will more than likely remain the same. Both of my sisters gave birth at 17 and 18 and they were (and still are in some respects) very immature. They were not ready for a child. I believe that an actual adult, while not ready for everything a child may bring, will at least be more mature about their life and their business than many young people.

I think the answer is yes and the law in most states agrees with me. A young woman who gives birth is not automatically emancipated from her parents in most states. She must go through the emancipation process or wait until her 18th birthday. Until then, her parents are responsible for her and for any children she may have while under their care.

Answer 3

Hm... I think that if a child is going to be having a baby then they should start making adult decisions, I dont know about being considered an adult. Also in America it is hard to define "adult" when legally you are an adult at 18, but yet when some kids get in trouble with the law, sometimes will get tried as an adult at ages 15-17. 18 is the adult age, but yet we are still not allowed to consume alcohol till 21.

Although if my son/daughter came to me saying "I'm having a baby" I would say, alright you have until that baby is due to grow up and start making decisions. Now I am not coldhearted so of course I would help, but Iwould consider them an adult to a certain extent.

Answer 4

Yes, my great grandmother had her first child at 13 and I have heard about 10 year olds having children, I remember being 12 really well and I know there is no way I was mentally able to be considered an adult, I don't even know that I was ready at 18.

Answer 5

yes, just becasue you get your period and CAN get pregnant does not mean that your body is physically able to carry a child to term.

My ex is 30 yrs old now and while he has physically been able to cause a girl to get pregnant for quite some time, i would still consider him a child.

Shouldn;t this opinion based question be geared towards more than just the female part of the population, when are people going to get sick of blaming it all on the girl?

Answer 6

In girls, the onset of puberty has alot to do with the BMI of the girl, usually if she has a higher BMI, she'll go into puberty earlier. Just because a girl starts her period, doesn't even make her body capable of being able to bear a child. When I was 13, I looked like I was 17-I was physically able to concieve a child-but I was only 4'11''. The typical child's head is 18 inches around, you do the math.

Answer 7

Hell no... Im 31 and still childless.

Having a child is more about your mental capacity, than your physical abilities.

Go to the library and ask for all the books listed under the "Great Literature of the Western Civilization"...once you've read every single book on that list, THEN you should be about ready.

The simple fact, you'd ask that simple question shows youre too simple to simply reproduce.

Answer 8

yes she is still a child. For one, with the rate of childhood obesity on the rise it is triggering early puberty in girls so you now have more girls ages 10, 11 and 12 that are hitting puberty early. Just because a girl's body is becoming mature does not change her status. My niece has her period at 13, but she still likes the tween girly things that she would not have anything to do with as a grown up.

Answer 9

I was "physically able to have children" at age 11!! So yes you're a child at that age! Now days there is a fine line determining how old a girl is, maybe it is just me but very young girls don't seem to be dressing and acting very young these days, its sad really. It doesn't matter how old a little girl tries to act, this doesnt change the fact that she is a little girl.

Answer 10

This question is suspect. Yes she is still a child. Some children develop more quickly than their emothional capacity. Some girls have their periods as young as 8 years old. Does this mean that they should open for business, move out, or get a job? Come on!