In a way, they are. Pets are property. Owning a pet gives one a responsibility to raise it, and like children you can do with them as you please but within the law. All pets have a form of rights that require the owner to give them things that they need, like food and shelter. The big difference is that laws are a bit more strict about raising kids.

Parents have the responsibility to give the child what they NEED not just want. Children need proper food, clothing, shelter, and access to an education. The rest is up to the parents if they want the child to have it or not. If the parent does not want to give their child things like a cell phone, their own computer or even a pizza, then the child goes without those things. Seeing that it is their responsibility to provide these things, it should be up to the parents as to what is considered “proper”.

The problem I see is parents give kids too much freedom. Kids tend to lack the responsibility to use those freedoms wisely. This often leads to real big problems for both the child and the parents.

Jane

Children are Sentient Beings. Any singular entity that can form his/her own thoughts and opinions that are different from those around it ought to be considered sentient, or at least that’s what I think. Children display obvious signs of being conscious by 2 years of age.

While I, myself, at only 14 years of age, am still a child (or as my mom says, “a piece of property”), I adamantly refuse to believe that that’s all that I am.

Children are fully capable of forming their own thoughts, goals, and opinions. While I suppose that it’d be hard to see one’s own child as anything but an obnoxious automaton, it’s true – we are people. Actual people who’re just years away from being legally considered so (which is another issue entirely; the demeaning of minors by law).

Besides, it’s been clearly demonstrated that some people have a higher mental capacity than others. If this is true, is it not also true that, proportionally, some children could be “technically” more mentally developed than some adults? If the oh-so-mature actions that have been exemplified by some of the adults in my life are any proof, then yes.

Matilda

Legally speaking, children are property. Children are treated as property as far as the law goes, considering that the owners (parents or legal guardians) have custodial rights to such property. Kidnapping children is illegal specifically because it is the equivalent of stealing property from the parents.

That being said, children are still entitled to legal protection because they are sentient humans.

Adam

People yes, property no! Parents do not own children the same way a family owns a dog or a vehicle! Parents are responsible to raise their children until their children become adults. Children are people due to the fact that they are human beings. A parent might need an adult child to take care of him/her as the parent gets older, but even the parent is not property of the adult child. You can buy or sell tangible property which means human beings are not tangible property.

John