Rights of Children

The law defines children as unmarried persons under the age of majority--usually eighteen--who have not left home to support themselves.

Children have a right to be supported by their parents. As mentioned in the last section, the right of support includes food, shelter, clothing, and medical care. Parents also are obliged to arrange for the education of their children either at school or at home. If parents seek to educate their children at home, the parents usually must prove to the state that the parents offer a genuine education program at home. Children taught at home may be subject to state testing to insure that the children are making satisfactory progress in their education.

Children also have a right to be educated by the government through high school (assuming the child is not expelled from school for misconduct). Under federal law, children with significant physical or mental disabilities have a right to government-paid special education programs to meet their needs. If a parent believes a child needs a special education program, but the government is not providing one, the parent can appeal the issue through administrative agencies within the school system and through the courts if necessary.

Mature minors (often defined as children over the age of twelve) are allowed to make their own decisions regarding certain medical procedures, even if parents disagree with the child’s choice. For example, in most states parents do not have an absolute veto power over a minor's decision to use contraceptives or obtain an abortion. In many states, minors also can seek treatment for venereal disease without notification or consent of the parents. In addition, in some states, a mature minor can seek and obtain short-term mental health treatment or counseling without parental consent.

If a child receives a large sum of money, such as through inheritance, payment of a damage award for a personal injury, or starring in a television series, the law provides protection regarding how the money is to be managed. The law generally requires the appointment of a guardian to manage the child’s finances.

The guardian could be a parent or someone other than a parent. Sometimes there will be two guardians--one a parent and the other a non-family-member, such as an attorney or a bank officer. Guardians are required to make sure the money is well managed and spent for the child’s best interest. The money cannot be used for the primary benefit of other family members. If a guardian spends the money for the guardian’s own benefit or in some other way mismanages the funds, the guardian will be considered to have violated a fiduciary duty to the child and can be personally liable for the amount lost.

To help insure that the child’s money is properly invested and spent, the court may require that the guardian file periodic accountings with the court, itemizing the child’s assets, explaining how the money has been spent, and outlining plans for future expenditures.

The law allows children to sue, including, for example, for personal injuries suffered in an auto accident or a poorly maintained park. In most instances, the child’s parent or legal guardian must begin the suit in the child’s name.

Children accused of committing crimes are handled by the juvenile courts of their state, not the regular criminal justice system. (In many states, children accused of serious crimes who are above a certain age--sometimes as low as thirteen--may be tried in court as adults.) Juvenile courts entitle children to only some of the procedural safeguards that adults receive, but juvenile courts have more freedom to deal with juveniles in an effort to rehabilitate them. A child on trial as a juvenile, for example, usually does not have a right to a jury trial, but the child generally may not be confined beyond the age of 18.

Children who are the subject of abuse and neglect proceedings also are entitled to legal protections. Such protections usually include appointment of a guardian ad litem or an attorney for the child to present information to the court about what is best for the child. The guardian or attorney, for example, may present evidence to help the judge decide if it is best for the child to be returned to the parents, to be placed in a foster home, to be placed with a relative, or to be placed for adoption (if the parental rights have been terminated).