Children are legally a type of slave in the US, usually of their parents or guardians but sometimes of their spouse or the state. Of course this isn't explicitly called slavery like the 13th amendment, but when we look at their rights, we can see it's indeed how the legal process works for them. Addressing and reversing this would go a long way for abolitionism. Kids are almost never granted more power for themselves or more freedoms. Most “for the children” rhetoric tends to advocate for removing even more of their freedoms and power. It’s really really sad.
You are legally allowed to physically harm your child "within reason" (aka stopping short of whatever the law defines as child abuse in a jurisdiction). You are allowed to starve them a little, "within reason." You can deny them any privileges you want and lock them in your house - "within reason."
If the kid calls the police and it's not obvious child abuse that could result in death, the police inform the kid that parents can do as they please with their children for discipline and they leave the kids with those parents.
You can deny medical care (including abortions and birth control) - "within reason." You can force them to go to institutions and educational facilities.
Kids work and guess who legally can access their paychecks and all their money? Their parents/owners (see: Honey Boo Boo's finances, Aaron Carter's finances with his parents). Parents can and do withhold capital and money from their children to coerce behaviors from them. Kids work and pay income tax, yet cannot vote or run for office.
Parents can allow them to be married in MANY US states. An adult having sexual relations with their spouse who is a minor is EXEMPT from statutory rape laws (and let's acknowledge the human trafficking element of this). A child in a marriage contract often then belongs to their spouse instead of their parent and must similarly ask their spouse for help and permission. Because marriage contracts are contracts, kids have a hard time divorcing as minors due to this, let alone accessing legal representation itself.
Kids have almost no capital or power by design. Until kids can get rights, this country will be fucked up. We cannot raise humans in a slave environment and then expect them to not have learned helplessness and issues. Kids should be able to emancipate themselves immediately and easily to live in their own apartment with social workers (wearing bodycams, subject to randim audit or audit based on reports) who check on them as appropriate for their age. Parents should have VERY limited rights to their children compared to present day, and CHILDREN instead should be granted rights to their parents which they can waive, or be compensated for if the parent is unable to fulfill their obligations. Obviously child marriage should be illegal.
Children should NOT be their parent's property. Children should belong to themselves.
This would also help with fostering/"adoption", which is kinda human trafficking (and I've had family be adopted, so I am familiar that the adoptive parents don't see it like this) and which trades the child around like they have no rights at all and like they are property. If a child had rights to their birth parents (or to emancipate themselves), they can then leave bad adoptive parents.
The entire adoption system is actually wild if you think about it - eg antiabortion clinics convince poor women to adopt out through a sister agency which explicitly is also Christian and adopts these kids into Christian homes (a requirement by the agency). The adoptive parents pay the agency, which takes a cut of that money and then gives a little to the birth mom for medical expenses. It's just converting children to Christianity (often white Christians taking Native American/Latino indigenous American's babies) via making everyone poor, not giving the bio parents or child charity directly, and denying medical access unless they sell their kid.
Give children rights.
Also, giving kids the right to vote would be a start in the right direction. No taxation without representation, and we have child actors and performers paying millions in taxes. They deserve representation. Maybe they’d vote to change the laws so their parents (owners) weren’t legally entitled to their money or bodies.
Bonus policy idea regarding education:
https://lemmy.world/post/19553029/12277181
