It seems decisions for children and young people are being used as a strange weapon at the moment. And one that appears to prey on their naivety and exploit their tendencies at certain ages, because they are the ones being responsible over them. I’m not entirely sure some people give real thought to how the mind works at different ages, what it can cope with, assimilate, comprehend or quantify. It’s creeping into other areas as well as them being able to determine which side of the fence they would like to be ‘when they grow up’, ironically with some of the things being offered to them, they will never ‘grow up’ properly. Being stunted and emotionally restricted (which can happen in ordinary settings too), on top of the psychological difficulties you can endure just simply by being alive and trying to place yourself in society and where you fit in the universe.

And things you think you ‘choose’ while young, with very limited experience and understanding, can often come back to bite you, haunt you, or go onto to be a big part of who you then became. As an adult I like to have information before making a decision, weighing up the options and consequences and thinking through the impact on myself and others. I did not have that perspective as a child, and have already done a piece on Decisions, from my own personal viewpoint of them and the impact of important ones placed upon a mind that isn’t really capable of making the best one.

Because you don’t what’s best for you at a very young age, but you often find yourself wanting to grow up quicker, be treated like an adult and qualify for all those things that seem so out of reach. Time is also a different feeling when very young, it really did feel as if it would take forever to get older and because you have no real context of responsibility surrounding these wants and ideas, what you want becomes the focus. Not how will this affect me, should I do it etc. Think of the funfair and being too short to go on a ride, you don’t agree with it and some people may get emotional or angry at being excluded from it. But if someone suddenly said, ‘hey, no problem, get on’, would you wait? Would you wonder about if it goes wrong? Would you question why they had those rules in the first place and make an informed decision? No, you wouldn’t, you jump at the chance and go for it. And sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn’t. I’m sure we all have done a few stupid things where we look back and think what was I doing? Or, how did I survive with that attitude and behaviour?

But the reason adults make these decisions for children which I thought was well known, is because I do believe that at certain ages, children do not possess the same reasoning skills. As is known by others as well, there are things you develop with age, experience and perspective. Well, not everyone but mostly. It seems some kids today are being fast-tracked into the adult system without having the physical or emotional capacity to deal with it. However, that was not always a failsafe idea to have adults solely in charge, as mentioned above, not all adults develop the necessary capacity themselves sometimes, and then find themselves in the decision-making role. With a mix of results and consequences, some far worse than others. And now we have ‘the state’ also now inserting themselves into life decisions, being the influencer and facilitator of them here and there. So, now there is a bunch of people or committees making decisions for people they don’t know and have never met. Or are allowing them to be made by people who are ill equipped to understand or think things through. Like I’ve said before, these are some strange old times…

(c) K Wicks