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Your Children Matter
Decisions about Children
Trying to do what's best for your children will mean that as they get older they should be allowed to have something to say about decisions which affect them. Some families discuss almost everything; but others hardly discuss anything. That doesn't matter to the law. What the law expects is that all parents, when they are making important decisions affecting their children, should first of all think about what's best for their children. Then if the children are old enough, parents should give them the chance to say what they think.
It's not about asking children to make decisions, it's about giving them the chance to have a say. Sometimes, such as when parents can't live together, it's really important to save children from feeling that they are making the decisions. Children should never be forced to choose between parents. So it's about telling them what's involved and letting them say what they think. So that means thinking about a few things.
The law will presume that if a child is 12 or more, he/she is old enough to understand about what is happening. So children 12 or more in your family should be given a chance to have a say. Children under 12, if they can understand the choice that needs to be made and what it will mean, should be given the same chance.
Some things are difficult to talk about in families - like what happens if parents divorce or what happens if parents die. Letting your child have a say in these kinds of discussions may be hard. If you want to meet your parental responsibilities for your child, though, you have to try to find a way to make it happen. Certainly if you go to court to sort out any arrangements for children, your child will be given the chance to have a say if he/she's old enough. So be prepared for your child's opinion to be asked for whether you like it or not. More.
A word about decisions on health |
| A child's health is, first of all, the responsibility of his/her parent. As children grow up they are expected by the law to take more responsibility for their own health. So this is the part of their lives when children will be able to make their own decisions earliest, but when exactly should that be? | When children understand what they are being told about their own health and about what it means to have some kind of treatment or a vaccination, the law says they are able to make their own choices. So a child can say he/she doesn't want something to happen to his/her body as long as a doctor thinks that he/she can understand the likely result of the choice. |
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