At age sixteen most of today's girls are of an age to be considered sufficiently adult to know about all members of their families. If Courts will emancipate girls at age fifteen so that they can be married or be considered legal adults for other reasons, this girl's parents must speak with her on any subject which she wishes to discuss. Of course, this is provided the parents are sufficiently adult themselves to have meaningful discussions. In this case, it seems that the girl's parents are infantile to the point of being unable to address subjects which they may find offensive. The parents must allow their sixteen-year-old daughter to make the decision as to whether she wishes to hear all the facts regarding the family rift. The parents must discuss this matter in an ADULT (that is, a grown-up) fashion. The parents must present ALL facts to their daughter so that she can choose whether to pursue the matter further. The parents are doing their daughter a disservice by withholding information which she needs. Of course, the girl needs to acknowledge gifts from these relatives; otherwise, the relatives may consider her rude and insensitive to have neglected thanking them. The parents of this girl should be severly chastised. Prudence, you are evidently not a very wise person.

You appear to want a police state where the state has control over everyone. (since you bold 'must' more than once).

I assume parents that don't do what the state wishes have their kids taken away. Yea, good plan.

OK the girl has some lousy parents. Once she is 18 (or change the law to 16) and able to make it without help from her parents than she can decide what to do.

I believe it is child abuse to teach a kid religion (brainwashing), but I don't want the govt to get involved. Parents have the right to raise their child as they see fit as long as there isn't physical abuse (or severe mental abuse).

And you must stop posting to Dear prudence with your inane posts full of postal inanity and insane non-sanity inanity.

To lordbarrymore: please tell me why you find my remarks so offensive.

To jazzguitman: I believe you misread my comments/remarks. Please point out to me the instance wherein you read that I want a police state in this nation. Thank you.

Why must you be so didactic, blondmolly ?
Why do you want to chastise the parents so badly ?
Were you beaten as a child ?


Do you die your hair, because you were once-bitten-forever-smitten by a zit-ridden, bitchin' crew-cutten neo-Nazi with the aesthetically-pleasing-but-so-­hard-to-get-ammunition-for Luger and the tell-tale swagger of the erstwhile fascist blogger-behind-the-fogger of internet anonymity ?

Do you understand a single goddamn word i've said ?


You deserve a medal.

dye

To lordbarrymore: you are pathetic.

Really ? I thought i was fucking awesome ! Mind you, i am high as a kite, so to speak.

Is this a cunning ploy to avoid answering my questions ?

The only thing parents must do for a 16 year old is to provide food and shelter and an education. Just about anything else is strictly optional. Of course, if they want a relationship wiht her after she is an adult, that's another story.

You are aptly named, Trainspotter.

.

There are too many unkowns in the letter to decide and decree what the parents MUST do.

The parents primarily MUST protect the child. We do not know that this is what they are attempting to do.

The damnable crime these perpetrated will never be known. Perhaps they refused to install Al Gore Mercury bulbs in the house and the parents are wacko tree huggers. Maybe one of them is some sicko pervert. Who knows.

To lordbarrymore.Please ask your parents to provide counselling for you. You are obviously in a very bad situation. If you can afford drugs, you can afford a counselor.

are you one Judgemental b?

JP

Here is just some of what you posted:

The parents must allow their sixteen-year-old daughter to make the decision as to whether she wishes to hear all the facts regarding the family rift. The parents must discuss this matter in an ADULT (that is, a grown-up) fashion. The parents must present ALL facts to their daughter so that she can choose whether to pursue the matter further,,,,

**********

Since you use the word 'must' I have to assume that there is some action that state would take (fines, jail time, taking away the kids) for those that do NOT do what they MUST do.

NOW, if you had said 'should' than I would have no issue with your post. But when someone says 'must' then I have to assume that there is some type of punishment for those that do NOT do what they MUST do. That is a police state mentality.