I'm ony 10 years old.

[Jamieson 90]

Well Since I want to go into teaching I think it would be a pretty bad thing if I did value their opinions any less than I would say an adult. The thing is kids can be very perceptive and they often pick up on things or see things that we adults sometimes miss or ignore.

However with that said, as a result of the fact that they are only ten, they do not have the life experience or education to understand the complexity of certain issues. That is not a bad thing though, I am no Doctor, therefore I do not go around giving people advice about their health. So it would be stupid to expect children to be able to debate issues they have no experience or expertise in.

Sure you might get a particularly bright 10 year old who does understand the issue, but for most 10 year olds certain political/social/historical debates etc will go over their heads. So really it depends on the subject and what we are discussing. If I know they have experience in what we are discussing then I will value their opinion, if they do not I will question them and point out the flaws, if there are any in their argument.

 

[spacecowboy86]

Oh yes, I can read through this and see no hate towards 10-13 year old children which includes me so therefore you are hating me. None at all.

I have my opinions, and my age does not reflect that.

Being 10 years old isn't an ethnicity, or a lifestyle choice.
We've all been 10 years old, that gives us the credentials to judge how much a 10 year old knows about the world. We remember what it was like, we remember how little we knew about things.

When you're 20 you'll understand how little you knew when you were 10. And when you're 30 you'll understand how little you knew when you were 20, and when you're 40 you'll understand how little you knew when you were 20 etc. etc. ad infinitum.

heck I'm 14 as I said before, and I've already noticed how much easier puzzles I tried 3 years ago are now, and how much closer I can examine plot devices and my own emotions, and as far as I can tell, I'm not slowing down in how much about the world I'm learning every day. Don't think of it as an insult, because if you're this smart and well worded now, we're saying you have the potential to be a real genius in 10 years Pixelking, just don't start thinking to yourself you're there already because almost no 10-13 year olds are.

 

[C2Ultima]

Age doesn't invalidate opinions. That'd be intelligence. The two get confused much too easily.

 

[Talespinner]

That depends entirely on what you (the hypothetical 10-year old) are trying to argue.

If it's taste ("Was that movie funny?", "does this music make you want to dance?" etc.) then your contribution is every bit as valid as the next guy's.

If it's conviction ("I believe there is a god", "I believe it's fundamentally wrong to let people under 18 see a nipple" etc.) then your input is also perfectly fine since values are as subjective as taste.

If it's analysis (Conclusions, based on facts) then you're still fine, as long as you have the required intelligence and information to arrive at the correct conclusions. This is where most children start to fall off. They tend to miss factors and thus arrive at faulty conclusions. There are however exceptions.

But if you're trying to establish a logical argument based on experience or wisdom then you're automatically disqualified. "People tend to take the easiest solution even in situations where there's a very apparent downside to it so therefore we should be careful to act on this before we've thought it over" holds absolutely zero value if it comes from a ten year old kid. If it comes from a 60 year old anthropology professor then it carries a hell of a lot more weight.

The problem is that most children are unable to tell the difference between different kinds of statements. They will often think that just because they're taken seriously in a discussion about taste they're also "entitled" to the same amount of respect when it comes to every other other subject.

I've actually managed to teach me daughter that different topic have different natures (Of course I've conveyed it a little simpler... She's not that old) so now she will actually ask me once in a while what sort of "talk" we're having. It was pretty cute at first when I didn't understand what she meant. When I realized that she was asking whether or not her input was of equal or lesser value in this specific situation I was mightily impressed. I've tried to make it clear that anything that has to do with "like/don't like" and "agree/disagree" is fair game and she seems to have learned that. A little too well some time. Annoying little bugger

 

[IkeGreil29]

It's understandable that age determines the validity of an argument. Age = experience and therefore knowledge. That fact that a 35 year old guy simply knows more facts instantly makes him better. That does not mean that a 10 year old could probably have more wisdom than adults (I just had a Holden moment there). Take for example the fact that I'm 17 and my dad's 65 (today! Happy birthday, Dad!) but I am wiser because I am a child of the internet, so I would own him in a debate about technology while he would school my ass in a debate of World History just because he lived through most occurrences.

 

[Abengoshis]

Well, that's pretty one sided. No other sides are right? Ever?

Nope.

Parents are always right ..... regardless.

Especially my wife, she's never wrong ..... and if she is ever wrong and I point it out I get a night on the sofa ..... so she's never wrong.

I've never lost an argument with any of my kids. All arguments can be settled with 4 simple words "go to your room", argument over, I win.

I wouldn't say age makes much difference. My stepdaughter is 18 and there are times she gets the misguided impression she can win.

Also depends on the points being debated.

Thats not "winning" a debate or an argument, that's refusing to continue it.

 

[RagTagBand]

No, but the likelyhood of your opinion being valid on its own merit is far lower than if you were, say, 20.

Not due to age, but due to -

* More life experience
* Having had more time to accumulate knowledge
* Having had more time to develop your critical thinking skills

Those three points are connected to "lifetime" and thus to age. A 10 year old does not have a lot of life experience, hasn't accumulated a lot of knowledge (so far) and hasn't yet developed critical thinking skills....because he or she is just 10 years old.

But that doesn't make a 10 year olds opinion invalid by default, just less likely to be valid which is what I said in my original post.

And they aren't all connected to "Lifetime". I've seen plenty of people 3-4 times older than a 10 year old who haven't spent any of that time accumulating knowledge or developing their critical thinking skills. Just because an older person has had more available time to focus on these things doesn't mean they have, and just because a younger person has had less time to focus on these things doesn't mean they haven't.

The age of a person is irrelevant to the validity of the opinion, to suggest anything other than that is stupid; It's nothing more than a textbook Genetic fallacy.

 

[Riff Moonraker]

It completely depends on the topic of discussion. However, I will say that 10 year olds have an honest streak a mile wide, and some of their comments make more sense than anything an adult can come up with...

The comment, "Out of the mouth of babes..." exists for a real reason.

 

[triggrhappy94]

And Im only a pedophile
Kids and teens are infamous for having naive opinions and not knowing stuff.

 

[ShindoL Shill]

it doesnt lessen the, value but depending on your education level (i know that america starts school a year after scotland, and some schools in scotland have brought their Standard Grade exams forward a year) you might not know enough about the subject for it to be correct more than, say, a 20 year olds.
however, there are 10 year olds who are smarter than people older than them, and they study the subject at a higher level.
of course, the subject might be sex and your school might not do even basic sex ed then (my school did very basic sex ed when we were 9/10, but more in depth at 15) you wont know much or have practical experience.

so if you're normal 10 year old, its more likely to be wrong, but not less important. if you're smarter than the average, its less likely to be wrong. if youre 70, its likely to be wrong because of now-outdated education, but you have experience. nobody's opinion matters more, only whether or not its right.

 

[rutger5000]

It certainly does the teenagers brain is still underdeveloped. Well this doesn't neccessarily makes them total retards, it does hamper their ability to give matters the full amount of thought needed. Of course there will always be the creepy 8 year old that is hyper intelligent and has an incredible ammount of live experience, but in general the brain of a 10 year old isn't properply equiped to tackle most cases.

 

[Simeon Ivanov]

Well, your sense of humor could use some work ...

But yeah, it lessens your opinion, because kids are stupid. Adults are stupid too, but they are a different kind of stupid.

 

[Locko96]

Also, 10 year olds haven't lived long enough/experienced enough/learned enough to have much of an opinion that I would consider worthwhile.

I will accept experience in an argument as long as it's part of an argument . There are too many arguments I get into with people older than me in which they quickly pull out the experience card only to ignore my opinion and end all discussion. I won't disagree that he does have more experience but that is complete bullshit. I will accept the the "seniority card" in an argument as long as it's part of a fucking fleshed-out and cohesive argument, not just as some sort of one-shot-kill. Being older doesn't make you smarter or wiser.

OT: In my opinion, if a 10 year old or anyone younger than you can put together a cohesive argument for a point, the least you can do is throw away and preconceptions about him/her and listen before stubbornly entrenching yourself in your opinion.

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

I remember my childhood very well and based on it id have to say no.

I understand that every child was not like me however and I think it varies greatly between individuals.

 

[natster43]

No it would not lessen your opinion. Age does not make ones opinions any less valid. There are exceptions where experience will affect this more which can lessen ones opinion, but it is not because they are ten, it is because they do not have experience with that so their opinion is less sound.

 

[StarStruckStrumpets]

Well, that's pretty one sided. No other sides are right? Ever?

Nope.

Parents are always right ..... regardless.

Especially my wife, she's never wrong ..... and if she is ever wrong and I point it out I get a night on the sofa ..... so she's never wrong.

I've never lost an argument with any of my kids. All arguments can be settled with 4 simple words "go to your room", argument over, I win.

I wouldn't say age makes much difference. My stepdaughter is 18 and there are times she gets the misguided impression she can win.

Also depends on the points being debated.

I don't mean to doubt your parenting abilities, but I take issue with that last comment a great deal. Fair enough, I can understand 10 year olds needing to be put in place. They nag for things, and need to be shown certain values, whether it be money or whatever.

I just need to clear this up. Are you saying your stepdaughter is never right, or that she can never win? Because I can understand the latter.

 

[lumenadducere]

In and of itself, age is arbitrary and doesn't necessarily signify anything. The reason people give weight to it though is because it has a correlation with experience, which is what actually matters. There are exceptions to every rule, but in general most 10 year-olds aren't going to be experienced enough to really be worth listening to. I mean yes, it's worth listening to them on some humanitarian "treat everyone equally" level, but not worth listening to them as in actually taking their advice on much of anything of importance.

 

[Kargathia]

It certainly doesn't diminish the validity of their opinion, but it does lower the credibility of their advice. Diminish, not nullify.

 

[Manji187]

No, but the likelyhood of your opinion being valid on its own merit is far lower than if you were, say, 20.

Not due to age, but due to -

* More life experience
* Having had more time to accumulate knowledge
* Having had more time to develop your critical thinking skills

Those three points are connected to "lifetime" and thus to age. A 10 year old does not have a lot of life experience, hasn't accumulated a lot of knowledge (so far) and hasn't yet developed critical thinking skills....because he or she is just 10 years old.

But that doesn't make a 10 year olds opinion invalid by default, just less likely to be valid which is what I said in my original post.

And they aren't all connected to "Lifetime". I've seen plenty of people 3-4 times older than a 10 year old who haven't spent any of that time accumulating knowledge or developing their critical thinking skills. Just because an older person has had more available time to focus on these things doesn't mean they have, and just because a younger person has had less time to focus on these things doesn't mean they haven't.

The age of a person is irrelevant to the validity of the opinion, to suggest anything other than that is stupid; It's nothing more than a textbook Genetic fallacy.

Not just less likely. SIGNIFICANTLY less likely. Admittedly, it doesn't mean that anyone is automatically allowed to stop paying attention/ listening altogether.

What you have seen are most likely outliers. On average a 10 year old isn't a genius and a 30-40 year old not a retard or a lazy bum.

For some opinions (subject matter) age IS of the essence. I wouldn't ask a 10 year old for tips on sex and relationships or about anything of a psychological nature (like depression). IMHO, the range of subject matter on which an average 10 year old can have a valid opinion is pretty small.

 

[MissAshley]

Or let's say, hypothetically, that I was. Does that lessen the value of my opinion? Does that make my part in a discussion less worthwhile?

Lessen? No.

Give important context for consideration? Definitely.

Truthfully, I don't consider age when reading Internet comments because people (usually) don't identify themselves. When I read something questionable, wrong, or plain stupid, I just think the person is questionable, wrong, or plain stupid, not young.