Young people have a unique place in law. They are not yet adults and so do not have all the same rights and responsibilities of adults. With each passing year, young people develop more and more of the skills and abilities of adulthood. As a result, a young person slowly acquires more of the rights and responsibilities of adulthood. The transition period from childhood to adulthood requires a complex balance of ensuring adequate protection and allowing for increasing independence. This approach is founded on three general beliefs: Young people do not have the ability to properly evaluate their options and make sound decisions. Similarly, they may not have enough knowledge and experience to participate in an activity. The role of parents in the family is to guide, protect and make decisions for their children until they can do these things themselves. There is no magic age at which a young person leaves adolescence and enters adulthood. It does not happen overnight. As a result, the law needs to gradually increase the rights and responsibilities it gives to young people. A number of factors determines the order in which all of these rights and responsibilities are given: the type of activity the maturity, knowledge and experience required the benefits the hazards Last Reviewed: November 2019