Recruiting Kids behind parent's backs

So here's the scenario:

Your teenage son or daughter goes off for another day at high-school. They leave for school, you go to work, and then you both come home. It's at this point your child informs you they've spoken to a recruiter and have signed themselves up for the military. You've never talked about it with your kids, and not a hint of speculation would have suggested your child was interested in joining America's finest.

It's at this point you press the issue and find your child isn't too secure about their choice either, but the recruiting officer at your child's high school used high-pressure tactics, including a guilt trip about not putting financial stress on the rest of their family to pay for education.

So the kid is locked in, has to go off to war. Comes home in a body bag, all because of a misguided choice and a recruiting officer having to fill his quota.

This is the scenario that played out on CNN earlier today, and it's one of the more popular high conflict debates in America right now.

Personally (my kids are only 4 & 2) I'd rip the recruiters neck off with my own two hands if this happened to me. I understand my children will be able to make their own decisions one day, but they should not be allowed to make that decision in schools without speaking with their parents. Absolutely not.

that's a bunch a crap.

Recruits have opportunities to get out of the contracts. The recruiter will of course use pressure to say otherwise.

18 is still the age of consent. Even if a child signs up and raises his/her hand, long as they are under 18, parents or guardian have to sign off.

So this portrail of the military coming and snatching kids is just wrong.

And shouldn't the conversation about what the child wants to do with their lives have taken place long before they were 18? I mean not an exact map but at least some sort of idea of what your kid is thinking?
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Procrastinate now, don't wait until later.

I have to agree with Matt on this one. When I joined the Navy back in '74 I was seventeen and a half and had to have my parents signatures to do so. Like Matt said, eighteen is still the age of consent and kids still need parental consent to do certain things.
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Carl Sagan:
"I don't want to beLIEve. I want to know."

Beth,

I see your point and in those times where the parent is uninformed it would be very hard to not get upset.
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Have a fantastic day!
meblogin
http://meblogin.blogspot.com/

Beth,

I agrew with you, and that would certainly make me angry as a parent. It also makes me angry that they can do physcological counseling/testing with your child and not tell you, and escort your child to an abortion clinic without telling you. It is as if in our culture the State or the School wants to replace the parent. I think all of these intrusions are wrong.

Joel
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Joel Gillespie

On 20/20 or one of those shows they went "undercover" and showed recruiters in front of a south carolina walmart speaking to young black men, they were targeting the poor areas of town and really promising these kids the moon to sign up.
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Moving to G'boro ASAP!