Free the Children; They Need Room to Grow By John Holt. This article was written soon after Escape From Childhood was published. It originally appeared in Psychology Today, October, 1974. I have come to feel that the fact of being a “child,” of being wholly subservient and dependent, of being seen by older people as a mixture of expensive nuisance, slave and superpet, sooner or later does most young people more harm than good. I propose instead that the rights, privileges, duties, responsibilities of adult citizens be made available to any young person, of whatever age, who wants to make use of them. These would include, among others: 1. The right to equal treatment at the hands of the law—i.e., the right; in any situation, to be treated no worse than an adult would be. 2. The right to vote, and take full part in political a airs. 3. The right to be legally responsible for one’s life and acts. 4. The right to work, for money. 5. The right to privacy. 6. The right to nancial independence and responsibility—i.e., the right to own, buy, and sell property, to borrow money, establish credit, sign contracts, etc.
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7. The right to direct and manage one’s own education.