--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Children under the age of 16, 17, or even…" description: "\"“Children under the age of 16, 17, or even 18 are generally not psychologically or emotionally mature enough to consent fully to sexual relationships w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/janet-bode-40076_children_children-under-the-age-of-16-17-or-even_2604607.jpg" --- # Children under the age of 16, 17, or even 18 are generally… ![“Children under the age of 16, 17, or even 18 are generally not psychologically or emotionally mature enough to consent fully to sexual relationships with adults, or to participate in them on an equal footing.” quote by Janet Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/janet-bode-40076_children_children-under-the-age-of-16-17-or-even_2604607.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/janet-bode-40076_children_children-under-the-age-of-16-17-or-even_2604607.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/janet-bode-40076_children_children-under-the-age-of-16-17-or-even_2604607.jpg) > ““Children under the age of 16, 17, or even 18 are generally not psychologically or emotionally mature enough to consent fully to sexual relationships with adults, or to participate in them on an equal footing.”” [Janet Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Minors lack full emotional maturity for consensual adult sexual relationships. **In simple terms:** Teens aren’t fully mature for adult sex. Key Takeaway Protect youth from exploitative relations. Themes ethics law development protection Mood protective serious Type legal ethical When to use this quote - education - policy making - parenting - health services Key Concepts psychology legal standards human rights Questions to Reflect On - How should consent be defined for teens? - What safeguards are effective? A Different Perspective Cultural differences affect maturity assessments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Sexual relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-relationship/) ## Related quotes > [Our relationships, relationships between adults, how all those pieces fit together - that's the most complicated thing we all face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-condon/our-relationships-relationships-between-adults-how-all-those-pieces/) [Bill Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-condon/) > [To manage our emotions is not to drug them or suppress them, but to understand them so that we can intelligently direct our emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-childre/to-manage-our-emotions-is-not-to-drug-them-or-suppress-them-but-to/) [Doc Childre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-childre/) > [A dog, for me, it's not just getting a dog. I couldn't leave him at home. 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A charming woman can create chemistry with you in a heartbeat, but that doesn’t guarantee that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-bryans/don-t-get-caught-up-with-the-chemistry-alone-a-charming-woman-can/) [Bruce Bryans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-bryans/) > [The emotionally mature individual should completely accept the fact that we live in a world of probability and chance, where there are not, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/the-emotionally-mature-individual-should-completely-accept-the-fact/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [I have four boys - two of them are 18 - and I have to protect them sometimes from themselves because they're not emotionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-herbstreit/i-have-four-boys-two-of-them-are-18-and-i-have-to-protect-them/) [Kirk Herbstreit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-herbstreit/) > [I was not emotionally mature enough to accept any kind of success when I was young. 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Television depicts adults as rotten SOB's given to fistfights, gunplay, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/children-from-the-age-of-five-to-ten-should-watch-more-television/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) ## More by Janet Bode > [“I found I could not not let the words flow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/i-found-i-could-not-not-let-the-words-flow/) [Janet Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/) > [“The ultimate rape is murder. Sometime during the rape, they cosider killing the victim.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/the-ultimate-rape-is-murder-sometime-during-the-rape-they-cosider/) [Janet Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/) > [“So you let a stranger touch you and you're not going to let me. --Tommy to Jessica”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/so-you-let-a-stranger-touch-you-and-you-re-not-going-to-let-me-tommy/) [Janet Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/) > [“For every survivor there is also a rapist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/for-every-survivor-there-is-also-a-rapist/) [Janet Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/) > [“I want to emphasize that rape is about human beings, not statistics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/i-want-to-emphasize-that-rape-is-about-human-beings-not-statistics/) [Janet Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/) > [“I had a feeling that day, like something was hanging over me.--Jessica”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/i-had-a-feeling-that-day-like-something-was-hanging-over-me-jessica/) [Janet Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/) > [“Half a lifetime ago, I was forced at knifepoint to a grabage dump and gang-raped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/half-a-lifetime-ago-i-was-forced-at-knifepoint-to-a-grabage-dump-and/) [Janet Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/) > [“I want to empasize that rape is about human beings, not statistics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/i-want-to-empasize-that-rape-is-about-human-beings-not-statistics/) [Janet Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/) > [“Rape is a crime of violence and sex is the weapon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/rape-is-a-crime-of-violence-and-sex-is-the-weapon/) [Janet Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/) > [“1 in 4 women will be raped in their lifefime, less than 10% will report the assault, and less than 5% of the rapists will go to jail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/1-in-4-women-will-be-raped-in-their-lifefime-less-than-10-will-report/) [Janet Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/) [Explore all 11 Janet Bode quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Children under the age of 16, 17, or even 18 are generally not psychologically or emotionally mature enough to consent fully to sexual relationships with adults, or to participate in them on an equal footing.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Janet Bode" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/children-under-the-age-of-16-17-or-even-18-are-generally-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Children" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/children-under-the-age-of-16-17-or-even-18-are-generally-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/janet-bode-40076_children_children-under-the-age-of-16-17-or-even_2604607.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/janet-bode-40076_children_children-under-the-age-of-16-17-or-even_2604607.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/087/janet-bode-40076_children_children-under-the-age-of-16-17-or-even_2604607.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Children under the age of 16, 17, or even 18 are generally not psychologically or emotionally mature enough…” — Janet Bode", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Janet Bode", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-bode/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Children under the age of 16,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/children-under-the-age-of-16-17-or-even-18-are-generally-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-bode/children-under-the-age-of-16-17-or-even-18-are-generally-not/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```