Parenting teenagers
Rights and responsibilities
|
Legally speaking, being a parent means very little in terms of having rights over their children. Rather the right and obligations for adults to look after children comes from the legal status called guardianship. Under Alberta law, a guardian is an adult who looks after the overall care
of a child. All mothers are automatically guardians. Most, but not all, fathers
are automatically guardians. If a child does not have a guardian, or the natural
guardian needs help or needs to be replaced, the court may appoint a guardian(s).
Most parents are their children's guardians and these two words are often
used interchangeably. |
By Averie McNary
The teenage years are filled with questions and changes. Time and time again parents
and teens ask the same question: What are my legal rights and obligations?
The following six commonly asked questions are provided with answers based on the legal perspective in Alberta.
1. What age does a child no longer require a babysitter? What age does a child have to be before she/he can babysit?
There is no age established by law that answers either of these questions. Alberta law leaves it up to the parent to exercise reasonable discretion in determining if the child is mature enough in all foreseeable circumstances, including emergencies, to look after her/himself, or the child she/he would be caring for.
2. Can a teenager consent to her/his own medical treatment?
In Alberta, a teenager’s decision regarding medical treatment
may be recognized as legally binding and competent, independent of the parents.
For example, a doctor may accept the teenager’s consent if it is considered
that the teenager is mature enough to make an informed decision. The doctor is
expected to assess the teenager’s maturity level, the seriousness of the
decision, the long-term implications on the teenager’s life. If the doctor
is reasonably satisfied that the teenager is mature enough to consent, she/he
can proceed to treat with or without parental consent or knowledge. If the parent
and teenager disagree, or it is not clear that the teenager has the maturity to
consent, a judge can be asked to make a decision.
3. When can a teenager leave home? Can a teenager who leaves home be forced to come back?
In Alberta, parents cannot physically force or confine a teenager to return or stay at home. Alternately, parents cannot be forced to allow the teenager to stay at home.
The police also have no power to arrest a run away teenager unless a crime has been committed, or where a teenager is in danger as a result of a mental disorder, criminal act, or is engaging in prostitution. In these cases there are some means to briefly detain the teenager to assess or provide emergency treatment.
4. What if a teenager has a baby? Who is responsible for support?
In Alberta, the age of the parents does not make a difference in the obligations the parents have to their baby.
Regardless of whether a parent is the baby’s guardian or has access rights, both parents are financially responsible for their baby until 18 years of age (and in some cases longer).
5. When do I get to stop paying my child’s way?
Generally, parents are responsible for financial support until a child is 18. Legally, the obligation may never end, especially if the child is unable to withdraw from parental support due to illness or disability.
Where parents are separated or divorced, they may be required to pay until the child is finished post-secondary school. Recent case law suggests this may last well into the child’s 20s. In addition, many government financial support programs such as student loans, rely on parents’ moral obligation to contribute to tuition and other support for adult children.
6. What if children have money or property?
Generally, the legal rule is that any property given to the child belongs to the child.
Parents usually handle small amounts of money or child’s property such as allowance, informal trust funds or personal items, but if the child has, or is entitled to a substantial sum of money or property such as a lawsuit settlement or an inheritance, the Office of the Public Trustee will supervise the handling of the money. Subject to the rules imposed by a trust document, money can be released to the parent for the care and education of the child.
