NationStates Jolt Archive

Instances of parental neglect from both mothers and fathers have skyrocketed in the past four years. Chidren's advocates have gathered on the capital lawn with potentially radical solutions.

The Debate

[option]"Parenting is a privilege, not a right!" clamor protestors led by @@RANDOMNAME@@. "We make people get licenses to drive cars, go fishing, and even get married; parenting licenses should be no different! Licenses should work the same way as driver's licenses - you get one when you prove you can be a parent, you renew it every few years, and you lose it if you deserve it. Kids born to unlicensed parents would be taken away to foster homes."
[effect]parents have to have licenses to raise their children
[stats]civil rights decrease, government size increases, safety increases, intelligence increases

[option]"Parental licenses? Have you ever heard anything so absurd?" chimes in family activist @@RANDOMNAME@@. "The reason kids are neglected is because people have this idea that they can raise children all by themselves. Children need a mother and a father; anyone who says different doesn't know how to parent. Children with one parent must be taken out of their homes, case closed. Sure, if one parent dies or walks out, give the other parent time to get remarried, but other than that, the two-parent household must be the only household in @@NAME@@."
[effect]singles and same-sex couples have been judged to be unfit to raise children
[stats]devoutness increases, civil rights decrease, happiness decreases, safety increases

[option]"You keep your hands off my kids!" demands @@RANDOMNAME@@, a single parent os 12 children. "My kids get plenty of time with me, and they're all turning out just fine! Why, just the other day, two of my kids just brought in five hundred @@CURRENCY@@s for the family doing...I don't remember what they did to get the money, but the family ate well that night! People who want to be parents should be, without restriction."
[effect]millions of kids are raised by siblings or the state because they hardly know their parents
[stats]civil rights increase, safety decreases, health decreases, taxes decrease

Valid for all nations.

Sounds good, but could you specify exactly how much the aforementioned stats are raised/lowered?

Great idea, good luck getting it implemented.

[option]"We make people get licenses to drive cars, go fishing, and even get married; parenting licenses should be no different! Licenses should work the same way as driver's licenses
Perhaps that should be "... different! Parenting Licenses should ..."? =)

Children need a mother and a father; anyone who says different doesn't know how to parent. Children with one parent must be taken out of their homes, case closed.
Since in the effects it says same-sex marriages are also deemed unworthy of children, shouldn't it mention same-sex marriages in that part?

Sounds good, but could you specify exactly how much the aforementioned stats are raised/lowered?

Yeah, I can't exactly tell where you want this issue to go based on its current write up because of the absence of the stats.

I listed the stats...I don't know if there's a standard for deciding how much a statistic rises or falls.

Heh, at times I think such an idea should be implimented in real life.