That's what I thought.

Children aren't allowed to work because they are underdeveloped in the areas of strength and coordination; they are physically less able than adults to perform the same tasks without injuring themselves. Children also have particular developmental needs which working even a part time job would interfere with (i.e. children need something like 3-4 hours more of sleep than adults).
School is enough of a "job" for young children and teenagers.

I will agree, going from my own experience, that public schools largely discourage independent thought and punish those who refuse to conform. I kid you not, I was once threatened with suspension because I was attacked by another student and had the gall to retaliate in order to defend myself (I was being punished for, and I quote, "being disruptive by allowing [myself] to be attacked"); when I asked why the student who attacked me was not being punished, not only was my question not answered but the prospective punishment was moved up from suspension to expulsion because I was "being argumentative."
Let me just sum that up: another student attacked me (not a little shove, mind you, they grabbed me without any provocation and repeatedly bashed my head against a stone wall to the point of giving me a minor concussion) and I was the one being punished for "letting it happen" and when I called them on their bullsh*t I was told my punishment would be worse if I didn't calmly agree that it was my fault.
So yes, public schools are, in my experience, by and large one of the worst things children can be subjected to and that should be changed.

On the subject of hitting kids, I must make the distinction between discipline and abuse. Discipline is two or three swats used to punctuate the severity of the situation and accentuate that "this is not a behavior that is conducive to your future survival." Abuse is being pissed off because the kid won't do what you say and just beating the crap out of them to vent your anger. The latter is, of course, not ok; the former could be used a bit more, in my opinion, because I see kids do stupid things all the time that I never would have gotten away with (i.e. running out into the street without looking, running up to an unfamiliar dog without asking the owner, walking off with strangers, etc.).
I didn't get spanked very often as a kid, when I did it was over something really serious like sneaking out of the house at 2am when I was six years old. If I was getting a spanking, it was because I had been doing something that was literally life threatening. Anything below the level of "things that could kill you" I got a time-out and a talking-to over. My mom would make me sit until I'd calmed down, explain to me why the behavior was a problem, and then make me write essays (or draw pictures) about why whatever I'd done wasn't ok to do. This was very effective for the vast majority of 'offenses' and has also led me to a habitual practice of introspection which affords me many benefits in my adult life.

On the topic of children's every desire not being met, the reason for this is very simple: children lack a coherent understanding of how the world works and they cannot be taught this by handing the world to them on a silver platter.
The most common phrase I hear from the mouths of small children is "I want that!" and they say this with the naive expectation that because they want something they will get it. This is not how the world works and children will not benefit from being raised as if it does only to suddenly be slapped in the face with "sorry you have to work for everything" once they reach adulthood. Children must be raised with consistent rules and reasonable expectations of reality, otherwise they will end up as completely useless adults who don't understand that they have to have a job in order to have a place to live and food to eat.
Being consulted for their preferences is more of a gray area, I suppose. Whether they should be consulted depends entirely on whether they have any measure of authority in the area under discussion. "Do you want vanilla or chocolate?" That is a child being consulted for preference in an area which they have authority (they know whether they like chocolate or vanilla more than their parents do). "Should I buy an economy car or an SUV?" this is not something a child should be consulted on because they lack the understanding of all the factors needed to make an informed decision. A child would decide on what car to buy based on which one "looks cooler" instead of which is most affordable and most efficient; they have no authority on the matter and therefore cannot weigh in on it.

They have human rights but not adult responsibility.

Get 'em down the mines, eh koolaid? Why you be learning when you can be mining!

Plus their little hands get the hard to reach ore/coal. And you can always just have more if they die!

-Rep to MythRat for resurrecting this POS thread. (not really but geez lol)

(September 16, 2013 at 1:55 pm)bennyboy Wrote: -Rep to MythRat for resurrecting this POS thread. (not really but geez lol)

Well, it may not make great difference to koolay, but its worth the effort. Perhaps someone else reading can get their 2 cents.

(September 16, 2013 at 1:55 pm)bennyboy Wrote: -Rep to MythRat for resurrecting this POS thread. (not really but geez lol)

Sorry, I'm kind of an ultra-noob still. Apologies. >.<

He's lightheartedly giving you a hard time - Kooley is known for making shitty threads, just a heads up for next time

(September 16, 2013 at 2:43 pm)Psykhronic Wrote: He's lightheartedly giving you a hard time - Kooley is known for making shitty threads, just a heads up for next time

Ah, noted. Thanks ^_^ I'll know that for next time.

(September 16, 2013 at 1:08 pm)Fidel_Castronaut Wrote: Get 'em down the mines, eh koolaid? Why you be learning when you can be mining!

Plus their little hands get the hard to reach ore/coal. And you can always just have more if they die!

Someone advocates for children not to be on the receiving end of violence, and you tar that person by calling him a child killer. Classy.