WHO is a child? - Xtianty and Islam please

[pocaracas]

2) BODILY INTEGRITY - another favourite of mine, especially regarding Islam - this particular religion seems to be a bit disrespectful of the integrity of human body, both male and female. And once again, the surgery is done and decided without ever asking the PERSON who is later going to become and ADULT who will be INFLUENCED by this decision.

What if the surgery involves, say, cutting a hole into the child's throat to form an airway, and without this procedure the child will die?

What if a child suffers from something like gangrene, and refuses to have their leg amputated, endangering their life? As a parent, wouldn't I be obligated to intervene in my child's decision?

OH no.... no no no no no no.
You could be a 40 year old adult in full reason. If you leg is gangrening, any doctor will take it off to prevent it from spreading.
I certainly hope nothing of the sort ever happens to me or any of the people I know.... heck, I'd like that gangrene (or any disease) would never happen to anyone in the world. Doctors would be out of the job, then.... but the world would be a better place.

3) PERSONAL FREEDOM - for instance, such things like the time you go to bed, the food you eat - I am not talking about extremes like "kids" who want to stay up and play computer games all night or eat only chips. I am talking about respecting sound, reasonable choices like children who hate a particular kind of food and are still made to it eat even though not eating it would not have any dietary consequences.

Kids are always trying to push the envelope and test when the parental rules break. When they do, the kid is old enough to handle the new found freedom.
Parents know that kids need a full 10 hours daily sleep routine. Kids don't. They think 6 hours is enough. And when they only sleep those 6 hours, they spend their every waking moment just acting stupid, because they're really falling asleep, but refuse to acknowledge it.

Veggies are part of a full and diverse diet and should be part of what everyone eats. Some people like some veggies, but not others. Still, the child must be exposed to them all and, on occasion, must eat what s/he doesn't like because, when you grow up, you'll have to eat a lot of crap food and will not have the chance to complain. (hence the building character mentioned by Clive).
And kids say they don't like some foods, not because they don't like them, but because they just want to eat the goodies: fries and candy. Parents are obligated to understand this.... but fail to so many times... hence the fat generation that's sprouting.

Kids are not very knowledgeable, and lack the concept of long term consequence. It's the parents job to keep them in check until they do have this concept.

Of course, it's not force feeding them (unless they have been refusing to eat anything for the past 12 hours or so) and doing nasty things (unless they are stepping in front of a car and you can only pull them by one arm, potentially dislocating it).
In theory, parents just want the best for their kids.... but the truth of the matter is: not everyone is cut out to be a parent and, some of those that are, would benefit from a few years of learning about parenting prior to becoming parents.
And keep in mind that child psychology works well with some.... and not so well with others. They are still individuals with individual needs and individual crazynesses.