For law class debate about "should children be allowed to choose which parent to live with after divorce"?

[darth8hayabusa]

There are a lot of options as to why on both sides. On the negative side the biggest issue is that children are not full adults. We constantly recognize that they are not fully developed or capable of making rational decisions. In fact, both the law and scientific evidence continually shows how children are simply not able to function mentally the same was as an adult (or even older teenagers). The child's preference will not likely be based on a rational analysis of the critical factors to their future success. They are likely to be based on emotion and only encourage manipulation by the parents leading up to such a hearing. The preference of the children should be considered, but by an adult with full capabilities to use that preference as ONE factor in a complex test, considering especially what gives the child the most chance of future sucess.