If Juveniles Are Being Treated As Adults in the Courtroom, Shouldn't They Be Treated As Such Outside of It?

In "Kids Are Kids-Until They Commit Crimes",  Marjie Lundstrom criticizes the public belief that children are just children until they commit a crime and, in which case, the perspective changes and they are immediately viewed as adults. It's crazy to think that in society, anybody under eighteen years of age lives under very strict rules. They are not able to "drink, smoke, or go to R movies". They can't even vote, largely because the country questions their judgment. Yet in the courtroom, the expansively heeded belief collapses. It makes one wonder: should children and adolescents be treated as adults outside the courtroom as well, or should they be prosecuted with consideration to their age?

Paul Thompson, an assistant professor of neurology at UCLA, believes that "the legal system should not treat them as [adults]." He and his research group have done a study regarding the growth and development of the brain. They found that a "massive loss of tissue...occurs in the teenage years."

What's even more startling is that the loss is exclusive to the frontal lobe, the region of the brain "which inhibits our violent passions, rash actions and regulates our emotions." Not only does this suggest a highly probable explanation for juvenile crimes considering the research was done at UCLA, a highly regarded university, it also establishes just how far from being a fully developed and completely mature adult a teenager is.

If society chooses to treat adolescents as adults outside of the court, kids the age of thirteen should be able to vote. They should also be able to smoke and expose themselves to whatever else the world has to offer. Taking into account the findings made by Thompson and his colleagues, this will result in catastrophe. But if instead, we offer to help and lead them to the right path as their brain develops, then maybe they'll become law-abiding citizens. What do you think? Should children be treated as adults outside of the courtroom? If so, why?