Informed, yes. Allowed to make critical choices as children? No. I'm with you, people act like children don't exist when they're talking about serious matters.

Informed, yes. Allowed to make critical choices as children? No. I'm with you, people act like children don't exist when they're talking about serious matters. But you do have to remember that they lack critical reasoning (partly) and make bad choices based on hormones. Walking the line between autonomy and protection is very very very difficult as a parent. Most people struggle or fail at this, I believe.