I think to be more accurate, you mean to say that since children can't consent, who will consent on their behalf? A freely elected government generally does, si

I think to be more accurate, you mean to say that since children can't consent, who will consent on their behalf? A freely elected government generally does, since the state protects children in the same way it protects the mentally handicapped. States don't just define a minimum age of consent. They consent on behalf of children. In that sense, we can compel them to go to school "without their consent," so to speak, because the state is the only institution that can really legitimately claim to consent on their behalf. The state has stronger claims over children in some cases than their parents do.