This chapter discusses various forms of age discrimination against children as children in Western democracies and fallacies regarding the so-called legally emancipated child in those contexts. Also addressed are two types of child vulnerability namely (i) that related to personal characteristics of the individual child or child collective (i.e. young age and correlated presumed developmental immaturity etc.) and (ii) that associated with the power imbalance in certain adult -child relationships that is leveraged by the more powerful party to oppress the child. A recommendation is made setting out the value of expanding State and court parens patriae jurisdiction to include the protection of the child’s personal autonomy. The latter, it is argued, would advance elevating the status of children in society from their current position as, in effect, second class citizens and foster respect for children’s constitutional claim to their independent fundamental rights and freedoms.