title: Children's competence to consent to medical treatment.
abstract: As a study involving diabetes care demonstrates, children sometimes have a much more sophisticated capacity for taking charge of their own health care decisions than is usually recognized in bioethics. Protecting these children from their disease means involving them in their treatment as much as possible, helping them to understand it and take responsibility for it so that they can navigate the multitude of daily decisions that become part of the diabetes medical regimen.
authors.affiliation: Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London.
authors.forename: Priscilla
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alderson
authors.forename: Katy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sutcliffe
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Curtis
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002755:Choice Behavior; D002908:Chronic Disease; D032882:Comprehension; D003657:Decision Making; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016743:Mental Competency; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D033282:Parental Consent / Q000941:ethics; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000523:psychology; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D012649:Self Concept; D020377:Self Efficacy; D035502:Trust