Should children only be seen and not heard?

No. I'm one of those children who grew up as seen and not heard. I had a lot to say and didn't even learn how to say it until I was an adult.

However, children should be courteous and respectful. They should listen as much as they speak. It seems like sometimes we have over-corrected and allow them to be short of rude - cutting in on others, not listening to what someone else has to say, disrespectful.......

Like most things - just requires some moderation.

I think children should be heard but they shouldn't dictate their parents decisions or how their family unit works. You can only teach courtesy and respect by showing it and that includes respecting and being courteous to children.

In an ideal world.

Children of our time need to be heard much more than ever before. Because they are facing with many confusing problems that we did not have. Moreover, they will become rulers of the world, so they should be provided with the most advanced educational system.

no kids should be loved & adored.

No way. Kids should be out exploring and asking questions as much as they want. By pounding them into the "seen and not heard" mold, they come to resent adults anyway. What good would that do?

Once my kids acquire a certain skill set, I even let them teach class sometimes. They LOVE it and they learn more that way.

To a cdertain extent yes....when I was growing up there were times when I would be sent to my room or other parts of the house so the adults could have "grown up time" now you don't see that anymore, the kids are always there interrupting and playing around the adults, it's annoying!!

Only if they're mannequins, I loved and still love to hear the laughter and sounds of my children, they are getting older and the sounds not as frequent around home. But maybe, those won't miss what they put a lid to?

Most are anyway, so what's the point of "should"? This is an "adult" problem, not a kid problem, because society treats people of all ages this way. They just act slightly more polite when ignoring other adults. I've told kids that it really doesn't matter if anyone listens to them or not, that most adults have diseases that make them "brain deaf". They hear, they nod their heads and it's really no different from talking to your dog. If an adult tells them to be quiet, it really means that they're in a bad mood and can't hear too well, so try to amplify your voice while smiling a little more.

So the equation is: it really doesn't matter what other people think about children being seen/heard, as long as a kid doesn't feel that anything is wrong with expressing themselves to the fullest.

I agree with GwennaJane, children should be taught to be courteous and respectful.

But seen and not heard - NO! What that teaches is that what you have to say is not important. Is that the message you want to send your kid?

lol, no, that is for old farts, lol.