Your Rights with Your Parents or Guardians

In Minnesota, parents and guardians must care for their children until age 18. Parents can also make and enforce reasonable rules. You have to follow the rules your parents set. You have the right to expect your parents to keep you safe and take care of you. 

Your parents can set rules like:

• When you have to be home
• Where you can go
• Who you can spend time with
• What chores you do at home
• If you can have a job
• If you can go to after-school programs like sports or clubs
• When you get to use social media or television
• If you can have a cell phone and how often you can be on it

Parents can use reasonable force to restrain or correct their child. If your parents use force that is not reasonable, see the section on How to Get Help.

 It is illegal for parents to:

• Use or threaten unreasonable force or cruel discipline
   
• Not give a child needed food, clothes, shelter, health care, or supervision proper to the child’s age
   
• Knowingly let someone physically or sexually abuse a child
   
• Let a child be in a harmful situation on purpose
   
• Knowingly let their child be where anyone sells or has illegal drugs
   
• Let their child live in a harmful or dangerous place
   
• Abandon their child

Usually, you can’t move away from home unless:

• Your parents agree to it
   
• You turn 18
   
• You join the military, or
   
• A court allows you to

If your parents abuse or neglect you, call for help!

Does your parent or guardian neglect you or abuse you physically, emotionally, or sexually? Do they let others abuse you? If so, you can get help from the court, the county child protection office, the police or your legal aid office. 2-1-1 is a statewide agency that will give you information and phone numbers to get help.

Call them at: 2-1-1 (statewide)
Or chat online at: 211unitedway.org
You can also text your zip code to them for help at: 898-211

Note: sometimes, when an adult finds out about a minor being abused, they may have to tell Child Protection Services (CPS). This is called “Mandated reporting.” Lawyers are not mandated reporters. If you need to talk about something going on at home but don’t want a CPS report made, contact the Youth Law Project at youthlawproject@mylegalaid.org. 

If you are hurt or in immediate danger, call 911! 

For non-emergencies, or if you have questions, or if you have not been able to get the help you need, call the Youth Law Project at the MMLA intake line at (877) 696-6529. Or email us at youthlawproject@mylegalaid.org.