[dragonwriter]

IIRC, most child (under 18, at least; 18-21 is a problem with the trusted to drink standard) marriage laws in the US agree that the child can’t be trusted on this, so they trust the child’s parents.

(This is very much not an endorsement of those laws or that approach.)

[atmavatar]

It's just as gross and wrong that we allow parents to marry off their children to an adult as it is that we allow the marriage to take place at all. It's effectively the same as selling children into sexual slavery.