In a country with a tradition of closely knit family units, reactions to the draft law appear to be mixed, with a poll on the Huffington Post website drawing almost equal votes - roughly 45 per cent each - in favour and against.
"I think it's a good idea for kids to be aware of their responsibilities as well as their rights, but this law maybe is a bit too heavy-handed in the opposite direction," Roberta Megias, a working mother with two young children, told The Independent.
"It's something that families should handle and children should know about without having to be told to do it."
Young people had something more concrete to worry about yesterday as the latest figures on youth unemployment showed a bad situation was getting worse. The rate has started to rise again, to just over 55 per cent.
The new laws insistence on youthful responsibilities also brings in sweeping improvements of the rights and protection of minors, so that they are now covered by the laws against domestic violence.
The law also ensures that all job applicants wanting to work with children have to provide a copy of their criminal record, and establishes a list of convicted paedophiles to ensure they are barred from working with children. Adopted minors will have a right to know the identities of their biological parents.
- The Independent