Children ought to have fundamentally lower status, not just because they're children per se, but because they're stupid and useless.

I am not a parent myself but I've been told a lot of times by my parents and others that they have learnt a great deal from children. Thus, calling them useless is not fair.

Also, even now children in rural India are treated as future bread-earners. Thus, taking care of them and helping them grow is seen as an advantage to the parents.

Stupid, yes they may be but then weren't we all?