&gt;No, a child does not understand that owing a billion dollars means several lifetimes of debt that they will never pay.<p>They do.  They only agree because they realize it would never be enforced.  Maybe a really young child wouldn&#x27;t, but a preteen would know similar amounts as an 18 year old.  That said, most 18 year olds don&#x27;t really comprehend how much it will take to pay back their college loans and many, once they figure it out, say they wouldn&#x27;t have agreed.  There are also many who take out pay day loans not realizing how bad a deal it would be who would not have taken them had they understood the true costs.<p>&gt;Because this can pretty much be generalized to all minors<p>There is nothing you can generalize between a 2 year old and a 16 year old that couldn&#x27;t also be generalized to someone 18+.