Juvenile court was built on a promise that turned out to be half kept. This article explains what the promise was, what the Supreme Court did about it starting in 1967, and what a family actually encounters today when a child is charged or referred for discipline. It covers the vocabulary that hides how much is at stake, the transfer decision that is the single most consequential ruling in juvenile practice, and the record that is supposed to disappear but often does not. It follows two fictional fourteen-year-olds through parallel systems — one criminal, one educational — that use similar words to mean different things. The practical thesis is that the informality families find reassuring is the thing they should worry about most.