How Children’s Bad Behavior is Affecting Parents

Have you ever gotten in trouble for something that you have not done? Well, today I am going to be discussing about if parents should be punished for their child’s crimes and what they should do. I am arguing that parents should not be punished because their parents have nothing to do with their child’s crime unless they have encouraged them to commit it. It doesn’t matter how much the parent can check up on their kids because they may never know what their child could be doing outside of the house, online or anywhere. I am here to talk about this issue because parents are often the ones to be blamed when their child has committed a crime and got caught. Two students from Florida were charged with tormenting 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick so brutally on social media and in person that she jumped to her death from a tower in 2013.

Officials soon announced to hold the two students parents criminally liable for their kids’ cyber bullying. This is a controversial topic since many people, including me, truly believe that parents should not be punished for their child’s crimes, and here’s why…My first main reason is that the parent or parents were not apart of the crime and had nothing to do with it. When a child who has been taught appropriate behavior chooses to commit a crime, he or she should be held responsible. The only exceptions are when a parent has been aware of the situation that could be preventable, but failed to try and stop it, or when a parent was apart of or contributed in the crime.

Another main reason is that other kids are constantly being influenced by the people around them at school. Their peers at school have a big impact on them especially because they are at school from 6 to 8 hours a day. Nice and caring friends will improve the overall behavior of the kids, though bad company can ruin them. They can get addicted to drugs, alcohol, and even get involved in crimes. This proves that no matter how well parents raise their children, they can be surrounded many bad influences at school or online. Studies show that peer pressure also takes a toll on children. It is so common that 55% of teens tried drugs for the first time because their friends pressured them to.

As you’ve heard before, children and teen brains are still being developed. From the article, “Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem Solving, and Decision Making”, the author says that during the stage of their brain development, adolescents are more likely to act on impulse, get into accidents, and engage in risky behavior. Although this is in fact true, children still have a brain and a mind of their own. They know and have learned what is right from wrong. I believe that everyone can agree that children and teens are capable of knowing what is bad and good for them, and it’s not like they didn’t know that the crime they committed was unacceptable. In conclusion, if parents were not punished for their child’s crimes, then they wouldn’t have to sacrifice and suffer the consequences and even possible jail time. Today, I would like to continue spreading the message to not break the law and cause trouble. Especially when most minors are too young to face severe consequences, so their parents are put on the spot. If their parents are punished, then the child may not learn their lesson completely.