Parents Should not be Punished for Their Childrens Crimes - Essay Example

Parents Should not be punished for their Children’s Crimes Parents act as sources for their children, that is to say, children learn a lot of things from their parents. Much of the behavior that children have is derived from the way their parents or guardians act and treat them. Parents always strive to provide the best guidance to their children and punish them when they go wrong. This is done to ensure that children are in a position to judge between what is good or bad, hence decide on the right path to follow.

Therefore, parents should not be punished for crimes committed by their children who are between the ages of 8 and 12 years. Certainly, people who are against punishing parents for their children’s crimes have a point. They believe that the behavior that children have comes from many sources such as school, friends, media and neighborhood (Rude 1). These groups of people argue that parents are not to blame, children learn from each other and they tend to have more influence on each other compared to the influence that parents may have on them (Rude 2).

For instance, my 8 year old nephew had a problem in school. He broke a glass in the school’s restroom and when his dad asked him ‘why did you do that?’ he said, ‘my friend told me to do that!’ Therefore, he acted according to what his friend told him and not what his parents might have taught him. This is an indication that children may not always follow what their parents teach them, they have a lot of influence from other sources (Rude 2). Although Children do not have sufficient knowledge on what is good or harmful for them, it is the responsibility of the parents to adequately guide them.

For example, most of the time, children will say what they hear, regardless of whether it is good or bad. However, older people know what is good or bad and should offer guidance. If a child knows that they are likely to be punished for saying or doing certain things, they will not do them. Although it may be hard for them to know the difference between right and wrong, parents are old enough to evaluate everything and they should guide them. Thus, parents should not be totally blamed for their children’s mistakes, even though they remain the most influential people in a child’s life (Rude 1).

People who are against punishing parents for their childrens crimes believe that for some reasons and mostly in cases of negligence, parents ought to be punished for their children’s crimes. For instance, a child says "dad, buy me a new PlayStation or I will smash the shop’s window and steal it like I saw on TV!” His dad buys him a PlayStation. After that the child will believe that if he does not get anything he wants he will steal it. In this case, the parents are to blame for letting the child watch television programs that affect them negatively.

It is also not proper for children to ask for what they want using threats. Parents should guide children on proper ways of requesting for things through proper family relations (Rude 2). In the conclusion, childrens crimes happen because of what they learn from their friends, school and neighborhood. Therefore, parents should not be penalized for that. However, there are people who think that children become irresponsible when parents do not teach them how to behave properly. As a rule, I believe that parents should not be penalized for their childrens crimes; children may be having other issues in life that affect their behavior.

Works CitedRude, Stacey. Building Strong Families: The Influence of Parent on Children’s Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviors. Minnesota: Search Institute Minneapolis. (November 20, 2002).