Should
Parents Have to Pay for Their Child's Mistakes?
Leslie
K. Penny
Module
8 Written Assignment 2
Chancellor
University
Abstract
The debate of parents
being held liable for their children's criminal behavior is one that has bested
many lawmakers and victims of juvenile crime for centuries over. People have tried just about every strategy
they can think of help alleviate this issue.
One being fining parents for their child's behavior. The following essay provides my opinion on
the subject of parents being fined as well as lists some alternative methods
that have worked in communities plagued by rebellious teens.
Should
Parents Have to Pay for Their Child's Mistakes?
It is a simple question with years of debate behind
it. Should parents be held liable for
their unruly children's actions and mistakes that, in some circumstances, are
completely out of their control? We can raise
our children to the best of our ability, with complete trust, never expecting
they will do some of the things they do, but it happens. With that being the case, should a completely
innocent adult have to pay a fine or be prosecuted because their kid made a
wrong choice? Is this a good or bad idea? What other alternative methods are there?
There are valid reasonable arguments for those
individuals that believe holding parents accountable for their children's
delinquent behavior is a good idea.
Mainly, the theory stands that holding parents responsible will
"reinforce appropriate behavior in the youth" (Strategy: Holding Parents Accountable for Their Children's Behavior,
2013). In regards to this ordnance, I personally,
would fall in the category of those that oppose this route.
There are several reasons why I believe it is an
unreasonable expectation, mainly because parents should not have to fear
persecution for the actions of their child.
Furthermore, I feel government is overstepping their bounds. I understand it is an issue but many parents
are crying for help when it comes to their children's behavior, they are not
sanctioning it. We have to consider
their economical status as well. How would
government enforce the fines if parents cannot pay?
In Silverton, OR, a city that does hold parents
accountable for their children's behavior, "parents can be fined up to
$1,000 if their child is found carrying a gun, smoking cigarettes, or using
illegal drugs" (Strategy: Holding Parents Accountable for Their Children's Behavior,
2013). That is a rather steep fine but if a parent
agrees to attend parenting classes then they are off the hook for the fine (Strategy: Holding Parents Accountable for Their
Children's Behavior, 2013). Similar to the safety driver course idea
which can shave some off your premiums. The
statistics from the Silverton, Oregon article only covers the first two months
where "seven parents were fined and many others registered for parenting
classes" (Strategy: Holding Parents
Accountable for Their Children's Behavior, 2013) which does not say a
lot. As a matter of fact, according to Steve Mays who writes for the Oregonian,
an Oregon News Paper, the above mentioned ordnance is a little-used statute (Mays, 2011).
Upon a survey conducted by Leslie Harris, a University of
Oregon Law professor, of police and prosecutors across Oregon in 2001, found
that the ordinance had little use and continues to be that way (Mays, 2011). One Police Chief, Wyn Lohner, said in the
article of the ordinance: "It's used in situations where we've run out of
options" (Mays, 2011). I am comforted to hear the ordnance is a last
ditch effort and used sparingly for those that are not getting the message that
they must control their child or they
will have to pay. The article goes on to
report that since January of 2008, Silverton Police issued 117 warnings to
parents compared to the mere 8 citations that were issued (Mays, 2011).
For those of that do not feel parents should be fined for
something they were their child was doing, what other alternatives can law
enforcement and government do to tackle the problem without putting a financial
burden on the parent? That is a very
hard question to answer and one can agree, every possible solution out there
has already been found and tried. Many
have tried enrolling kids in extracurricular activities which has been
successful in many cases. But not all
parents can afford those activities, can get off work to taxi their child back
and forth, or simply have too many other obligations. After school activities is just one small
step to keep kids from being delinquents but even that activity ends and
twiddling of the thumbs begins.
One alternative method I am in agreement with is an
initiative, with the support of parents and the community, that provides some
type of community service the delinquent has to do during a certain time of
each day until a designated fine is paid off.
The delinquent would have to, as an example, provide his services to
help beautify the town he/she violated when they committed the crime by picking
up garbage, cleaning graffiti off of surfaces, etc. for a couple hours each day
after school, more on the weekends, until the fine is paid up.
I was raised on a farm.
One thing I learned is hard labor goes a long way. I am not saying, put these kids to work like
slaves. But physical labor helps kids to
learn responsibility and some parents just do not have those skills in their
repertoire to ensure their kids learn responsibility and accountability. However, I would wager that those parents who
cannot hold their children accountable will be more than happy to turn them
over to a community service based program for a few hours each day. Better yet, have the parent be involved
somehow so that the adolescent can see that their actions and behavior not only
effects those they have wronged, but their parents are now involved in the
process. Learning respect is such a
vital characteristic for adolescents.
Speaking of respect, it is important that school systems,
who play such a vital role in our children's growing up process, be as involved
in a child's life as possible. I realize
that is a hard seat to fill as there are so many children, such little pay to
this overwhelming job, and not much respect from parents, but if we all start
from their very first years, we can save many from going down the path to
crime. Certain key components can
include: improving the school climate through after-school activities; conflict
mediation; recognizing the impact of social influences such as poverty and
racism on student behavior; promoting empathy among students for the concerns
of others; helping students control impulses to react violently when
challenged; teaching students problem-solving skills; communicating with
parents to get them to reinforce lessons from the classroom; building
self-esteem in students through praise and recognition; and using and teaching
students to use resources in the community to address their needs (Strategy: Training School Personnel in Crime
Prevention, 2013). These strategies are great for any type of
situation and should be taught in the home as well as early as possible.
The community is a great resource for crime
prevention. Such efforts have been made
to implement initiatives that provide multipronged prevention that "build
on the strength's and interest of youth rather than focusing only on youth's
problems and deficits:
Through its "Success through Academic and Recreational
Support" (STARS) program for high risk youth ages 11-14, Fort Myers,
Florida, reduced its juvenile crime rates by almost one-third. Among 11 and 12-year-old offenders city-wide,
the rate of repeat criminal behavior dropped 64.3 percent
Crime went down 60
percent in two troubled Lansing, Michigan, neighborhoods after police, local
schools, and a social service agency opened a neighborhood network center and
launched an extensive youth development program.
Norfolk, Virginia,
forged a partnership between police, human service agencies, and local citizens
to combat crime in ten high crime neighborhoods. The initiative which included new youth
athletic leagues and a Youth Forum for teens to speak on community problems as
well as other prevention measures-led to a 29 percent drop in crime in the
targeted neighborhoods' and a city-wide reduction in violent crime" (Mendel, 2000).
Those are only a few
examples of how community-wide prevention initiatives and programs have been a
positive feature in communities. Those
are impressive statistics that prove the route they are going is working for
their adolescents and for their communities.
To conclude, we have seen the programs that do not work
such as boot camps for troubled teens and shock treatment. These programs are ineffective and do not
lead to a reduction in adolescent criminal activity (Mendel, 2000).
What does work is the aggressive implementation of prevention programs
that are backed by members of the community to assist parents who need help
with their troubled youths. Fining
parents may show a slight decrease in adolescent crime but I do not think it is
a practical solution to the problem.
However, a practical solution, one involving good parental child
rearing, respect taught at an early age, and children being held accountable by
their parents, is merely a pipe dream in some families. Not every family works that way.
Works Cited
Mays, S. (2011, 12 03). In Oregon, parental
responsibility rarely requires compensating victims of their children's
crimes. Retrieved 06 28, 2013, from The Oregonian:
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/12/in_oregon_parental_responsibil.html
Mendel, R. A. (2000,
05). Whats works in the prevention of youth crime? Retrieved 06 28,
2013, from Eye-online: http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0500-mendler.html
Strategy: Holding
Parents Accountable for Their Children's Behavior. (2013). Retrieved 06 27, 2013, from National Crime
Prevention Council:
http://www.ncpc.org/topics/bullying/strategies/strategy-holding-parents-accountable-for-their-children-s-behavior
Strategy: Training
School Personnel in Crime Prevention.
(2013). Retrieved 06 28, 2013, from National Crime Prevention Council:
http://www.ncpc.org/topics/bullying/strategies/strategy-training-school-personnel-in-crime-prevention
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