Should Parents Be Held Responsible For The Crimes Of Their Children?

Dipsy Trejo
Dr. Yvette de la Vega
Florida National University
Should Parents be Held Responsible for the Crimes of Their Children?
A crime is an act committed that goes against all laws and policies. A person who commits a crime is subject to legal punishment. This is a fact that is known globally by all individuals; both children and adults and yet the percentage of crimes committed per year continue to rise. When it comes to children specifically, the number of crimes committed annually is exceedingly high. Richard Edwards, a crime correspondent reports in ‘The Telegraph’ that more than 150 children are declared guilty of committing crimes every day (Edwards). Thus raising the question, ‘Should parents be held responsible for the crimes of
In this case, the parent should still not be held responsible for the crime when it is committed. This parent may have been informed by another parent or the child’s friend about the child’s planned activities. The parent then takes the initiative to act on the information and deal with their child by either advising them, grounding them, pulling them away from the situation or any other reasonable discipline they see fit for the child. Humans will always be humans. If the child wants to, he or she will ignore the parent and find a way to do what he or she wants regardless of the consequences. In such a case, is it really lawful to still blame the parent for what the child does
The article talks about how a parent is liable for their child’s action because they are responsible for raising them (England). I strongly disagree with this line of thought. If we say that parents should be held responsible for the crimes of their children because they are the ones responsible for good nurturing, personal growth and instilling the right morals and discipline in their children, then teachers should also be completely blamed. This is because, in a child’s life, half of their time is spent at school with teachers. In a week, children spend most of the hours in school with teachers all around. All these responsibilities of a parent lawfully fall on the teachers. Children go to school so as to learn how to become a better person. They are taught good morals and behavior, and the whole purpose of education is to ensure that they better themselves and become more morally upright and aware. Thus, if children commit crimes whether at home or in school, and the blame is not put on them but on parents, why should the teachers be left out? In ‘Should Teachers be Held Responsible for Children’s Behaviour?’ Arpita Ghosh writes, “A child is clay dough that can be shaped as desired with love and care, so it is the moral responsibility and duty of the teacher to take an extra step to mould