Parents should be held accountable if their children misbehave, commit crimes, or become “bad seeds”, as the law requires. The greatest gift a parent can give to their children is teaching them how to be responsible and independent citizens.
Below are 3 separate discussion post responses to “Should parents be held accountable if their children misbehave, commit crimes, or generally turn out to be a “bad seed”? (Google parental liability laws.) Conversely, should parents receive awards or recognition if their children are successful?
Your job is to reply to each writer (separate), add substance to their post please cite directly from the text.. TEXT can be found online: Exploring Marriages & Families. Karen Seccombe. pearson 3rd edition (chap 9&10) christina wrote:Parents should be held accountable if their children misbehave, commit crimes, or become “bad seeds”, as the law requires. The greatest gift a parent can give to their children is teaching them how to be responsible and independent citizens. The law argues that whoever by act or exclusion causes harm to another, there being blame or carelessness, is obliged to pay for the damage done. This law also considers the concept of vicarious risk. The rules require the one responsible for the person involved in breaking the law to pay (The Daily Tribune, 2021). This parental liability can be effortlessly caught on as the characteristic or consistent result of the obligations and duties of guardians, which incorporates the direction, controlling, and restraining of the child. In this sense, parental risk can be seen as a sub-classification of vicarious risk subject to the law. When a child is adopted, the biological parent is responsible for the child’s behavior until the adoption decree is passed to the adopting parents. Parental liability is tied down upon parental specialists coupled with assumed parental abandonment within the release of the obligations with such authority(The Daily Tribune, 2021). Therefore, guardians are responsible for their children’s behaviors. kimberly wrote:We know what parents are supposed to do: care for, nurture and socialize their children, right? Yes, but it’s not that simple. These interactions between parents and children also occur within a broader social and cultural environment. Economic conditions, region of the country (whether it’s urban or rural), cultural and religious traditions, gendered norms, job opportunities and level of technology are just a few of the macro-level factors that set the stage for micro-level family interactions (pg 242).” To truly understand families I believe they must first be seen individually, as each one is entirely different. For example, it’s imperative to both my husband and I to teach our children the importance of their actions, that there are consequences (both positive and negative) to each and every choice we make. One of the ways in which we accomplish this is through books. One of our favorite books to read to my children is called The Bad Seed by Jory John. Throughout the story you follow a sunflower seed who believes he’s bad but eventually learns that it’s never too late to change – to become more positive. From my parental perspective, I can see it illustrating that our past actions/choices don’t determine who we are nor who we could be. There is always potential for positive change. This is something I firmly believe. Our children are our responsibility. This is something else I firmly believe. While our children are under our care, their actions should be our responsibility. I understand that there can be circumstances in which outside help is necessary, especially in my serve situations, it is our obligation to seek that assistance. In fact, one source states that “under parental liability statutes, parents may be held liable for personal injury, property damage, vandalism, shoplifting, firearm possession, bias, false reporting, and curfew violation offenses their minor children commit. Generally, these laws limit the dollar amount of a parent’s liability (Brady, n.d).” Should parents also get praise for their child (or children’s) accomplishments? I personally love to hear how well my children are doing but I also believe that there are traits within our children that are innate, not genetic or taught, but rather gifts already within them. I think these things are to be harnessed and nurtured. How exactly would we do this? Viewing each child as an individual, just as we’d view families individually. What would this look like for your child (or children)? If you’re not a parent, what would this have looked like for you as a child? Victoria wrote:I think that parents should be liable and responsible for their children’s actions to an extent, more specifically when their child(ren) are below a certain age limit. I know there may not be a magical number, but at fifteen or sixteen children should no the difference between right and wrong. Granted we all have made stupid mistakes in our lifetimes, whether we were caught or not, but theoretically if we were caught, I would expect to be held responsible for MY actions, not my parents being liable. According to Matthiesen et al., parental liability laws exist virtually in every state in the United States and differ in terms of monetary fines, age and levels of consequences for specific behaviors (2018). These types of laws are in place to deter malicious truancy; however, they can be hard to prove whether the child’s intent is malicious or willful. The difficulty of the parental responsibility falls under should parents be fined/charged for their child’s actions? I believe that teenagers at sixteen are starting to exercise adult-control over their lives; therefore, they should be treated as such. When an adult commits a crime or does not follow social rules, they are 100% at fault and held accountable for their poor actions. Similarly, a teenager at sixteen+ should be held to the same standard as any other adult, that way they may learn from their past mistakes and build upon their present knowledge. As a parent of an eight-year-old, I do not feel it is necessary to receive an award for teaching my child proper behaviors and manners of society and our personal beliefs. I have to acknowledge that it does feel good to be told by others outside immediate family how well-behaved and generous my son is, but I do not feel as if I need those types of recognitions on a regular basis. It almost feels as if I was seeking positive attention to boast or brag about my son and that is just not me. Other parents how do you feel about this? Reference Matthiesen, Wickert, & Lehrer. (2018, November 8). Parental responsibility laws in all 50 states . Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer S.C. Retrieved April 18, 2022, from https://www.mwl-law.com/subrogation-laws-in-all-50-states/