Curfew – Does it Produce More Harm Than Good?

As children mature into teens and evolve into adults, they gain more responsibility, a few rights, and even their own court, but some still have curfew. Looking for freedom is human nature, such as the American Revolution. This revolution began as America became wanting independence from Great Britain, its mother. The same goes for teens, they usually want to stay out late with friends, but some parents protect their ‘child’ with a curfew. If a teen were to break curfew it would result into other consequences that lead to three points. These three points are maturity, understanding, and trust. Teens who are matured enough should not have a curfew because it can help them by associating things that they learn to later experiences. Can a curfew produce more harm than help?

In a family, the trust is the oil that keeps the gears from rusting, and without that trust, a family can grow stuck trying to make sure the other is not doing something harmful. Ever hear the words, “You just don’t care!” or “You don’t want me to have fun!” or even “If so and so gets to why can’t I?”. These phrases can be common if teens want to do things, like go to Six Flags or go to a party past curfew with friends. Then the parental instincts kick in, not letting the parent remember when they as a teen wanted freedom. This brings the feeling of what choice to make - to trust them or not; what the parent will do if they break the curfew. Though a curfew may seem to be a worthy idea at the time, what happens when the teen is already 17 or even 18? If they are not trusted now when will they be? Surely there is a huge difference between a 5 year old and a 16 year old, but some teens are still treated as 5 year olds.

Teens who have a curfew still tend to break ...

... middle of paper ...

... only if it is for the right reasons.

A curfew not only limits a teen’s ability to gain real-world experience, but also erodes a family relationship. Obviously enough a curfew directed towards many teens in one state seems too broad and the state needs to rethink their choice. These laws are just like saying the state government has complete authority to control the teens living in that state. Another fact is that a curfew only solves the problem to a certain extent - it will fail eventually. The crimes and bad actions that happen at night will decrease, but they will increase in the day. Granted that a curfew can protect teens at night who is to say it will in the day? Understanding how teens operate is one way of understanding how to better keep them from getting in trouble. Rather than just putting the tape on the cracks, put cement and see how long it will last.