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Parental influence on child behavior
Parental influence on child behavior
Parental influence on child behavior
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As a parent, I have spent a great deal of time observing the behavior, motivation, and thought processes of my children. As they mature these processes have changed, and it has been fascinating to watch. I have learned a great deal on the limits of self control in the adolescent mind during this time, and I believe that families should be held responsible for crimes committed by their teenagers.
I understand that there is a great deal of opposition to this position, and the opposing viewpoint makes some valid arguments. One concern is that society is coddling today’s youth, and that they are not learning to take responsibility for their own actions enough. (Bradley)
If parents are held accountable for the actions of their children does that send a message that the children themselves are blameless for their actions? My belief is that these two ideas are not mutually exclusive, and that children and parents can both be held liable. I see no reason why the children and the parents and the teens shouldn’t share in the responsibility for criminal behavior on the part of the child.
A child is born with a brain ready to learn. That brain will quickly learn to speak, read, write etc. The child will also learn morals and consequences for his actions, but that is a much slower process. A child doesn’t learn in a vacuum, however. He will learn his behavior from his environment, and his parents are the models he will acquire most of his information from. A parent can tell his child “do as I say, not as I do”, but that will be far less effective than consistently modeling behaviors they want instilled in their child. Certainly there have been children who were raised in homes with overwhelming dysfunction who have broken the mold and do n...
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...ies will work as a team to guide that decision making process.
Works Cited
Bradley, A. (2014, February 6). We Coddle Teens By Not Holding Them Accountable For Their Actions | Acton PowerBlog. Retrieved from http://blog.acton.org/archives/65498-coddle-teens-holding-accountable-actions.html
Loeber, R and Farrington, D (2000). Young children who commit crime: Epidemiology, developmental origins, risk factors, early interventions, and policy implications. Development and Psychopathology, , pp 737-762.
Diller, V. (2012, November 5). Teens Who Commit Crimes: What Can/Should Parents Do? | Vivian Diller, Ph.D. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vivian-diller-phd/teen-crime_b_2035255.html
Brooks, R. B., & Goldstein, S. (2007). Raising a self-disciplined child: Help your child become more responsible, confident, and resilient. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Jenson, Jeffrey and Howard, Matthew. "Youth Crime, Public Policy, and Practice in the Juvenile Justice System: Recent Trends and Needed Reforms." Social Work 43 (1998): 324-32
...ames society. Shifting the responsibility of our children's upbringing and their future for lack of parental accountability is inexcusable. We need to take responsibility for the decisions in our lives and the lives of our children. "To thine own self be true".
Yoshikawa, H. (2000). Long-Term Effects of Early Childhood Programs On Social Outcomes And Delinquency. In R. M. Mann (Ed.), Juvenile Crime And Delinquency (pp. 368-372). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Scholar's Press Inc. Retrieved November 6, 2013
It is expected that at a young age, children are taught the difference between what is right and what is wrong in all types of situations. The majority of Supreme Court Justices abolished mandatory life in prison for juveniles that commit heinous crimes, argued this with the consideration of age immaturity, impetuosity, and also negative family and home environments. These violent crimes can be defined as murder, rape, armed robbery, aggravated assault and the like depending on state law. With these monstrous acts in mind the supreme court justices argument could be proven otherwise through capability and accountability, the underdevelopment of the teenage brain and the severity of the crime. Juveniles commit heinous crimes just like adults
According to the article of “Should Juveniles Be Tried as Adults?” at Buzzle.com, “It is a proven fact that when a child is at the age around nine or ten that they do not have the mental accessibility to think as an adult” (Borkar). Citizens see this statistic as a reason as to why children should not be tried as adults. “Children are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted in adult prisons than in juvenile facilities” (Equal Justice Initiative). These juveniles are subject to much harsher punishments which includes life sentencing (Michon). These people do not feel that these children should be in a prison for the rest of their life for something they did when they were 13. Broken families can be a reason for a child to rebel and become trouble. “Psychology speaking, it is said that there are no ‘problem children’ but only ‘problem parents’” (Borkar). Parents roles are to guide their kids in the right way. Children will not know what is right or wrong if parents do n...
Although some would argue that juveniles undergo a series of brain development in which they lose brain cells that control their impulses, risk taking, and self-control (Thompson 46). However this lost during development does not excuse juvenile from their accountability, instead they should acquire special attention, proper nurturing and guidance during development in order to help them make better decisions. Thus teenagers accused of violent crimes should be tried and sentenced justly, regardless of age, to ensure the law's equality and educate juveniles regarding the potential severity of their actions' consequences. That is how we'll be able prevent future acts of violence and crimes from occurring in society.
Multiple surveys have proven that 65% of the most ridiculous mistakes made by an adult were made in their teenage years. Adolescents are known to make mistakes, but when punished correctly, instead of repeating, they learn. Most people believe the harsher the punishment the less likely a child will act out again, but through research and analysis of the brain this was proven to not be true. When a teenager goes as far as committing a crime, judgement should still be based on the fact that he or she is still a minor. As a juvenile, doing something wrong , no matter the severity, should be resulted in a punishment that requires them to learn from their mistakes. Charging them as an adult does not have the same effect as sending away an adult to do jail time.
Many people claim that the child did not know any better, or that he was brought up with the idea that this behavior is acceptable. Although there is some truth to these allegations, the reality of this social issue is far more complex. Therefore we ask the question, "Should childhood offenders of capital crimes be treated as adults?" To begin with, numerous reasons for why a child acts in the manner he exhibits and why he continues to exert such dangerous and even fatal schemes. Recent research shows that factors ranging from inherited personality traits to chemical imbalances and damages suffered in the womb can increase the odds that a child will become violent (Johnson 234).
As minors commit violent crimes without being held accountable, they can grow up to be real criminals and they can be very dangerous. Without a solid foundation of what is right and wrong, these minors will grow up believing that their actions are the norm. For this reason, minors need to be held accountable. They need to be taught that they cannot get away with their crimes. In 2007, courts with juvenile jurisdiction handled an estimated 1.7 million delinquency cases. Delinquency cases include vandalism, shoplifting, robbery, and murder. These are just some of the crimes minors can commit. This was up by forty-four percent from 1985. If a minor grows up believing that crime is acceptable, they will repeat the pattern. Without interrupting the pattern and making them accountable, these minors will always have a twisted sense of right and wrong. A sense of what is right and wrong is important and can be learned at any age. Minors learn very young, what...
The United States has been affected by a number of crimes committed by juveniles. The juvenile crime rate has been increasing in recent years. Everyday more juveniles commit crimes for various reasons. They act as adults when they are not officially adults. There is a discussion about how juveniles should be punished if they commit heinous crimes. While many argue that juveniles who commit serious crimes, such as murder, should be treated as adults, the fact is, juveniles under the age of eighteen, are not adults, and should not be treated as such.
Every year, millions of juveniles are involved in criminal activities. According to statistics, as of 1999, the arrest rate for juvenile crime has dropped from its peak in the mid-1990’s. Statistics about juvenile crime have shown a steady increase of juvenile arrests from 1987 to 1994. Although overall crime rates have decreased since 1994, they are still above what they were in 1980. The following paragraphs and charts show the crime rates of specific crimes committed by juveniles.
“We need to teach the next generation of children from day one that they are responsible for their lives. Mankind’s greatest gift, also its greatest curse, is that we have free choice. We can make our choices built from love or from fear.” -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Warr, Mark. "Parents, Peers, and Delinquency." Social Forces Vol. 72.No. 1 (Sep., 1993): 247-64. JSTOR. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.
supervision or no parental limits, our nation’s youth will be so caught up in the power of
There is no one certain theory, regarding juvenile delinquency, that can completely distinguish all the determining factors that makes youth turn to crime; although, the study of all these theories and ideas can bring criminologist one step closer to uncovering the truth about juvenile delinquency. Only the further understanding of juvenile delinquency can help the prevention of future juvenile offenders. This paper will focus on the individual factors of delinquency, as well as the social elements, and provide an explanation of how the combination of the two elements may cause children to engage in criminal activity.