Should Parents Be Held Accountable When Their Children Violate The Law

Running head: PARENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THEIR CHILDREN’S CRIMES 1

Should Parents be Held Accountable when their Children Violate the Law?

Name

Institutional Affiliation

PARENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THEIR CHILDREN’S CRIMES 2

Should Parents be Held Accountable when their Children Violate the Law?

There are many cases of children violating the law today. For instance, some minors

carry their parent’s or illegal guns or knives to school, some bully their peers, others shoplift or

break into homes and in many instances, some get into fights. Given this stalemate, the

fundamental question is: who should be held accountable when a child breaks the law - the child

or the parent? This essay suggests that the decision to hold parents accountable for their

children’s crimes should depend on a number of factors.

First, it ought to depend on whether the minor is facing a criminal or civil case. If it is a

criminal offense, the child should be held accountable because most criminal offenses harbor an

element of intent (Baker, Sigmon & Nugent, 2001; Willard, 2006). Given that the parents do not

play an active role in the criminal activity and, therefore, harbored no intent for the offense to

happen, the parent should not be held liable for the crime (Graham, 1999). However, the parent

should be accountable if it is a civil case. Consider a situation where a 10-year-old causes

physical injuries to a peer in the school yard and issued for the harm. In this case, the young

bully’s parents should be held accountable and pay for the physical harm because the 10-year-old

bully might have no reasonable source of income to enable him or her to pay the damages

resulting from the crime. Since the objective of civil liability is to try to restore the victim to their

previous states, it would make little or no sense at all to limit the scope of liability to a minor

who is not in a position to make restitution (Greenwood, 1997).

Moreover, the children’s age is another factor to consider in holding parents accountable

for their crimes. In some circumstances, children should not be held responsible at all if they are

so young. Such an incident might be perceived to be a clear mistake (Baker, Sigmon & Nugent,

2001). For example, a child who gets a parent’s gun and shoots someone. However, if the child

PARENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THEIR CHILDREN’S CRIMES 3

is old enough to differentiate between right and wrong, he or she should be accountable and face

juvenile prosecution (Willard, 2006). Nonetheless, if the child demonstrates a clear

understanding of his wrong doing, especially in gross crimes like murder, the parent should be

held accountable. In fact, the child should be tried and sentenced as an adult.

Furthermore, parents should be held accountable if they failed to exercise reasonable

care, supervision, protection, and control of their children (Graham, 1999). This argument is not

only sound but also has validity established through legal precedents (Greenwood, 1997). Parents

have a fundamental responsibility to instill moral values and ensure their children conform to

moral and legal norms (Willard, 2006). For example, when parents notice their children behaving

erratically, then they are obligated to seek professional help for the minor. By instructing lessons

about right and wrong, the parents prepare their young ones to embody normative behavior in

society. Parental laws assume that the children breached the law because their parents failed to

exercise proper control and oversight (Graham, 1999). Therefore, holding parents accountable

might inspire or influence parents to exert necessary control over their children. Therefore, when

children who have been taught to behave responsibly choose to break the law, then they should

be held accountable.

In conclusion, it is imperative to note that deciding whether a parent should be held

responsible for the crime their child commits is not easy. As depicted in this discussion, the

decision should be influenced by several factors, including whether the case is criminal or civil,

the age of the child, and whether the parent failed to exercise reasonable care, supervision,

protection, and control of their children.

PARENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THEIR CHILDREN’S CRIMES 4

References

Baker, M. L., Sigmon, J. N., & Nugent, M. E. (2001). Truancy Reduction: Keeping Students in

School. Juvenile Justice Bulletin.

Graham, P. K. (1999). Parental responsibility laws: Let the punishment fit the crime. Loy. LAL

Rev., 33, 1719.

Greenwood, C. T. (1997). Holding Parents Criminally Responsible for the Delinquent Acts of

Their Children: Reasoned Response or Knee-Jerk Reaction. J. Contemp. L., 23, 401.

Willard, N. (2006). Cyberbullying and cyber threats. Eugene, OR: Center for Safe and

Responsible Internet Use.

Place new order. It's free, fast and safe

Paper type

Deadline

Page count

550 words

Total price: $ 15.00

Our customers say

Jeff Curtis

USA, Student

"I'm fully satisfied with the essay I've just received. When I read it, I felt like it was exactly what I wanted to say, but couldn’t find the necessary words. Thank you!"

Ian McGregor

UK, Student

"I don’t know what I would do without your assistance! With your help, I met my deadline just in time and the work was very professional. I will be back in several days with another assignment!"

Shannon Williams

Canada, Student

"It was the perfect experience! I enjoyed working with my writer, he delivered my work on time and followed all the guidelines about the referencing and contents."