Should We Hold Parents Criminally Responsible for the Acts of Their Children - Research Paper Example

Introduction       Children’s involvement in criminal activities has been increasing day by day. Adolescents taking drug, killing some body, involving in some illicit acts etc. have become some common incidents in today’s society. This increasing tendency of involving in criminal activities by children is raising a serious question regarding the future of the next generation. Of course, involvement of children in offensive acts is not any new phenomenon. But the rate at which adolescent’s involvement in criminal activities are increasing, it is simply pointing towards an awful future of our society. Time has come to take an in depth look at the root of these unwanted behaviors from children.       There exist various factors which prompt a child to commit a crime. These factors include unfavorable school environment, stressful family relationships, lack of parental supervision, several mental health issues and so on. Among all these factors, the one which should get the highest level of attention is the parenting problem. When a child is held responsible for committing a crime in the court, it is not right to hold the child alone liable for the crime, his or her parents should also be held criminally responsible for their child’s involvement in crime.                             Impact of parenting style, parent’s lifestyle on children        The most important duty for any parents is to bring up their children in such a way that in future they become responsible citizen. A child falters in behaving properly if his or her parents fail to do their duties in appropriate way. It is the parents who are largely responsible for the behavioral disorders of the children.       Good parenting gets translated in well adjusted behavior of the children, while poor parenting just does the reverse. Poor parenting produces psychologically troubled children who fail to differentiate between good and bad things and fails to understand the impacts of their involvement in any criminal offence on their own lives and on the society.  Parenting makes a huge difference in the behavior of children. If a child is physically or psychologically abused by his or her parents, or neglected or spoiled, then how would one expect normal behavior from him/her? If parents fail to give adequate attention to their children, if they fail to build impression about their own in their children’s minds, if they try compensate their negligence with over battering, then children will automatically grow emotional and behavioral problems that have high potential to drive them to an illicit world where they would not mind to commit a crime. (Blumstein, 43)        Not only parenting style, parents’ life style is also a vital factor in shaping up children’s mid set. Most of the time children treat their parents as their role model. They want to be just like their parents. In these efforts, since the very early childhood they start to imitate their parents. If parents are addicted to drug, alcohol etc. then how could they become a perfect role model of their children? When parents lead an abnormal life, when they do not even bother to make a little attempt for acting as a role model for their children, then their children fails to built a true idea regarding what society expect from them. Consequently, they start to display various types of abnormal social and emotional behaviors. It is actually their emotional disorder that forces them towards committing unsocial acts and parents play a pivotal role in building of these unbalanced emotional behaviors. When these emotionally dysfunctional adolescents assimilate together they form their own society and become addicted to drugs, alcohol, and other illegal activities. When bad company is held responsible for a child’s drug or alcohol addiction, the actual root of these problems is ignored. It is the parents’ abnormal life style that provokes their children to follow similar life style for themselves. (Flowers, 133; Kelly  and Douglas, 105)       The incidence of killing some one is very unbecoming of a child. But children’s involvement in murderous acts is increasing day by day. Here again, parents can be held widely responsible for these kinds of heinous crimes done by their children. In numerous empirical studies, parents’ supervision, parent-child relationship, several other aspects of family management have emerged as the crucial factors that play important role behind children’s involvement in serious criminal behaviors, like killing somebody. Most of the studies have found that if parenting style is consistent, disciplines and follow a close supervision, then children are less likely to involve in any criminal activities. Studies have found that if parents are able to build healthy interactions with their children, if they show their affection towards their children, if they show interests in their kids’ activities, then it would greatly help in maintaining their children’s emotional stability and normal functioning. (Kelly  and Douglas, 105; Blumstein, 44)       A number of studies have also found a close association between adolescents’ involvement in serious delinquency and parents’ criminal behaviors.  It has been found that having a convicted parent enhances the probability of children’s involvement in criminal affairs. Some studies have found that the tendency of getting involved in might be inherited. For example, some psychological characteristics that are widely visible among offender, such as low intelligence, low arousal level of nervous system, etc. might be some genetic factors, i.e. a criminal’s child has a high likelihood of becoming a criminal. Along with this spousal violence also prompt a child to commit violent act as he or she has been brought up in between such violent activities among their parents. Under such an atmosphere in the family, how would a child learn moral and ethical values of life? How would the child be able to normally interact with others? Under such circumstances, it becomes quite natural for a child to perform violent acts. (Blumstein, 43-44)       Very often parents also make a huge mistake in understanding what a good parenting is all about showing unlimited affection to the children, or becoming too friendly with them. It might be that parents have no addiction towards drug or alcohol, or any involvement in violent or criminal activities, but these do not ensure that children will not commit any serious crime. Frequently, parents try to become over friendly with their children. In such efforts they become o affectionate that they start to ignore their children’s negative behaviors and fail to take any assertive step for guiding their kinds to right direction of life. As a result, children do not learn the consequences of their negative behaviors. They start to believe that they can do whatever they want to so and they would not get any harsh punishment for their negative acts. All these simply provoke children to involve in offensive activities. (Flowers, 55)                                                         Conclusion In many countries, juvenile courts fail to detect the actual factor that lies behind childrens’ involvement in delinquencies. They simply hold the children alone liable for their offensive acts. But this is not a right approach for judging a child’s act. It is necessary what circumstances have provoked him or her to commit such serious offences. In most of the occasions it is their psychological, emotional disorders that make them participate in socially unwanted acts. And these psychological disorders are the outcomes of bad parenting style, parents’ life style as well as parents’ involvement in violent or criminal activities. Hence they are the parents who should be made criminally liable for their children’s activities.   Works Cited 1. Flowers, Ronald B. Children and criminality: the child as victim and perpetrator. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1986. 2. Flowers, Ronald B. The adolescent criminal: an examination of todays juvenile offender. McFarland, 1990. 3. Blumstein, Alfred. Criminal careers and "career criminals" National Academies Press. 1986. 4. Preventing involvement in crime. Retrieved on 15th July, 2009 from http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/index/parents/your-child-crime-and-the-legal-system/preventing-involvement-in-crime.htm. 5. Kelly, Katharine and Douglas, Mark Totten. When children kill: a social-psychological study of youth homicide. University of Toronto Press, 2002. Read More