Parents Should not be Punished for Their Childrens Crimes Essay - 7

Parents Should not be Punished for Their Childrens Crimes - Essay Example They believe that the behavior that children have comes from many sources such as school, friends, media and neighborhood (Rude 1). These groups of people argue that parents are not to blame, children learn from each other and they tend to have more influence on each other compared to the influence that parents may have on them (Rude 2). For instance, my 8 year old nephew had a problem in school. He broke a glass in the school’s restroom and when 8-year-old kid him ‘why did you do that?’ he said, ‘my friend told me to do that!’ Therefore, he acted according to what his friend told him and not what his parents might have taught him. This is an indication that children may not always follow what their parents teach them, they have a lot of influence from other sources (Rude 2). Although Children do not have sufficient knowledge on what is good or harmful for them, it is the responsibility of the parents to adequately guide them. For example, most of the time, children will say what they hear, regardless of whether it is good or bad. However, older people know what is good or bad and should offer guidance. If a child knows that they are likely to be punished for saying or doing certain things, they will not do them. Although it may be hard for them to know the difference between right and wrong, parents are old enough to evaluate everything and they should guide them. Thus, parents should not be totally blamed for their children’s mistakes, even though they remain the most influential people in a child’s life (Rude 1).