Being a parent you have certain moral and legal responsibilities towards you child. As a member of society you also have certain responsibilities in my opinion.
In the United Kingdom Parents are held responsible for there child until the age of 18 years old. In a recent case which was much publicised a mother from Oxfordshire was sentenced to 60 days in prison for failing to two daughters attend school. It was said by the court that it was the mother’s duty to make her daughters attend school and due to her frailer to do this she must go to prison. The defence for the defendant told the court how the single mother was unable to get her children to go to school and stay in school. The court was told of how she would get her children up every morning and get them dressed for school and then would walk them into their individual class rooms. She felt that is was then the schools responsibility to keep the children in school, however the court did not.
In this particular instance I feel that if you have done everything in your power to make your children abide by the law and to follow the rule of society and they still refuse to do this then you should not be held responsible for there actions instead you should be offered help and assistance in dealing with these children.
I do understand that there are many other ways in which parents are responsible for their children’s behaviour and should be held accountable for it.
Another case that was also highlighted in the press is that off the 11 year old girl who was given an ASBO. In court it was heard that the child was smashing windows at school and making her neighbours lives a miseries. The mother wrote her child off as misunderstood. In this instance I feel that it is in fact as a result of bad parenting that the child behaves in this way. If you daughter was behaving in this way, I would personally not let her out, and to be causing trouble at 10/11 o’clock at night I personally feel that the child should be in bed and not wondering the streets. In this particular case however it was the child whom was issued with the ASBO. I feel that the child should have been taken into care along with her siblings and that the mother should have been prosecuted for neglecting her children.
The Law In the United Kingdom on whether parents should be prosecuted and held responsible for there children’s actions is a complete mess I personally feel that the Judge is the one whom decides that law on the case in front of him.
However I do personally feel that parents in generally should be held responsible for their children’s actions, however there are some circumstance where this is not possible and this must be taken in to consideration when looking at such a powerful statement such as “parents should be responsible for their children’s action”, It is not always as cut and dry as that.