Legal Liability of Parents

Legal Liability 0f Parents

Parents should and should not be held legally responsible for their children's actions. Parents who are incompetent and parents who are in the system themselves should be held responsible for their children's actions. Parents who are handicapped and parents who are competent should not be held responsible for their children's actions.

Parents that do not rear their children should be held responsible. There are parents who do not care what the child does as long as they are not in there way. They are too involved in their careers or in life to care what the child does. Often the child acts out for attention. Most parents believe that by taking the child to counseling will solve the problem, without going to counseling themselves. The parents do not take the disciplinary role. They either had a child by accident or had one for their significant other, when they really did not want children. By holding them responsible it teaches the parent a lesson. The parent learns that even though they tried to ignore the problem that there is a problem and that they need to take time out of there day to listen to the child. The child will also pay for their actions, either by the parent or eventually by the law.

Parents that are in the system themselves should also be held responsible. Parents who do drugs and know what the child is doing and chooses not to intervene should be held responsible. The government should take the child away from this type of parent. I know of a family that is completely destroyed because the mother is addicted to crack and commits crimes herself. The children are smoking drugs, selling drugs, having sex, and committing crimes. The mother does not care at all. She figures that it is not her going to jail and that the child will always go back anyway. By holding her responsible would be a nice reality check for her. She honestly believes that as long as she holds a roof for her children then she is doing her duty.

Parents who are mentally disabled or physically disabled should not be held responsible. If the parent is mentally disabled do any of us really know if they themselves know right from wrong? We do not, if the parent does not then how is he or she to discipline the child. If the parent is physically disabled and can not discipline the child he or she should not be charged with crimes committed by the child. The parent probably can not spend allot of time with the child if they are trying to take care of themselves.

Parents