When should parents be held accountable for their children's harmful and deadly actions?

Question

With violence happening so often in schools across the country.Children 12 and under bringing weapons to school with the intent to harm one or more students and teachers.When should parents be held accountable for their children's actions?
When a child 12 and over gets a gun from their home with the intent to kill should the parent/s be held accountable for their children's actions.I realize parent/s of these children have to live with the actions of what their children have done like the parents of the Columbine High School boys and the more recent 14 yr old boy in Cleveland Ohio, but living with the results of their actions is that enough in your opinion.Is that enough to make you as parent/s or even young adults feel secure in your environment?Do you think the parents of these children should be punished as accessories to their children's crime/s?Especially if said weapon/s came from their own home?

Answer 1

Given the number of yobs terrorising the streets of Britain, many of whom are barely into their teens yet are wandering the streets well into the night, I think it is an excellent idea to punish the parents for their crimes. Maybe that is the incentive to get some lazy, pathetic-excuses-for parents to actually do some parenting instead of allowing their kids to run rampant and turn into feral thugs.

With the lax state of our juvenile courts, where young criminals barely get a slap on the wrists, I imagine it will only be a matter of time before we have a gun massacre in a British school.

Answer 2

Um, in a lot of cases parents could be the main cause for their kids behavour, e.g. not payin enough attention or spoiling. There are plenty of people in my school who are definetely spoiled - they do what they want, they get what they want and if they don't, they start acting up and crap. But some do it just because. Cus they want to try n taste new things. People my age go out, drink, smoke, try weird crap like ecstasy or shisha. My friend is now hooked n now its becoming a sort of her routine or smth. N ye she knows its wrong. Shes actually a very nice person, shes good to her parents and her parents are good ppl too. Sometimes i feel bad that even i cant help her. My best guy frend also gets wasted every now n then. I guess teenage years can be a bit confusing. We grow up and try to see the difference between what's right and what's wrong, what's cool and what isn't. I think that the people teenagers hang out with are the major influence. Sometimes it just all starts with peer pressure, n u know, then one thing ends and they want to start a new thing n it goes on and on and there's no way to stop them. N at certain point they just stop caring. Im almost 17 and ive never done any of the sort. My parents trust me n i never want to let them down (yeah they've disciplined me well lol). I believe/ hope that those people will grow out of those habits. eventually.

Answer 3

If guns aren't locked up properly and children use them then I think that the parents should be charged. There is a responsibility in being a parent which in my mind involves keeping them away from having easy access to firearms. Other than that though I think it is difficult to say. Each case would have to be individually assessed to find whether the parents are guilty of neglect or abuse....and I doubt you will find the parents guilty in 90 per cent of cases. Children are usually more driven by school peer pressure and rejection from the other students. You usually shoot other people because you don't like them, not because you don't like your parents. If people want to stop this type of thing then I would suggest looking at group behavior and bullying in schools. This is where the fundamental problem lies.

Answer 4

The mother in Cleveland has already been charged because she bought her son an arsenal of weapons! And this was a boy who had had several run-ins with the law and a suicide attempt in his past!

But we must be careful to be able to prove that the parents either provided the gun or knew the child had one and did nothing. It's too easy for kids with a little bit of money to get a gun, either on the street or through the internet. If they can prove it, they should have the book thrown at them!

Answer 5

A big YES. Parents who allow or even buy their children a weapon must be held responsible.Its about time people realized that guns kill and its no good gun lovers saying its not the gun that kills but who pulls the trigger.If these kids did not have access to a gun they would not be able to kill anybody. Oh yes they could kill with a knife but not as many and much more difficult. Just keep ANY weapons away from children

Answer 6

When the Government butts out of how people raise children then maybe there could be responsibility..but when a parent could be arrested for eavesdropping on a child's computer or phone call then no.
Kids know how to manipulate the system and the parents cannot do a damn thing about it sometimes.

Answer 7

When Parents are sending their kids to school- armed to the teeth. Any HARM a kid does at school- the Parent should be held Accountable for. If a Parent has no control over their Kids- then the State should take over their "welfare" & Educate them- accordingly... Rocket Science- this isn't.

Answer 8

from the time they can walk! when children are born they are the responsibility of both parents till they reach the age of consent- which is 18. Until then the parents should be relied on to instill old fashioned values like respect,manners and honesty which will stand them in good stead in life.

Answer 9

Parents should be held accountable for their children's actions period.

Answer 10

Parents should only be responsible for their child's actions if they helped them or knew about it and ignored it.