SURVEY: Are parents criminally liable for misbehaving children?

[Scott]

There have been a number of instances where children have been involved in behavior resulting in the death or serious injury to others.   In two cases, a student brought a gun to school and one child was killed and another injured.   In another, a 12 year old was killed while driving a pickup.   

 

In your opinion, should parents be held legally and financially responsible for the misdeeds of their children?

 

Please feel free to leave a comment.  

 

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1141369-thais-told-if-your-young-kid-dies-after-letting-them-drive-youve-murdered-them/

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1141561-primary-school-boy-in-korat-steals-his-soldier-dads gun-and-shoots-friend-at-school/

 

[rickb]

IMO, if a parent is negligent in allowing a child to do something illegal or provides an environment that encourages an illegal act, then I believe the parents should be held responsible.  However, if the child decides on his own to do something illegal, such as theft or arson, etc., then I don't believe the parents should be held responsible for their child's actions.  In the examples mentioned by the OP, allowing a minor to drive a vehicle, or allowing a child to have access to a firearm, I believe these are examples where the parents should be held responsible.  

[Chazar]

It s just aint black and  white  but many parenting  skills  here are lacking

[DJ54]

Yes if they’ve knowingly made no efforts to teach them right from wrong..

 

Examples ... Underage driving Moto, Underage drinking ( have you see the music trucks in Villages) a lot of very young children drinking seen but nothing done.....check out some of the videos

 

I’m no angel and had a few drinks when teens underage... but if I’d done it in public in US I would have been picked up by the cops AND probably an ass beating when I got home.

 

[Mick501]

Can the scope of this survey please be extended as to whether crying children and their parents in aircraft should be forced to fly on the wing?

[SteveK]

56 minutes ago, Chazar said:

It just ain't black and white but many skills here are lacking

Correct.

[Moti24]

Starting at the bottom end of the scale - When parents bring their young kids into 7/11s, usually, the kids are running riot and the parents don't give a toss what they get up to.  It all stats there!  So, as far as I'm concerned, in 99% of cases, the parents should be locked-up for raising a sub-human species that should have been put-down at birth.

[from the home of CC]

when i think of the garbage that washes up on the shores here there would be some places where half the country would be locked up lol...

[DrTuner]

Only way to get Thais to get their kids stay in line is to cut off one of the parents finger every time they let their kids screw up. Otherwise it's just maibpenrai. It's a medieval country.

[Chazar]

48 minutes ago, Mick501 said:

Can the scope of this survey please be extended as to whether crying children and their parents in aircraft should be forced to fly on the wing?

or in front of  the engine

[Road Warrior]

in the west parents are responsible for their children until 18 yrs old, maybe the father who let his 12 yr son drive and die maybe he gave him a chainsaw or gun for his last birthday . this would not surprise anyone /?? 

[NoshowJones]

Very good topic this week with three very important questions, and question 2 is a no brainer to be ahead 

of the others.

If a child commits an illegal act which is detrimental to others, and the parents never knew their offspring committed it, then they cannot be blamed, but they must accept their child was in the wrong and has to be punished.

 

[NoshowJones]

3 hours ago, Chazar said:

It s just aint black and  white  but many parenting  skills  here are lacking

Exactly, especially where underage motorbike riding is concerned, and that is one instance where the parents should be charged and punished.

[4MyEgo]

Our kids are raised based on the rights and wrongs as we have seen them in our life's journey's and we encourage them to do the same.

 

We punish and we reward them, and they know they know right from wrong, and they know if they f-up, we will let them pay the price for their actions/mistakes, whether it be jail time or whatever, i.e. we will not bail them or pay a corrupt cop to allow them off the hook, but if there actions are not wrong or they didn't do anything wrong, then we will back them up.

 

Unfortunately I don't see very many parents being as disciplined in the way we are, it's a difficult job, but if your not prepared to be a teacher to your kids and put in the hard continuous effort to lead them into a normal life, then your dividends will be low, however on the other hand, if your kids aren't prepared to ship up, and want to rebel, then you have to be prepared to ship em out, as we did with one of our boys, two days later he saw what he had was a hell of a lot better than where he had been or wanted to go, cruel to be kind people, cruel to be kind...lol

 

 

[4MyEgo]

2 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Only way to get Thais to get their kids stay in line is to cut off one of the parents finger every time they let their kids screw up. Otherwise it's just maibpenrai. It's a medieval country.

Have to disagree with you there.

 

My wife left her partner when her boys were just over one years of age.

 

They have never met their real father and don't want too as he has never supported them.

 

Their mother is very loving to them, but can also be very harsh with them, it's a fine balancing act, let them get away with it and they will do it again and again, that said, if she did what she did to them here, back in my country, they would take the kids away from her, but after years of love, call it harsh love if you will, they have turned out to be very respectful young men.

 

I have never had to interfere in her disciplining them although there was a time when she gave them a public flogging at ages 11, i.e. after they broke the golden rule, i.e. they were not allowed to go on any motorbikes, she had always told me that she didn't want to go to their funerals at a young age.

 

We saw them on a friends motorbike 3 up and speeding, she drew blood from the bamboo stick that she beat them with all over their bodies and that is when I interfered, and you wouldn't believe it, same thing happened again the following week, her uncle and niece called her telling her that they saw them 3 up on a motorbike speeding past.

 

You would think that they had learnt from the beating they got, it was brutal, that said, this time I didn't intervene, I just let it play out, it was hard, talking thick bamboo stick crashing down on their backs while they were down, across the legs, arms, head, suffice to say, they have learnt, a mother's love can be cruel to be kind.

 

Should be more of it.

[richard_smith237]

Absolutely, Yes, but only if the parents can be proven negligent in their parental role. 

 

i.e. With the case where a child took a gun from home and shot his classmate - Parents definitely legally responsible and perhaps criminally liable - they failed to safely secure the gun.

 

In the example of an underage child taking a motorcycle or car and getting involved in an accident - again, the Parents are definitely legally responsible and perhaps criminally liable, they have failed to secure the keys.

 

IMO these are black and white cases where parental blame is obvious. 

 

In other cases, bullying etc again, there is parental blame as poor parenting has led to a poorly rounded individual. 

 

 

With regards to traveling with kids etc... Some parents clearly have no control over their kids, but these are very rare instances, the majority of children traveling are extremely well behaved. One kid who’s misbehaved for 10mins on a 12 hour flight may confirm the ‘conformation bias’ of some miserable intolerant old farts but that doesn’t mean every kid is poorly behaved on a flight. 

 

That its not uncommon to hear a baby cry for 5-10mins on flight also doesn’t fit the hyperbolae that baby’s should not be allowed on flights, it just identifies that there are some intolerant old farts !!!

 

 

[khunPer]

Probably a lot more difficult than the three options in the vote; however best option in my view is "Yes, but only if the parents contributed to the illegal behavior", which was also where my vote went.

 

It might also depend of the age of the child, and what "contributed" covers; but in a wide way parents, and the home's education of a child, has a lot to do with behavior, wherefore "contributed" is such a difficult object.

[RichardColeman]

Think you need to be more selective on the use of 'Child' . a 17 year old thug getting into trouble as opposed to a 5 year old prank is quite different

[Prairieboy]

Knowingly permitting a child to break the law and providing them the means to do so - e.g. providing a motorcycle to go to school, makes the parents entirely culpable and the full force of the law should be applied, including maximum fines and confiscating the motorcycle until the kid is licensed and insured and has a helmet.  Following that the kid should be on 2 year probation where any further infractions result in loss of license and confiscation, and destruction, of the motorcycle.