Parental responsibility for children's behavior: extent and limits

¶ … Parents Be Held Responsible for the Behavior of Their Children

Stephen Everson (1991) writes, "Psychology is, as one might expect, an ancient discipline. The philosophers and scientists of antiquity were, like their modern successor, properly intrigued by the fact that some natural substances are capable of movement and action- that is, of behavior-" for the past several decades, social scientists have conducted and published numerous researches on the factors that influence the behavior of children. Amongst the most influential factors on the behavior of children is the attitude of their parents. This paper highlights the recognition interconnection amongst natural, emotional and social influences that influence on the parent's position in the development of the child.

Review of related Literature

Annie (1998) asserts that the role of the parents can turn out to be quite significant in the growth and development of the child and his behavior. Where, on one hand, the behavior of the child's parents can encourage him/her to become an engineer or an astronaut, on the other hand, their attitude can discourage him/her to the extent that he/she can turn out to be a thief, robber or even a murderer and end up in prison. The writer asserts that it is not that difficult for parents to completely ignore the presence of their children while they are busy, trying to live up to their busy schedule. The repercussions for this attitude are quite severe, for both the parents and the child, since the child can become extremely irresponsible, arrogant and difficult to manage and eventually parents either abandon him/her by setting him/her free or go to the other extreme by severely punishing them. The writer concludes that should the parents give appropriate time to their children and be determined, diligent, and approachable, they can have a positive influence in the growth and development of the child.

Furthermore, several researches have been conducted to evaluate the influence of parents in the social behaviors of the children, but very few researches have been conducted to assess the influence of parents in the eating habit of their children. However, lately this subject has gained a lot of importance as obesity is turning out to be a major disease throughout world. One such research had been conducted by Joperd very recently. Joperd (2005) studied 127 families who had children in third, forth and fifth grades. Joperd started his survey by assessing the eating habits of the parents and then subsequently assessed the eating habit of their children. The study revealed that the eating habits of the children had been influenced by their parents. The researcher concludes that while the parents are aware of the consequences of bad eating habits, but they make no efforts to convey the advantages of healthy eating habits to their children and thereby allow their children to suffer from this disease.

Todd (1999) emphasizes the understanding of the child's history so that he can be treated in a much more appropriate way by the physicians. He reveals the various disturbing behaviors of children and relates it to the attitude of the parents. He asserts that a child becomes disobedient, disruptive and terribly selfish because parents are unsuccessful to implement constant and age-suitable restrictions on their behavior. The writer asserts that numerous researches and case studies have shown that when parents become too strict and refuse to listen to and appreciate the view points of their children; they often grow up showing prototypes of full of despair, unfriendly, and disobedient manners.

Richard (2002) discuses the pathetic moral and ethical conditions of children in America at this point in time. The writer discusses the lack of values demonstrated by the parents as a major cause for the miserable state of morality amongst American children. The writer illustrates his point by revealing a quote from William Bennett in the Broken Hearth: Reversing the Moral Collapse of the American Family, "Most of our social pathologies -- crime, imprisonment rates, welfare... alcohol and drug abuse... sexually transmitted diseases -- are manifestations, direct and indirect, of the crack-up of the modern American family."

The writer also sternly criticizes the present poor and sorry state of moral and ethical education prevailing in the country since it is the foundation that may assist all parents to understand the importance of communicating and implementing strict moral and ethical codes in the house and as a result assist their children in developing a profound base of ethics and morals which may well assist them (the children) in their growth and development as an active and constructive member of the society.

Susan (2001) assesses a research study conducted by Iowa State University's (ISU) Institute for Social and Behavioral Research. She discusses the significance of the behavior of the parents in the growth and development of the child and reveals that children having affectionate, helpful and caring parents are more inclined to have fulfilling and rewarding relationships in their life as they mature. The writer concludes her review by asserting, "-children of openly hostile marriages fared better in later intimate relationships if their parents divorced than did children whose parents rarely fought before divorcing. The results led the researchers to conclude that, depending on the quality of the parental relationship, some children might be better off if their parents divorce, while other marriages should be saved if possible."

In another unrelated research, Stephanie (2004) studies the relationship amid manifold aspects of family participation in various educational and other extra-curricular activities. The researcher evaluated the progress of children in learning, behavior problems and receptive expressions and the influence these developments had from the involvement of the family. The results of this research study demonstrated that the influence of the parents in the child's educational and other extra-curricular activities had had been very encouraging and constructive and assisted the children greatly since they became more involved in their performances and showed keenness and dedication towards learning.

Katherine (2004) discusses the impact of Parent Alienation Syndrome (PAS) on the growth and development of the child. She reveals that this syndrome has been rather justly criticized by the researchers and critics in both the academic and the legal field. She assesses the way this syndrome has been misused by the courts and the way researchers have undermined the influence of this syndrome on growth and development of children. She concludes that since the rates of divorce amongst parents are very high, the probability for children to be negatively affected from this syndrome are far-reaching and should be given increased attention in the research and legal fields.

Nan Bernstein Ratner (2001) studies the language and speaking models of parents and its influence on the language and speaking patterns of their children. The findings of this research reveal that children follow the language and speaking models of their parents and that no fundamental differences had been exposed between the language and speaking patterns of the parents and their children.