FREE ESSAY ON PARENTAL DELINQUENCY

PARENTAL DELINQUENCY

Parental Delinquency?
Gone are the good old days when mom and dad were around to teach their children about
morality and the basics of growing up. Instead, we see parents who have replaced caring
and personal involvement with the purchase of material goods. We see parents who are
afraid to discipline their children and who are afraid to set boundaries. We see parents
who are afraid to hug their children and be involved in their lives.
A child's behavior shows the kind of home he or she comes from. Parents are suppose to be
role models, but what do we find. Parents are neglecting their responsibility. Parents,
who ought to teach by precept and example, have fallen prey to the do as I say, but not
as I do syndrome. We as a society, often times fail to look at the root cause of many of
the adolescent problems being witnessed today. 
I watched a PBS documentary entitled The Lost Children of Rockdale County. I found this
documentary to be very disturbing look into the lives of middle to upper class youth.
Though the focus of the program was sexual promiscuity, drugs, pornography, and alcohol,
but what I found far more troubling was the tremendous breakdown that exists between the
children of Rockdale County and their parents. This entire documentary was full of houses
that were empty and void of supervision and adult presence.
Some recent research on adolescent behavior has provided an insight into factors that
contribute to juvenile delinquency. The relationships between parents and children play a
significant role in the social well being of the children. Children who do the best, have
parents who use both a great deal of warmth and caring with their children and also
exercise a high level of control over their children's actions. High levels of warmth and
control characterize the form of parenting referred to as authoritative. (Teenagers in
Trouble, Gallagher, p.2) Authoritative parents are both firm and fair. Rarely did I see
this type of parent in the program. I thought that if I disciplined you, you would run
away was one comment made by a mother whose daughter had gone on a drinking bing at age
twelve, blacked out, and realized she had been raped when she came to. 
Many of the parents documented were not able to connect with their children and even when
they did, they thought that just showing concern was enough. A Father commented that he
felt that he should allow his children to sow their wild oats when they were young so
that they wouldn't do it when they were older. Just showing concern is not enough.
Adolescents need guidance as well as encouragement and they need to know that their
parents, their relatives, and the adult network in the neighborhood are all watching
them, are all concerned, and see their upbringing as a priority. (Teenagers in Trouble,
Gallagher, p 3).
I could go on about the gross negligence of the parents of Rockdale County. This
documentary was an eye opening view not only of blatant unconcern by the parents of this
county but also the underlying breakdown of the American family. I believe that the
solution to juvenile delinquency is not more laws or greater restrictions, for rarely do
these interventions work. We need to have adults who are continuously, visibly and
actively present in the lives of children. 
Bibliography
Adolescence and Puberty. Bancroft, J, Reinisch, JM. (Eds.) (1990) New York: Oxford
University.
A Parent's Handbook: Teaching Your Kids about Developing Healthy Relationships.
Gallagher, R. & Liz Claiborne, Women's Work Foundation (1998)
http://www.aboutourkids.org
The Children of Rockdale, (PBS, 1999)