A teen curfew law was recently passed in the District of Columbia. This was a needed law to alleviate crime teenagers fall victim of. Minors under the age of 17 should be in their home at a very reasonable hour so they will be energetic, fresh and alert when attending school.
I am convinced that the more freedom teenagers have the more opportunity they have to get into trouble. Although most parents feel that the government is taking their place in raising their kids – that’s far from the truth.The government realizes that most teenagers are not receiving the right amount of discipline from home. Studies have shown that teenagers coming from a dysfunctional home their parents were either divorced separated, drug abusers or poverty stricken.
Children must come from a home that is nurturing and loving in order to have a stable and functional behavior. Studies have further shown that the majority of juvenile delinquents get into trouble around the age of 13, I believe that the curfew will elevate some of the problems that juveniles get into at night.Juveniles are more prone to get into trouble during the night than day primarily because parents are not taking account to where their children are spending their time. This is where parental guidance should come into play.
Parents should know where their children are at all times of the day or night. Parents have to take a stand and develop some values and good traits in their children from a young age. Parents must also make sure that their children have a good spiritual foundation. I have personally witnessed the difference between a child that attends church and one that does not.
A juvenile who attended church from their childhood and up are most likely not to get into trouble because of the spiritual values they were instilled with. A child with no spiritual concept or values is that more likely to commit a violent crime or become involved in drugs then a child who has spiritual values. This is not to say that all children not reared in Church will most likely get into trouble with the law, but the church is the forefront of our community in instilling spiritual values in our children. Children should never be neglected — they must have the assurance of security from their parents.
A child should have such a close connection with their parents so they are able to share their feelings and thoughts they are encountering. A parent must take the right approach and seek help for their child when he or she starts experiencing depression, low self-esteem and peer pressure. Parents have several options to seek counsel for their child either through the school, church or their community. This will help parents to understand their child better and assist them with the necessary source of help before the situation gets out of control.
The curfew, I believe, will make a difference in teenage crime. There will not be so many children on the streets during unreasonable hours on school nights and weekends. Although there may be some kids that will defy this law and will have to deal with officials when they are appended, this will give them a choice before they let it happen again. There is much controversy on this law, but if given time, people will see that this was a law that needed to be implemented a long time ago.
I personally believe that crime rates will decline, as well as drunk driving amongst teenagers.In conclusion, the government has realized the need of this curfew and has since charged some teenagers in breaking the law. This is not to say that major crimes committed are by teenagers, yet this law will bring structure to unsupervised minors as well as disobedient minors. This could very well contribute hand-in-hand to decrease criminal matters with teens.
I’m convinced that every teenager will not comply with this curfew and that crime amongst children will not totally cease. Every effort the government makes to minimize crime is worth the law being enforced.Parents should be in total support of this law and should work with officials in making it effective. I’m not a parent, but totally supports the efforts the government is making to control our teenagers.
Teenagers must have some discipline in their lives. With most teenagers coming from broken homes, they do not have that strict parental guidance that is needed. Therefore, if the parents fail to give children the proper guidance, then the government has to do what is necessary to reduce problems with today’s juveniles.
