Tag Archives: parental responsibility

Mother of Octuplets Raises Questions About Parental Responsibility

Will it be Oprah, Diane Sawyer, or Barbara Walters? According to news reports, Nadya Suleman, the California woman who gave birth to eight babies last week, is currently deciding which big name TV interviewer she’ll sit down and chat with. Meanwhile, another report claims that the 33-year-old single mother of 14 is seeking $2 million from commercial sponsorship (she reportedly wants to hook up with Pampers) and other media interviews to help defray the cost of raising her eight babies and the other six children (all under the age of eight) that she already has. No doubt Nadya is going … Continue reading →

What Are You Teaching Your Children Through TV?

How much influence does your TV have on your children? We can teach them certain attitudes and values at home but chances are that many of the attitudes and values they see on TV shows will be counterproductive to what we are trying to teach them. In some homes the TV seems goes on first thing in the morning and says on till the last person is in bed at night. The TV is on during meals and when visitors come. It appears many people forget TVs come with an off switch. They sit and complain about the shows on … Continue reading →

Better Safe Than Sorry

Staying in hotel alone with a young child presents several unique problems. For instance, whenever I need to go anywhere I have to take Tyler with me. If I need ice, or need to run to the snack machine or even downstairs to my car, he has to come with me. Or does he? He put this question to me last week when I needed to run to my car. He was involved in one of his TV programs and didn’t want to leave (or put his shoes on for that matter) to slog downstairs with me. “I’ll be okay,” … Continue reading →

When should you allow your kids to start dating?

Posted on by

When should you allow your kids to start dating? This was the question posed this morning to listeners of the radio station I sometimes listen to while I walk. Having a child many years (I hope!) away from any prospect of dating, I didn’t give the question much thought. As I continued to walk, they asked the question again and said they would go to the phone after the next song for responses. Okay, I said, let me think. I would have to say, when the child is mature and responsible enough. That’s the first criteria. Although age should be … Continue reading →

Family Sues Parents In Alcohol-related Death

Last August, 19-year-old Jaclyn Bien died in an alcohol-related motorcycle accident. Bien’s family is suing the bike’s driver and the parents who, they say, hosted an underage drinking party. The suit alleges that the parents who hosted the party knew that the attendees were all underage and should not have been drinking. Unfortunately, this has been happening more and more. I’m not sure what the rationale is for parents who allow their kids or others to drink in their home and then get on the road. I know a parent who allowed her underage son and his friends to drink … Continue reading →

Parents- Control Your Kids’ Behavior In School Or You May Have To Pay A Fine

If my child misbehaves in school, should I be penalized for his unruly behavior? Or is it the responsibility of the teacher to control my child when he’s in school? Some districts are beginning to fine parents for their kids misbehaving in school and personally, I think it’s a good thing. When I was in school, we didn’t misbehave. Okay maybe just a little. But somehow the threat of having our parents notified and the possibility of a spanking was enough to keep us in line. Some school districts blame the parents’ attitudes for the state of today’s schools, as … Continue reading →

Holding Parents Responsible For the Actions of Their Children

Parents have always been held liable, to a certain extent for their children’s actions in the United States. Some of the early parental liability statutes provided the juvenile court system jurisdiction over parents who had “contributed to the delinquency of a minor” My father spoke often of the “Truant Officer” who spends the day looking for wayward youth and sent notice of fines to his parents. During the past several years, parental liability laws have become much more popular due to societies fear of juvenile crime. Public support for new laws holding parents responsible for the actions of their dependent … Continue reading →

Update: 3-Year-Old Wanders On Interstate

Here’s an update to a blog I wrote about what I considered to be an example of bad parenting. It involved a 3-year-old Indianapolis boy found wandering down Interstate 465, clad in a t-shirt and diaper. You can read the blog here. The mother was charged with four counts of child neglect and the kids were placed in state custody. Initial reports stated that the boy’s sister was found eating spaghetti off the floor, in fact she was eating canned spaghetti out of the trash (the can had been placed in the trash the night before, according to the mother). … Continue reading →