Who’s to Blame When a Child Misbehaves: A Balanced Perspective

It's always an argument about whose fault it is when a child misbehaves or does something terrible to society, but there are factors involved, which makes it a bit complex to give a straight answer to this question. However, I will share my perspective in this post.

Parents play a vital role in the lives of their children. Right from the time the child was born, it's the parents that surround the child, nurturing the child's behavior, teaching him values, and guiding and supporting that child emotionally, physically, and otherwise. This is to tell you that parents have a great impact on a child's behavior but don't have total control of the child's actions, especially when the child is growing into adulthood, where he mixes up with his peers and learns many things alongside taking decisions.

However, while the child is growing under your care as a parent, what's the environment like in your home? What about your parenting styles? Are you the type of parent that overlooks many things to the detriment of the child's character in the future? What moral lessons did the child grow up with? What are the dos and don'ts in your home, or better say, the set boundaries that the child must abide by? How much good are you molding that child's character to be a responsible child you will be proud of? What's your character like? Are you a good role model to your children, or do you tell them to behave like this and you are doing the opposite while they watch? Now these little points I mentioned here matter while raising a child and are absolutely the roles of parents to their children.

Having fulfilled the parenting aspects, the child's grows up to mingle with others in society and might get influenced negatively. In today's digital world, it's easier for many young ones to be exposed to negative lifestyles by their peers. This might be so contradictory to the morals the parents instilled in the life of that child while he was growing up. The child now grows to make his own decision, either for good or bad. In this case, the child is to be blamed and take responsibility for his actions. Regardless of a child's upbringing, distractions out there can change a child badly, and that doesn't mean that the parents failed in their roles. It simply means that there are certain things parents cannot control, no matter how perfect they strive to be.

Another sensitive factor involved is the environment in which this child is raised. It goes a long way to affect that child's behavior. The kind of friends he relates with in the environment he finds himself is a huge contributing factor to his lifestyle. The kind of things he is exposed to, be it in the school with friends or wherever. All these can influence the good part parents played in the life of that child; however, for the child to grow and be able to distinguish both good and bad things, it's still his choice to follow a path he deemed fit, which might be different from how he was raised, and that child is to be blamed.

Wrapping up, I grew up to believe that not only parents train up a child but the society as well. You and I are part of this society, so whenever we see a growing up child behaving negatively, calling that child in order can go a long way in raising responsible children in our world today.

Overall, it's not totally the fault of a parent when a child commits infraction to society because children grow up to make their own choices, which may be different from what they were being taught. However, with the collective effort of parents, guardians, and our society at large, we can raise more responsible children.

All images are mine