As a parent, I have spent a lot of time observing my children's behavior, motivation, and thought processes. As they matured, these processes changed and it was fascinating to watch. During this time I learned a lot about the limits of self-control in the adolescent mind and believe that families should be held accountable for the crimes committed by their adolescent children. I understand there is a lot of opposition to this position, and the opposing view provides some valid arguments. One concern is that society coddles today's youth and that they are not learning to take enough responsibility for their actions. (Bradley) If parents are held accountable for their children's actions, does this send a message that the children themselves are blameless for their actions? My belief is that these two ideas are not mutually exclusive and that both children and parents can be held accountable. I see no reason why children, parents and adolescents should not share responsibility for the child's criminal behavior. A child is born with a brain ready to learn. That brain will quickly learn to speak, read, write, etc. The child will also learn morals and the consequences of his actions, but this is a much slower process. However, a child does not learn in a vacuum. He will learn his behavior from his environment and his parents are the models from whom he will acquire most of his information. A parent can tell their child “do what I say, not what I do,” but this will be much less effective than consistently modeling the behaviors they want to instill in their child. Certainly there have been children raised in families with overwhelming dysfunction who have broken the mold and will not… middle of paper… work as a team to guide decision making. It works Cited Bradley, A. (2014, February 6). We pamper teenagers by not holding them responsible for their actions | Acton Power Blog. Retrieved from http://blog.acton.org/archives/65498-coddle-teens-holding-accountable-actions.htmlLoeber, R, & Farrington, D (2000). Young children who commit crimes: Epidemiology, developmental origins, risk factors, early interventions, and policy implications. Development and psychopathology, pp 737-762.Diller, V. (2012, November 5). Teenagers who commit crimes: what can/should parents do? | Vivian Diller, Ph.D. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vivian-diller-phd/teen-crime_b_2035255.htmlBrooks, R.B., & Goldstein, S. (2007). Raising a self-disciplined child: Help your child become more responsible, confident and resilient. New York: McGraw-Hill.