Do curfews keep teens out of trouble?
- Thread starter knight steel
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I have no curfew, so I can't really answer. Then again, I live in a pretty dull part of the city, defeating the purpose of trying to go somewhere.
No. Most of the "trouble" that parents worry about - drugs, teen sex, crime, getting mugged or raped - could just as easily happen before any given curfew, no matter how ridiculously early, as after it. Cover of darkness makes the last one slightly more likely, but that's really only important in a statistics sort of way; just because the statistics say more violent crime is committed after dark does not mean you are automatically safe from muggers if you only leave the house during daylight hours.
And a teenager who wants to be out after curfew badly enough will simply sneak out, either expecting not to be caught or considering the punishment an acceptable price to pay. Curfews are only truly enforceable if the parents take unreasonably draconian measures to prevent their kid(s) from getting out when they aren't allowed to leave, at which point your family has much bigger problems than a teenager who stays out later than their parents want them to.
And a teenager who wants to be out after curfew badly enough will simply sneak out, either expecting not to be caught or considering the punishment an acceptable price to pay. Curfews are only truly enforceable if the parents take unreasonably draconian measures to prevent their kid(s) from getting out when they aren't allowed to leave, at which point your family has much bigger problems than a teenager who stays out later than their parents want them to.
I dont have a curfew, im trusted to come back at a reasonible time, probably because I have OCD, lol.
i'm with this guy, making them stay in after a certain time just seems unreasonable, on a school night it's understandable but all the time? no, trouble can occur anytime and it's better to just let the kids do their own thing when going out with friends or going out to meat somebody, espesialy once they're legaly adult in some respects (16). parents shouldn't force kids to obey their laws and instead allow their kids to grow in a way that makes them WANT to comply, allowing them to question the rules (within reason) and letting them formulate their own values and ideals. so in short: yes give them a curfew on school nights but be reasonable and don't force them by locking them in, show that you trust them by allowing them some leeway, without trust you'll get nowhere, if mistrust is inherent in the relationship then you encourage them to not trust you, so unless they have sevre physcological damage or are extremly vunerable in some way (disabled) then either be reasonable and reccomend a curfew rather than force one or don't set one at all and trust themCameoflage said:
I couldn't say, since I never had one growing up. This is not to say that I was out at all hours or anything though - I didn't have a curfew because I didn't need one. If I had been the type to try and leave the house at the drop of a hat I'm sure my parents would probably have looked into curfews, but as it is I love staying at home and not going out.
I wouldn;t say a curfew is effective since it means that the kids who won't cuase trouble are inside while those who will are going to just break out anyway (if they are going to cause trouble then what makes you think that an arbitrary instruction to not do so is going to stop them?).
Curfews don't but creative teaching does. Example : Don't give the kid a curfew but if its on a school night they damn well better be up in the morning. Same goes for Sunday/Saturday if you are religious. After a couple days of wanting to crawl in a hole and die because they had 2 hours of sleep and have a hangover the size of a Buick they will get home at a decent hour. At least that is what happened with me...
His parents may be indifferent enough to impose a curfew, but to buy him World of Warcraft... well that's just cruelty beyond imagining.Hadz said:
People do weed cuz its fun, not as a symbol of rebellion. thats what spraypaint and mowhawks are for...Lord_Duke said:
I will see you in hell! Oh wait, I won't, because short people aren't allowed in hell. You'll have to settle for baby-hell where all the naughty kids are.IdealistCommi said:
[sub]shorty[/sub]