Argument Essay
“Do curfew keeps teen out of trouble?”.
The teenage period of a person has been marked by assessing one’s value, understanding a swing in outlooks as well as a propensity to do something rebellious. It has been observed that the teen years signify a time when an individual becomes extremely susceptible to negative manipulations and is often pulled towards precarious situations (Kline).
On the other side of the spectrum, for parents, the teenage period of their children means continuously worrying about their security and well-being as well as facilitating their development as good citizens. Hence, in order to ensure teenagers’ safety, curfew is often perceived as an effective measure (Sutphen and Ford).
Curfews are set to restrict teenager’s conduct during definite hours of night and day. But at the same time, it has been analyzed thatcertain peculiarities coexist with the establishment of curfews for children.
I would like to argue that curfews do reduce the possibility of teenagers getting into danger, but an irrational curfew could make children believe that their parents do not have faith in them, and they might even attempt to sneak out of their homes (Adams).
Setting curfews would only limit the time at which teenagers could get into trouble, but it does not teach them to abide by the law and behave properly and politely (Espejo). Such things can only be taught by parents (Murphy). However, I agree that setting curfews is helpful in keeping teenagers away from specific risks that can take place at night (Wilson, McClure, and Gill).
It can be helpful in restricting teens from mixing with more unpleasant individuals or adults. Getting associated with adults or older persons might influence teens to take illicit substances, drink alcohols or would desire for more independence for getting accepted by them.
However, curfew would not be much help if your teen is stubborn. In such cases, teenagers are likely to get caught in trouble, whether or not a curfew has been set for them.
In America, the enactment of a teenage curfew has been one of the most significant debated matters (Eaton). The primary mission of a teen curfew is to ensure the safety of teenagers. A typical curfew requires teens under the age of 17 to stay off the streets from 10:00 to 11:00 or midnight (Wood).
This has been anticipated to safeguard them form criminal activities done after the dusk and also from breaching the law. This is evident from the data which states that juvenile crimes had been reported to go down more than 20 percent in New Orleans when it enacted its dusk-till-dawn teen curfew in the year 1994 (Townsend).
In addition to this, even more notable results had been traced in Dallas, which stated reduction in violent adolescent crime rates by 30 percent along with an overall decrease in crimes conducted by teenagers by 21 percent (Bernstein).
Hence, it can be substantiated that setting curfews does contribute to ensuring teen safety and reducing the risk of indulging in crimes or any kind of abuse.
From my point of view, curfews do help keep teenagers out of trouble and help parents shape their children into good individuals with good morals (Vinyard). However, according to research done by the University of Minnesota, teenagers often have the propensity to bristle against what they perceive as unfair.
Hence, in the case of setting a curfew, teens’ misjudged opinions of certain regulations might cause them to misbehave and disobey rules. Hence, I believe that it is important for parents to avoid the dictatorial style of setting curfews.
Parents need to have conversations with their children in order to reach a conclusion about the most favourable conditions for a curfew that would convince both sides (Fliess). It has been observed that flexible curfews that consider teenagers’ interests are more likely to be effective than strict agreements.
Parents’ relationships with their teens are crucial in protecting them from dangerous activities. It is important to teach teens about moral values while respecting their freedom, which in turn would make teens respect their parents back.
Hence I think curfew, satisfying both parents and teens, is helpful in keeping teenagers out of unnecessary troubles as it prevents them from participating in disgraceful activities that might occur during odd hours of the day.
For minors, setting curfew play a critical role in making the stay away from circumstances that could result into dragging them to dangers. Parent’s supervision and setting a certain amount of rules are necessary for shaping a good future for teenagers.
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