There was a story in the Seattle papers a few weeks ago about a little boy who brought a gun to class. Not any gun, mind you. But a .45. Well, to make a long story short, the gun in his backpack discharged and the bullet hit a classmate who suffered life threatening injuries. She’s probably going to be OK, but has already endured five hours of operation and almost died during treatment.
The boy was charged in the case. But the best part of the story is so was his mother, Jamie Lee Chaffin and her boyfriend, Douglas L. Bauer. Ordinarily, they would be charged with a misdemeanor. But kudos to the Kitsap County prosecutor for charging the couple with felony third-degree assault rather than the lesser charge of reckless endangerment.
It’s about time someone makes the parents responsible for their kid’s actions. Now, before all you right wingers or bleeding heart liberals yell at me, hear me out. First, this case has extenuating circumstances. The couple are both convicted felons and as you know, they aren’t allowed to own guns in the first place.
Second, even if that weren’t the case, the only way we’re going to fix our society is to tag parents for the actions of their children. Again, before all the parents flame me, I am a parent of two children, including a teenage boy. So I do know something about being a responsible parent.
Notice I said responsible. The problem lies in the fact that many parents in our country aren’t responsible. They have no idea where their children are at any particular moment and worse, don’t care. As any of us former children now, trouble happens when parents aren’t present. All it takes is for two teenage boys or girls to be in the same room and all hell can break loose at a moment’s notice.
In the case of the nine year old boy, he took the gun from his mom’s house. He sold the mom and boyfriend out in a plea bargain deal. Got to love it when your son turns state’s evidence. But no matter. Now, if convicted, his mom and boyfriend can get up to five years in prison for the assault and weapons possession charge.
I wish more prosecutors would stick it to the parents. I know I sound pretty harsh about this. But I really do think it would help. Certainly, parents right now have absolutely no cause to care what their children are doing at any particular moment. And believe me, kids can be pretty creative when coming up with ways to get into mischief, from theft and vandalism to carjacking and knocking up their teenaged girlfriend. I should know. I grew up in a family of four boys.
A lot of kids can do this because there are no real penalties at home. Back when I was a kid, I faced a good spanking for a transgression, even a fairly minor one. My parents believed in the adage, “spare the rod and spoil the child.” We were definitely not spoiled.
My own son has to face the wrath of his parents for something as mundane as not getting a good report card. He doesn’t have to be an A student, mind you. But he’d better perform up to his potential. If not, there are sanctions. He knows them ahead of time and they are delivered consistently.
But a lot of parents don’t really care to be consistent. Or even mete out real punishments. My mom always told me that when I became a parent, I needed to use every weapon in my arsenal to keep my kids off balance. That is darned good advice.
So, why not make parents responsible for their children? This little boy is, of course, an extreme case. But what if your child vandalizes the local elementary school? Let’s say he’s caught red handed. The damage is $5,000. Should the taxpayers have to pick up the tab? I think most of us agree that would be a big fat no.
But under the law, we do. We do this all the time, from painting over taggings to picking up the tab for this poor girl’s healthcare once her parent’s insurance runs out, if they have insurance. We all pay for these crimes against society.
I think if we were to send the parents a bill and then take action against them, it would cause drastic, almost immediate changes in how well we parent out kids. If we can’t appeal to their sense of responsibility as a parent who brought a child into this world, then hit them where it really hurts, their wallet. And that includes parents on public assistance. Dock their check… even 10% until the damage is paid off. Yes, it hurts. Like any punishment, it should hurt like hell. Maybe the next time, they will find out where junior is at 11 at night because their worried about their welfare check.
I know there are parents out there that will say they can’t control their children. But why should I have to bear the cost of your out of control child’s antics? Why should I have to foot the bill for all the repairs, injuries and damage as well as all the police officers who have to step in and do your damned job!
Angry? You bet! We don’t hold anyone in this country accountable for their actions. That includes the thieves on Wall Street, the criminals in Congress and the parents in our own communities.
If we want a better world to live in, let’s start manning up to our responsibilities. If we are half the parents our own parents were, we wouldn’t be in the mess we are today, with a world full of children who are disrespectful, who think they deserve it all, and who are on the road to being complete losers as adults, adults who are our future, by the way. We owe it to them to be the parents our own parents would be proud of.
Out on the Treasure Coast, on the watch for kiddie crime from the 8th floor,
– Robb