Curfew on children
By BYOLA2871
@BYOLA2871 (4371)
South Africa
December 8, 2008 9:07am CST
As a parent it is our responsibility to take care and watch over the children. And if you have teenagers, this may involve imposing some sort of curfew on their movements or time restrictions so to say. A mother was making a complaint about her son’s usual late home coming and how she had to wait up everyday with worry and fear5 that something is wrong until the son arrives. What do you think she can do about this? Is there a way to avoid the child doing this or getting into trouble?
3 responses
@cookieweber (316)
• Philippines
9 Dec 08
i have always set curfews for my kids and luckily, they have always abided by them...call me over protective, but i really need to know where they are, who they'r with and what time they'll be home. when they ask for my permission to go out, i ask them what time will they be back, so i guage my curfew on the time they give me...but i told them to make sure thay meet that otherwise i wont allow them to go out again...maybe by letting them give you the time, it kinda makes them think they're deciding and it doesn't sound that you are controlling them too much..just make sure they stick to it though....
@BYOLA2871 (4371)
• South Africa
15 Dec 08
i dont think you are been over protective its just doing your job as a parent as it ios your dutiy and responsibility to ensure they are safe within your capacity and i its also good that you monitor them to know who they are with at all times this will save thenm and you a lot of sorrow ,the only thing is that as they grow older we need a little bit of flexibility in the way we handle the restrictions and we also need to have a good heart to heart talk with them on the reason for the restrictuon this shows them that all you are doing is for their own good and also boost theire confidence in you as a parent
@klaudine (3650)
• Indonesia
9 Dec 08
Well, I think curfew is important for kids especially when they're not yet mature enough to protect themselves. Like teenagers. I think teenagers needs the curfew to make them know the boundaries. And it is actually dangerous to let them outside in the evening without any supervision from adults. I think you should give them some understanding about the curfew, and I understand it was for their own good. My parents used to give me the curfew and I think it is reasonable.
@BYOLA2871 (4371)
• South Africa
15 Dec 08
yes while i was growing up we used to be under the same system of curfew you are allowed to be out beyod the hours of 1800 it does not matter where you are you are expected to be in the house by that time both parents were very strict about this timing so much that even when we grew up it became a little difficult for us to just be outside the house without a reasonable cause,i think its a good thing as it helped us even today and i am also bringing my own up the same way afterall it worked for me why not them?
@tklich (391)
• United States
9 Dec 08
My son is only 4 so I don't have to worry about the curfew issue for quite a few more years, but my step daughter is 12, and it was only a few years ago that I had a curfew while at my parents house. I think a curfew is important though. But I think a curfew only really comes into play if you are also raising your children to do what is right and teaching them right from wrong. There's no reason for teenagers to be out til 4 in the morning, what could they possibly be doing until then that they couldn't do at 10pm? If I remember correctly, up through my junior year of high school my curfew was midnight. My senior year my parents bumped it to 2am. I very rarely missed curfew, and even if I did my parents never blew it out of proportion because I wasn't a troublemaker by any means. I usually just lost track of time or fell asleep somewhere, lol. After I graduated high school my parents lifted my curfew all together, but I never came home later than 3am or so, 3:30 at the latest. By then, there's simply not much to do. I think if you raise your kids as best as you can, they will see this too. Curfews will also teach them responsibility in coming home on time, just as if they have to be to work by a certain time and what not. There is such a thing as too much freedom, but I also believe that if you don't have enough freedom, kids will snap and just want to break free. Give them just the right amount of freedom to satisfy them, but yet still be able to keep a good grip on what they're spending their time doing.
