Should parents be prosecuted if their kids are caught throwing rocks at trains, cars or other other vehicles?

Monkeyz.

Got a question for you. Something that came up in my son's class this past 2 weeks. No-one injured and no damages. :)

Last week a group of them were playing in the park and a few kid(out of about 35)s were heaving snowballs around one bounced of a Window.

Most of the kids scrambled the 3 out of 4 kids that threw that snowball went to apologize, etc the 4th refused and hid for hours(everybody was looking for him).

This week it came up that some kids in the class been playing "Grand Theft Auto" a game restricted to adults(for mature contents, violence, language, et). Initially it was suspected that 3 kids in 2 classes were playing, teacher on the phone to all he parents. In my sons class alone they found 9 kids that had the game(now this is 4th grade). Interestingly enough the 3 kids that apologized for the snowball incident were the starters of getting kids onto GTA.

No one knows how they got hold of those games as most parents didn't even know that their kids had them.

So we got one hand kids that apologize for nearly breaking a window yet on the other hand play a game designed and restricted for ADULTS.

So WHO should be punished here?

After about the age of five, kids are old enough to know that they're doing something wrong if they're tossing boulders from overpasses. Kids should be held criminally responsible for what they do. Not their parents.

I think we often forget that it's not just parents influencing kids. Kids are influenced by their family, their friends, their peers, their teachers, and the media. A parent could do everything right and still end up with a kid who's a total hooligan. If we're going to start blaming parents for poor upbringing, why not prosecute the grandparents for failing to adequately teach their children how to parent? Where does it end? And are you seriously proposing that it's "negligent" to allow your 16-year-old out of your sight? Do you want kids all wearing GPS anklets?

No, it's not the fault of the parents. Make the kids deal with the consequences. Mom and dad will probably have to pay it off, but make the kid work to pay them back.

Depending on the situation. The parent(s) or the supervising adult(s) should be held accountable for the child's action because it is the grown-up responsibility to supervise the child. Kids should also be held accountable for his or her action so he or she knows what is right or wrong, and not to do it again.

NO! NO! NO! - The parents should not be held responsible at all, either criminally or financially. I admit there is a link between delinquent kids and delinquent parents, but that does not mean they are responsible for the actions of their children. It is no different than if a kid kills someone then the parents should be charged with murder. The kid should be charged under adult law and also made to do community service until the debt for damages has been recovered.

Prosecuted - NO! Held financially responsible - yes.

why everybody has a clear yes or no answer is beyond me. It really depends on the situation. f.e.

We have a kid, who didnt get raised properly. PArents never tell him to stop doing stupid things like tease other kids, or be polite to older people. So one day the kid throws a rocks from a bridge. Who would we blame here?

We have another kid, raised properly by his/her parents. Parents have both good jobs, teach the kid to be polite etc etc. But one day at school, the kid hangs out with other kids and they start throwing rocks from a bridge. Bad idea yes? But can we blame the parents?

Its a case by case situation.

What I also want to make clear is that. Some kids who do bad things ARENT that bad as it seems. I have done some HORRIBLE stuff in my past for which I really am ashamed. But now, im married, have a nice good life, good job etc.

So yeah Im not sure what Im trying to say heh.

Parents are responsible for their children...if the parent neglects them during their upbringing then there will be consequenses.....children not knowing or understanding right from wrong only have their parents to blame for not instilling in them moral values in society. Parents should take the wrap!

Not sure why people always assume that "prosecution" etc results in extra payment to cops, etc.

They are Civil servants on a FIXED Salary and get paid the same if they chomp donuts in their cars or file papers so that someone can be prosecuted.

There is NO burden on the publics wallet, actually they are simply doing the job that they are getting paid for.

My brother threw a rock at a passing truck and broke the side window when he was around 14 in the USA. Driver stopped, yelled at him, my folks paid for the window, and everything was fine. If you prosecute, you are forcing to taxpayers to pay for police time, court time, etc...too much of a public burden for such a petty crime. My brother learned his lesson just fine.

Parents are responsible for their children until they become old enough themselves. My son and his friend were playing catch, my sons friend missed a ball that my son threw and the ball broke the back window of a car parked in the parking lot next to the house.

Now who do you think pays for that window? My son? Yah right...... 110,000 yen out of my pocket. Lesson learned on my part, now my insurance covers it if there is a next time.

Point is, I AM responsible for my childrens mistakes while they are under my roof and underage. If they screw up, I have to take fiscal responsibility for their damages. If the cops get involved then he has to pay the price of whatever justice is deemed appropriate by the law.

@livinginokinawa So you suggest a society where what happens exactly? This cannot be applied only to the worst cases such as rock throwing at trains (which is obviously appalling behavior and very dangerous). But hypothetically now all families pay for EVERY bit of damage that occurs out of their house. I'd imagine new forms of general insurance would pop in and your taxes may get raised a little more.

@thepersoniamnow if this is how you feel then who is going to pay for the damage that the kids did?

The kids cant work it off, let say, and it isnt all that far fetched an idea either, say that due to the kids actions someone is either injured or killed.

Who pays then? My taxes? Hell NO!

Personal opinions are one thing, but actually punishing the parents for the actions of their children cannot be considered fair or right in any sense of the word unless what the parents did was somehow connected to the actions of their child (and that does not include parenting). The only way it could be legal would be if there were laws for parenting and discipline. On the flip side, new parents that don't know how to raise children should have more access to free childhood development seminars and analysis by professionals.

It is impossible to know everything a kid is doing outside the home, however trust is what counts. Since kids here are not "allowed" to work to earn any money on their own then I believe it is the parents responsibility to pay for the mistakes that their children make.

Either that or sue the school's and teachers that the kids attend for not doing their jobs raising the kid's.

This question is kind of vague.

How old are the kids ?

2 - 5 years olds throwing pebbles to rocks the size of a mobile phone.

I would discipline my child 3 slaps to the bottom. And talk to him/her why you shouldn't do that. Take my child to the person in the hospital or whatever and tell my child to personal apologize for his/her actions. Personal apology & I would ( man up ) pay for damages that I caused if my kid hurt somebody. Or ignore that person and get prepared for a civil lawsuit. which i choose the latter.

6 year olds and up talk to child more in depth and asked why you did it. If it was peer pressure or a dare. I would tell my child never to hangout with his/her friends anymore. take my child to see a counselor or psychiatrist. let the psychiatrist explain to him/her better than me. Teach my child to value his/her life and value the life of others and etc. pay for the damages, let my child apologize first and seek a settlement and if my child is of high school age tell him/her to get a job to pay for the damages you caused. and etc. discipline by taking his favorite belongs for 2 years or whatever. tell my child he/she has to earn my trust again by listening to me and working hard to prove to me. i can trust my child again etc.

The moral to the story is- tell your child everything before the do something careless.

You have to be a walking rulebook always spouting rules and crap so this child of mine can grow up proper. Try to teach my kid to choose before he/she does something.

But the most commonsense thing is to tell my child

If you throw something at an moving object, people, person or transportation. Something bad will happen if you do. Be careful.

Baseballs never throw baseballs or sporting equipment at an person's head. aim for the chest.

hahahahahahahahaha !!!!

First, of all my parents taught me to never throw objects at moving cars, people and etc. except balls, snowballs or etc.

I had commonsense and from good parental guidance to know, wow if i threw a rock at a moving car. I could actually kill or hurt somebody.

Yes, the parents should pay for the damages the child has caused. Saying, I'm sorry is not going to heal a person's eye or bodily damage.

HMMMMM, Usually 2 year old kids like throwing things around. During that time it should be imbedded in the kids head not to throw things if the parent corrects this problem at 2 years old.

What kind of parents these kids end up with are really stupid.

Are the "kids" in question, "kids" under the definition in Japanese law? Meaning a 19 year old is still a "kid".

i agree with fireyrei.

people often forget that whoever a child associates with can effect their behavior.

If the parent is involved in the act (standing next to them while they throw the stones without stopping them), then they should be charged-- with their own actions as participants! But if that is not the case, and the parent had no idea, then they SHOULD NOT be held responsible! No matter how good of a parent you are, you cannot control your child's life.

Even with financial responsibiliy- the child should be reponsible! Take responsibility for your own actions!!

Some people will argue that the parent's rearing techniques are flawed if the child does something bad. But guess what? Children are children, they will make mistakes, and peer pressure will also have a big impact! My sister and I were raised by the same parents for virtually the same amount of time and my sister wa jailed as a minor for drug use, stealing, and credit card fraud. She also gave birth to her first child as a teen and smokes profusely. I on the other hand have never used and abhore drugs, including cigarettes, have never been pregnant and never been involved with the law. I have a steady job and am admittedly a bit of a nerd. My sister was also highly religious and I don't touch the stuff with a ten foot pole. (Our parents are "spiritual", we never went to church and religion was never really present in our lives) Yet we wear raised by the same parents at the same time. We are less than 2 years apart. If it's my parent's fault why my sister turned out like she did, then explain to me how that could even remotely be.

Most comments here show that people don't understand the difference between criminal law and civil law. The question here was whether parents should be prosecuted, which refers to criminal law. The answer to the question must be fundamentally "no", as no parent can have 100% control over their children. Exception must be cases of gross negligence.

On the other hand, with regard to civil claims by the aggrieved party, parents should be fully responsible. In other countries you can take out liability insurances for that purpose if you deem it necessary (not only for children, btw).

Last but not least, others could be held responsible as well. When children throw stones from the roof of a school, the primary responsible should be the school. When children enter a private site, the owner of that site should be held responsible as long as he cannot show that he has taken reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized access by children.

I'd be interested to learn about the exact legal situation in Japan. Anybody here who can elaborate?

I agree with Nessie here. I think the parents should be liable for damages, which would happen in a civil suit conviction. (Somebody's got to pay for the damage!) But holding the parents liable in a criminal suit, with the possibility that mom or dad might be doing jail time for something neither one did? That's too much.

Hey, if Japan wants to hold senpais partially culpable for their kouhais crimes, why stop at the parents? You could just as easily hold a 10-year-old boy responsible for witnessing the rocks thrown by his 8-year-old brother. Book 'em, Dano!

BTW, is there an epidemic of rock-throwing I've missed? I thought I was up on the latest news, but perhaps not ...

By prosecution, are they saying the parents should be held ciminally liable, i.e., do jail time? As it stands, it is my understanding that the parents can be sued. In that sense, they are already responsible.

I am against the creeping legal effort of group criminal liability, such as charging people for murder when they are tangentially involved (i.e., lending someone the car that ends up being used as a getaway vehicle). It goes against the idea of personal responsibility.

I think charging the parents with 'negligence' would be something, if they don't charge them with anything else. Even if they DON'T charge the parents with any crimes, the parents should have to pay back the full cost of any damage, delays, or other harm done as a result of the kids action. After that, the parents should give the kids one of two options:

1) find work (depending on age, of course) to pay back at least part of what they have to do.

2) get out of the house, and never come back.

A combination of both wouldn't be bad, either. Two should be a threat of what will happen if they do such acts again.

Barring either of those, the parents will just have to swallow it and wait for the child to do it again, and not curse society for being such poor parents.

I am a parent & i stay very close to my son. I stress values & teach right & wrong. I know (ask) where he's going & what time he'll be back. If somewhere along the line he strays & does something bad, there would have been no way I could have known. He should be punished for his actions. He should have to pay for damage inflicted . These things I also point out to him. Obviously, if it was expensive damage, the parent would have to pay up front as the child most likely doesn't have much or any money. & work something out whereas they'd pay you back. Not sure what else can be done. Can't blame the school & I dislike when the parents do that, mainly because they don't know how to parent . already in japan too much is blamed on the schools.

Of course NO.

My parents were strict as, VERY strict with moral discipline & the like.

However, I grew up in a rough area where peer pressure led to following what everyone else did: throw stones, bricks whatever at each other, and cars passing by with no permission to be on our street. We did worse, and that is beside the point.

Parents CANNOT control every movement or action of their child, it is blatantly impossible.

If a 13yr is punished for throwing building bricks of a bridge and causes expensive damage, who will pay for that damage? Going to dock the teens pocket/lunch-money till it is paid of? Going to throw the teen into Juvie prison, etc?

Community service for the kid, and make the parents pay compensation.

Let's face it though, you can try your best to raise your child to be a responsible young adult, but there comes a time in almost every kid's life when he will want to rebel, regardless of how well his parents have raised him. Unless the child has extremely strong moral convictions indoctrinated via (God forbid!) religion or uberparents, peer pressure is going to play some influence in the child's decisions.

The parents should definitely foot the bill when the child cannot pay up, but that doesn't mean they should automatically be labelled "bad parents".

How about if the thrown stone caused a death?

Well, I hope no-one here thinks the parents should go to jail for a death their child caused unless there is an extremely strong case of parental negligence (keeping a loaded gun on the table which a 10yr old picks up and shoots his best friend with etc.).

Under most circumstances, if the child kills someone, he should be tried and sentenced according to the law.

The only other real alternative is punishing the misbehaving kids by the law. Some community service would do them a world of good and the parents should be held responsible only if they fail to make sure their kids do the job properly.

But letting the government do the parents' job is a real slippery slope. If you're not held responsible for your kid's misdemeanors you may as well give up on parenting altogether and let the state take over. All in all I'm sure most parents would rather swallow the bitter pill themselves than surrender their rights to raise their kids as they see fit.

I would, however, draw the line at repeated offenders. If the parents are clearly not up to the task the law may have to step in. Same with more serious crimes. Bear in mind the youngest serial killer was only eight years old and definitely shouldn't end up with a slap on the wrist from his parents.

I think the government should arrest and prosecute the whole family and bulldoze their house. Surely the prosecution should extend at least two generations back. The grandparents raised the monsters who raised the monster. The child's siblings should be detained preemptively, because they are likely to exhibit similar anti-social behavior. Does the child have friends? They need to be thoroughly investigated for potential rock throwing tendencies.

Do you want to start prosecuting ignorance? Many of these parents probably don't know how to raise kids

Maybe the prospect of prosecution would be a good incentive for them to learn?

parents are going to need to buy a new kind of insurance!

Or they could just raise their kids not to be yobbos. It takes a bit of time and effort, but it isn't difficult.

Question.

If a 13yr is punished for throwing building bricks of a bridge and causes expensive damage, who will pay for that damage? Going to dock the teens pocket/lunch-money till it is paid of? Going to throw the teen into Juvie prison, etc?

How about if the thrown stone caused a death?

And of course in that case parents can say why raise him teach him proper behaviour, as I am not responsible for his actions.

We are not talking about throwing some pebbles at a window, etc or a baseball breaking a window, reread the question.

It is, however, reasonable to adjudicate for compensation; to levy counseling and probation; to alert the parents they're on notice as legal guardians with some liability for the actions of their minors. Should be a matter for the civil courts though. And of course, victims can sue for damages, etc. Isn't that enough? That's plenty.

I wud have voted for common sense if it was an option, but not sure its all that Jpn in Jpn anyway so............

It indeed wud be a slippery slope if parents get slapped with massive chgs for something, I am all for discipline, making kids do with out, grounding, trying to make sure they learn from the incident.

BUT I dont think its a good idea parnets cud face huge fines or costs, otherwise parents are going to need to buy a new kind of insurance!

But I also dont want to see other parties saddled with costs, I think if something happens & the costs are large $$$ wise that WE ALL NEED TO PAY!

Obviously, it's the kid's that should be punished and not the parents.

I kind of like those things called civil liberties. You know, the kind of rights that generally protect people from being tried and convicted for crimes they didn't commit.

This would be a significant step on the slippery slope to prosecuting anyone for anything.

Witness the two guys getting jail time for letting their co-worker drive drunk. Japan is already on that slippery slope to transferring liability from only the perpetrator to anyone else they can as well.

This would be a significant step on the slippery slope to prosecuting anyone for anything.

Do you want to start prosecuting ignorance? Many of these parents probably don't know how to raise kids; do you then prosecute their parents? How about their teachers; is parenting taught in schools - why not? Do you prosecute the principals of these kids' schools for not maintaining control over them? Do you prosecute the parents' bosses for demanding huge amounts of overtime?

Criminal prosecution has become the lazy, ignorant, cowardly way of dealing with social problems; it should be the very last resort of an intelligent society; it should only focus on proven guilty parties; it should be difficult, not easy. The more power to prosecute we grant, the more likely each and every one of us will be liable to it for something or other. Is that what we want?

I kind of like those things called civil liberties. You know, the kind of rights that generally protect people from being tried and convicted for crimes they didn't commit. I'm happy to see bad parents charged with negligence or child abuse, but that would involve the parents, ya know, actually committing a crime.

They are getting away with it. It's the parents that are being prosecuted.

No their not if your a neing good parent. After your prosecuted you discipline your kids. Then they learn that what they did is wrong. Common sense! I really think I need to open up a common sense school here.

They are getting away with it. It's the parents that are being prosecuted.

If they parents aren't prosecuted, then they're getting away with raising mini-louts. Hopefully the short sharp legal slap will encourage them to educate their kids?

The kid who finds out at age 9 that he can wreak havoc and get away with it will still be doing it at age 19.

They are getting away with it. It's the parents that are being prosecuted.

The kid who finds out at age 9 that he can wreak havoc and get away with it will still be doing it at age 19. Parents are responsible for their kids; either bring them up right, or keep them supervised at home. If the parents aren't prosecuted and made to take responsibility, who is going to pay compensation for the damage?

So true!

I am all for kids having fun. But throwing rocks(an action designed to cause damage/injury) is not included there. In the worst case those actions can cause a death or worse.

Sure you will turn a blind-eye when your car gets a few tends or a broken windows from kids playing.

Many kids are monsters. I think parents are responsible for that. They overspoil to the degree they create evil kids.

Parents(Guardians) are legally responsible for their kids actions and liable for damages they cause. So they should get a free ticket and victims no compensation?

Kids will do bad things sometimes and parents should discipline them, but to be prosecuted for their actions? Come on. It's a slippery slope...

Indeed it is a slippery slope. The kid who finds out at age 9 that he can wreak havoc and get away with it will still be doing it at age 19. Parents are responsible for their kids; either bring them up right, or keep them supervised at home. If the parents aren't prosecuted and made to take responsibility, who is going to pay compensation for the damage?

I can't believe some people voted yes. Kids will do bad things sometimes and parents should discipline them, but to be prosecuted for their actions? Come on. It's a slippery slope...

Can’t believe people voted no. It tells me what kind of parents we have. There your kids until they are an adult. Grow up and take reasonability for your kids. I really think I need to open up a common sense school here.