Teenage Curfew

Teenage Curfew

A majority of parents and public want to put a teenage curfew into effect, assuming it will avert alcohol and drug abuse from teens. Most curfew policies require teens under 18 years of age to be home at certain hours at night, unless they have a legitimate excuse or are accompanied by a parent/guardian. By reducing the number of youth on the street during certain hours, curfews are thought to lesson the number of circumstances in which youth crime can occur. Crime perhaps, but when it comes to alcohol and drugs, teens are going to use them whether there is a curfew or not.

Implementing a curfew on teenagers would not only not keep them from alcohol and drug usage, but it would promote them to sneak behind their parents back. Various people want to employ a curfew thinking it would keep teenagers more protected, but from my experience, it would only make the situation worse. The curfew would force kids to lie to their parents and risk being caught because they are sneaking out of their homes in the middle of the night.

Various people might say that parents need to play a bigger role and apply the curfew consistently to make it successful, but that is only going to bring about lying where they are or what they are doing to try to avoid the curfew time. People might also say that there needs to be a specific curfew for everyday so the teenager cannot influence the time with special occasions; however, this will only cause the teenager to sneak out of their home and put themselves in more harm instead of having no curfew and letting the parents know where they are. The best way is to have no curfew and rely more on trust between the parent and teenager. I believe this is the best way to prevent alcohol and drug abuse.