It is considered by some that people should be punished if they commits a crime even if they are children, while there are others who think parents should be punished instead of their child who actually committed a crime. In my opinion, I believe that no matter how old criminal is, punishment has to be taken by the one who committed a crime while charging a punishment to someone else. In this following paragraph, I will discuss both views and give my idea based on them.
On the one hand, it is difficult to punish children for a crime they committed. At first, they have less knowledge about society due to a lack of educational background. Some children commit a crime not knowing what is right or wrong. In this case, it is more efficient to punish their parents instead of directly blaming them because parents have a huge responsibility of taking care of their children. Moreover, punishing children is likely to affect their further lives. Some of them might not be able to go to school anymore due to a punishment, leading absence of educational background which tends to a repeatedly crime commitment.
On the other hand, when a child commits a crime, throwing all faults to their parents does not necessary help them to be an adult. Even thought they commit a crime due to a less life experience, children should be punished to learn about society more. Furthermore, it is hard to define “a child”. Some countries like Japan consider a person who is over 18 is an adult, however, in the United State, people who are 18 is not an adult yet. 21 is an official age to become an adult in the United State. A crime committed by a elementary school student or high school students are significant different comparing to their educational background but a crime committed by 18-year-old or 19-year-old does not seem different at all.
In conclusion, although there is an idea that parents should be punished if their children commits a crime due to a difference of an ability and life experiences between children and adults, I reckon that a child is a one who should be punished in order to learn to be adults.
