New Jersey kids randomly knock people out.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Tombstone RJ

ok, think about it this way: if there is even a possibility of prosecuting the parents and holding them liable for their kid's actions, I think that will force many parents (who have kids who are out of control) to become better parents, that is, to not just kick the can down the street. They have to get involved or there is the possibility that if little Johnny kills someone drunk driving that they may in fact, be held responsible.

That's all I'm saying. Make it an option for the prosecution to go after said parents. I'm not saying it will work every time. But what I am saying is that in a case-by-case basis, if the prosecution has this option, it may indeed force parents to be way more active and responsible for their kid's lives.

Again, I'm not against trying something different. And I'm not even against some less popular draconian solutions. But I just really don't see any punishment making the people in these situations better parents. You can't force someone to be a better parent if they're resistant to it or just flat don't care. Most of these people have nothing, and they know they have nothing. It's hard to convince someone to change, when the motivation you're using is punishment by taking things away from them. About the only thing they have left to take is their freedom. And besides the ethics of that situation, we're still left to financially support them and their offspring, likely to a greater degree than we already are.