Chalmers 1

Landry Chalmers

EAE4U

Assignment 13

July 22 2022

Can a child's actions be blamed on a parent's behavior?

When a child misbehaves, their parents are often blamed. Many people believe that

since it’s the parents who raise them, the child's actions stem directly from the parents

behavior. However, this is not true. A child's actions cannot be solely blamed on a parent’s

behaviour because the child’s actions can also be affected by internal struggles and outside

influences.

First of all, a child’s internal struggles can dictate what they do. Mental health can

affect the way a child behaves. “It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine

how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices” (CDC). Mental health

issues can be caused by a number of things, including trauma, ongoing medical conditions,

biological factors, chemical imbalances in the brain and experiences like bullying. These

factors are not caused by a parent, so they can’t take responsibility for a child’s actions

caused by their poor mental health. Also, growth and development can influence a child’s

actions. When growing up, many children are trying to figure out who they are. Thus, they

will try new things and make mistakes while trying to discover their identity. Children are

going to act differently and do different things, it’s just part of growing up. “Growth and

development includes not only the physical changes that occur from infancy to adolescence,

but also some of the changes in emotions, personality, behavior, thinking and speech that

children develop.” (CHOC) As a parent can’t control the internal struggles of a child, they

should not bear the blame for their actions.

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Additionally, outside influences can affect the way a child behaves. Friends, peers,

colleagues, and other people around us can make us act a certain way. There is, of course,

peer pressure, which is essentially pressure to conform, so to act a certain way. However,

people's influence is more commonly “largely unconscious. Beneath [our] awareness, [our]

brain is constantly picking up on cues from the people around [us] to inform [our] behavior.”

(BBC) Even if it’s not on purpose, our friends have a huge effect on our behavior, which has

nothing to do with parents. Also, the media can influence a child’s actions. Media is able to

influence beliefs, attitude and behaviours by displaying certain content. “Media information

about new norms may persuade individuals to accept them.” (Gender Action Portal). For

example, if the media shows that everyone is dressing in a new style, a child might be

persuaded to go along with it. Parent’s do not have control of these outside influences, so

they cannot be blamed for a child’s actions.

In conclusion, there are many things that can influence a child’s actions. Internal

struggles and outside influences are just part of it. As parents don’t control these factors, they

cannot be blamed for a child’s actions, even though this is often the case.
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Works Cited

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “About Mental Health.” Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention. June 28 2021.

https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index. htm. Consulted July 22nd 2022. Website.

CHOC. “Child Development Guide : Ages and Stages.” CHOC. 2021.

https://www.choc.org/ primary-care/ages-stages/. Consulted July 22nd 2022. Website.

Harvard Kennedy School. “How Does Media Influence Social Norms.” Gender

Action Portal. 2021. https://gap.hks.harvard.edu/how-does-media-influence-social-norms-

field -experiment-role-common-knowledge#:~:text=In%20the%20individual%20effect%2C

%20media,others%20have%20also%20accepted%20it. Consulted July 22nd 2022. Website.

Park, William. “Our health choices are constantly influenced by our friends, both

consciously or unconsciously.” BBC. May 20 2019. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/

20190520-how-your-friends-change-your-habits---for-better-and-worse. Consulted July 22nd

2022. Website.