[Vigilantcitizen]

Look, I'm not trying to come of as an azz, but one of my pet peeves is parents blaming others when bad things happen to their children.

One of the biggest flamings I've received here at FR was for a thread I posted about 5 girls, all between the ages of 14-16 were killed when they were allowed by one of their fathers to all 5 crowd on a 4 wheeler/ATV, and ride it on a public street. They had a collision with a car and all 5 died.

I took the father to task, and was flamed merclessly.

Well, one of the biggest fights with my now 16 year old daughter I've had was last year. She wanted to go joyriding with her friend who had just gotten her driver's license that day.

It was Friday night, it was raining. I said no.

That night, the friend my daughter wanted to go joyriding with lost control on a slick road and hit a tree, killing herself and another young girl. Had I not took my stand, my daughter would've been in that car.

Sometimes, parents must take responsibility for what happens to their children.

[cyborg]

I happen to agree that parents must take responsibility, esp. in light of your story. Imagine if you didn't! However, if he wasn't drunk, he may not have hit the boy to begin with.

[Minute Swat]

Yeah but what you said was objective and made sense - which is not tolerated on political sites.

That being said, it's time for a flamin'.

I can't believe you would say something so stupid. /sarcasm

[BraveMan]

Look, I'm not trying to come of as an azz, but one of my pet peeves is parents blaming others when bad things happen to their children.

I cannot and will not take the parents to task for their comments. Nor should you. They speak from a position of inconsolable grief; a position which I am all too familiar with.

I would however urge all readers of this forum, especially those with teenage children, to weigh your words carefully and take them to heart. Do not assume other childrens' parents share your concerns about safety and personal responsibility. We live in a society of enablers; parents willing to risk their (and your) childrens' lives in order to provide them with some creature comfort or privilege. Those actions and risks sometimes come with great personal cost, a cost not always paid solely by the debtor.

Above all, know where your children are and who your children are with. Perhaps more importantly, know their parents, for their children will likely share the same morality, personal responsibility and concern for consequences (or lack thereof) as their parents.