Quite Frankly,,,,, I think everybody who lives their life in a fishbowl has some degree of fear of what their children might do. Kids occasionally make 'miss steps' as they are growing up. Children of public officials have a very tough row to hoe and are not allowed to make these mistakes without the glare of the media looking over their shoulder and reporting such.
When a child of a (Republican) Public Official fails to live up to their parent's and the public's expectations it is strewn all over newspapers and TV and quickly becomes a reflection on the parent. Very few people in this world raise PERFECT children.
I have witnessed normally "focused" parents become very ineffective on the job when dealing with Acting Out teens at home. It gets even worse when the kid breaks the law.
No kid is any better than the crowd they are running with. And kids who are constantly reminded that they must 'toe the line' because of Daddy or Mommy's 'position' become resentful in a hurry. This, in itself, is a prescription for trouble.
Scared of the kids? Perhaps not literally. Scared of what those kids might do? You Bet.