Kids
With Two Parents Better Behaved
Children with
a mother and father at home who keep track of their movements are among
the
least likely to get involved in delinquent behaviour, new Statistics Canada
research has discovered.
As the Globe and Mail reported,
the study
surveyed more than 3,200 Toronto schoolchildren in Grades 7 to 9. When
asked to
self-report their involvement in crimes related to violence, property
and
drugs, 37 per cent admitted to taking part in such delinquent acts as
gang
fights, carrying a weapon, shoplifting, vandalism, arson, auto theft
and
break-ins.
Of those who
got involved in wrongdoing, 18 per cent had two parents at home, 25 per
cent
lived with one parent and 35 per cent were part of a stepfamily. And
when
parents monitored what their kids were doing outside the home, only 12
per cent
of them got into trouble, compared to 56 per cent of those whose
parents rarely
or never knew where they were.
Constable
Scott Mills, a Toronto Police Crime Stoppers school officer, believes
parental
involvement is also crucial as part of the adult response to a child’s
errant
behaviour.
“There’s a lot of kids who
experiment,” Mills told the Globe
and Mail. “That’s why when they get caught it’s good to have people
that
care, at whatever level it is – at school, at a community centre, with
the
police, but most importantly with Mom and Dad – and get them involved
with
something productive.”
