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Opinions?

Yes and no. Abusive parents can make a criminal out of any child. But not all cases children turn bad because of abusive parents. Surely it is unfair to lay the blame entirely on the parents?

Though I don't deny that bad parents have detrimental effects on child development.

It takes two to tangle.

That's all I will say. :-)

I think there are plenty of bad kids out there that have bad parents, and there are bad kids that have great parents. Environment can and does play a factor but not always. I think it all depends on the person and their situation

I think it most depends on the company a child has. Bad parents most definitely have bad children but all bad children not necessarily have bad parents.

I pretty much agree with you there. I think that the behaviour of the child is mostly the parent's fault. However, exceptions exist.

Hmm... firstly after reading the above comments, i wonder how many of you are parents and have gone through life as a parent..

As Fong rightly said, there is no yes or no answer to this subject. Parents, good or bad, are not the ones who are solely responsible for how a child turns out. There are several factors that influence a child's behaviour and these are both external as well as internal...

Parents do play a role in shaping the behaviour of a child but their role is as important or as influential as that of others. To say that the behaviour of a child is mostly the fault of a parent is not only wrong but also totally unacceptable.

If you are talking about child abuse, the factor is completely different and I agree with Fong when he says that it is not necessary that abusive parents beget abusive children.. there are several psychological studies to prove that a behaviour of an individual is actually the result of multiple influencing factors and not one.. Anyway, abuse is a different story altogether...

On the other hand if you are simply talking about daily everyday behaviour of a child, here again, his or her peers, other people in the family, teachers, other persons of interest or influence, media interventions etc all play a very important role. How many of us have actually behaved a certain way with our parents because we have seen it work in another friend's case.. is this due to how our parents have raised us or is it due to our experimenting with peer pressures and its various aspects...

Blaming a parent is very easy but try walking in their shoes for a while and let me tell you as a mother of a 7 year old, it is not easy. Every day you have to decide or think hundred times before doing anything... fearing the repercussions that it will have on your child. And despite such internal discussions and debates, there are times when you take the wrong decision - we are humans after all... it is easy to say then that the parent is wrong... but have you never taken a wrong decision, done something wrong or even thought the wrong way?? if you have, why not our parents???

Anyway i can go on and on but won't.. as Rizwan pointed out earlier.. it takes two to tango.. and that is the honest to god truth in this case as well.

Joffrey of the Houses Baratheon and Lannister, the First of His Name.. I rest my case :)

Leopold and Loeb.

Srividya wrote: "Hmm... firstly after reading the above comments, i wonder how many of you are parents and have gone through life as a parent..

As Fong rightly said, there is no yes or no answer to this subject. ..."

I see ur point...I agree that how a child turns out is not entirely a parent's fault...in fact, a lot of parents suffer to see their children grow up in a way in which they didn't want the child to. How a child turns out basically depends on the company he keeps, so more than parents it should be the child's peers. A parent can be good, but his child may turn out bad for different reasons but....bad parents have bad children maybe because their parents' behaviour after all has a huge effect on their lives...so if the parent is bad, most chances are there that the child can be bad too...

I don't believe that. A parent can be good and raise their child right and the child can still be bad. Also children of bad parents can turn out good.

Parents influence children but don't fully form them.

Kids are born with a basic personality already. I've seen plenty of situations with great parents and iffy kids.

There's too much outside influence to blame the parents every time the kid doesn something wrong or turns out off kilter.

Common sense tells that horrible parenting will definitely influence the child poorly...but they are parents, not scapegoats. Society loves to blame someone for everything bad that happens besides the person themselves, they always want to find others at fault.

Yes and no. In most cases parents are a major influence on their child. Such as how respectful they are of others, their work ethic, their influence on others. These 3 things I just listed are usually determined by how the parent acts, what tv shows or games they are allowed to watch, friends they can hang out with. So in reality parents are the influence on children and how they turn out.

Bad parenting rather.

Ooh, that's tough. I think it has more to do with patterns of behavior a parent sets. I'm not a parent, but I've heard time and time again that parents shouldn't necessarily try to befriend their kids, because it will spell trouble in the future. I do think it's important for kids to have structure, and boundaries, and consistency - but not necessarily in a super-strict environment. My parents aren't perfect, but they didn't over-coddle, didn't try to place my sister and I in a Perfect World Bubble...and, as a result, we are (fairly) well-balanced, capable young adults. One of our family friends, though; has been coddled all her life. She's 15, and still looks to her parents to order for her at a restaurant! She also has little regard for others...ever since she was born, it's basically been all about her, and whatever she wants. Of course, as a result, you get a materialistic kid with no sense of financial value...this girl's parents bought her the iPhone 6, and she only got a slap on the wrist, when she shattered the screen not long after she opened it. Ice skates, books, a PS4, a Wii...all things that she has just been handed. She'll start driving this summer, but she doesn't want her mom's "beat up, 'old' car...she wants her dad to teach her in his Porsche "because it's cool. And small; and therefore, easy to learn on." Sure.

Anyway, I could go on, and on. I do think parents have a huge influence on their children, but I also think it has a lot to do with patterns set for a kid from the time they're little. Hand them new toys, and fancy gadgets, and they'll think you owe them the world...when in reality, you don't owe them anything but to teach them kindness, morals, compassion, and respect. And maybe a few life skills along the way.

For this I would say yes and no as I work with children so I get to see both sides and some children can be really tricky but there can be reasons

Yes, parents do shape their children's views.. but no, because sometimes kids can be brats