Teenagers and Curfews

            Curfews have been used for numerous decades as a tool for curbing bad behavior and vandalism in teens. It is widely believed that during late hours teens make more bad choices and cause more damage than in earlier hours of the night. Parents and towns have used curfews to try to achieve the goal of limiting the opportunity of rebellion in kids. Although many might believe that curfews add to the safety of their children, curfews by themselves are not the answer. Curfews are initiated for a variety of reasons. Parents have a tendency to worry less when there is a curfew established and their children obey it. If the parents know that their children are going to be out until the set time of curfew, then they know when their worrying will end. When there is no curfew in place, the parents will stay up worrying until the child decides to come home(Debate.org "). This can cause long nights with no sleep for the parents and can cause tension between them and the teens. Although it is believed that most juvenile crimes happen after midnight, federal crime statistics show that the majority of juvenile crimes peak between 2:00pm.and 6:00p.m., non curfew hours (Anderson).
             The whole reasoning behind curfews is that parents believe it helps to keep teens safe and out of trouble. Curfews are also used to teach kids boundaries and discipline that they will need as they enter adulthood and the work force. When parents set curfews they are showing their kids that they care about them and have their best interest in mind. Towns and cities implement curfews to limit the amount of vandalism and other crimes teenagers commit while out late at night (Anderson). It also helps save on the cost of having to patrol and pay for the damage caused by the teens. Many parents believe that giving their kids a curfew is going to keep them out of trouble completely and that nothing bad is going to happen to them. Even with a curfew teens are going to do what they want (Anderson).