Kendall Folley

Prof. Bell

English Comp 1101-53

November 25 2019

Teen Curfew

When thinking of the life of a teenager what does it entail? Young, wild, free. Being out

and about, a night on the town, just living your best life. As amazing as that sounds, there should

be some structure. Teen curfew is something that is necessary and needs to appear in our world

today. A teenager should not be able to do whatever they want and go wherever they want at any

time they want. There should be rules and there should be a curfew. A curfew set by parents or

even a curfew set by the town. If a teenager has to follow a curfew they have to learn many

things like respect, responsibility, and honesty. All of these being positive attributes to help

shape their character in life.

First of all, safety is very important. There is a lesser risk of something happening when a

teenager can’t stay out as late. In the article “Are Curfews Effective When Keeping Teens Out of

Trouble?” it is shown that when New Orleans put in a law of a time that teenagers must be in by,

the teen crime rates dropped by 20 percent. Also in Dallas, there was a 30 percent decrease in

juvenile crime, and also a 21 percent drop in crimes committed by young people as well. There

shouldn’t have to be a worry of whether or not your child is out and about getting into trouble.

With an enforced law, there will be less worry of that, seeing as your child will be home and safe

by a certain time every night.

Furthermore, having a curfew puts parents more at ease. It will give more predictability

knowing that your child is going to be home at a certain time, therefore producing less worry. It
makes raising a lot easier. When given a curfew, there is structure and responsibility and it builds

on the aspect of trust that you can have with your child. It only shows that your child is deserving

and is taking values seriously. Also, if for some reason your child doesn’t make it home by the

required time, then that will give you the feeling that something might be wrong, which in turn

will lead to you acting on your child's safety.

If you are going to have a curfew there have to be some rules. Curfew doesn’t have to be

looked at as a negative thing at all. When setting a curfew, there are some things that you do and

some things that you just really avoid. In “How to Set Teen Curfews”, Denise Witmer talks

about the do’s and don'ts. For example, she says, “You should establish a curfew based on what's

best for your teen and what's best for your family.” (2) If your child is struggling with following

rules or listening, then in turn that means they shouldn’t get as late a curfew as they might if they

are showing that they are taking their curfew seriously and that they want to be trusted. When

finally getting down to actually setting the curfew you have to be reasonable. Show some

leniency when there are special occasions. It would be smart to talk about plans ahead of time

and then set curfew accordingly. When setting curfew, do not listen to what everyone else is

doing. It doesn’t matter if Peggy down the street gets to stay out until 12, if that’s not what works

best for you and your family, then stick to what is right.

On the other hand, a lot of people do not agree that teen curfew should be in place. Take

Bill Wirtz for example. Wirtz is the author of the article “ Curfew for Teens are Pointless and

Violate Human Rights”. If you don’t see it from the title of the article, I’ll tell you why he

doesn’t believe in curfews. Wirtz thinks that if you are to set a curfew for your teenage child,

then you are taking away their freedom. He says in the article “Children and teenagers already

have to follow an enormous set of rules that are not laws at all, generated by their guardians.
Being under tutelage couldn’t be more arbitrary…” (3) Wirtz is referring to state enforced

curfews. He believes that minors are the less free of all and that they have no freedom of

movement whatsoever. I disagree. First of all, minors shouldn’t have all the freedom in the

world. Being a teenager means finding yourself, that means you make mistakes and that’s what

you’re supposed to do to learn from them. If a juvenile has all the freedom in the world, they are

never going to learn what’s wrong and what’s right. Having a curfew means that you are learning

so many important characteristics. A teenager should have to earn freedom, not automatically get

it or how else are they going to collect or experience all these important attributes?

All things considered, teenagers should be held to the responsibility of a curfew. Just

because there is a curfew doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, it just means that there is room to earn,

and room to learn. While putting in a curfew, parents and law enforcement should express that

this isn’t a punishment, but more of what is necessary to help shape character. Implementing this

curfew is going to make kids more accountable and generally provide a safer environment for

teenagers to live in.

Works Cited Page

Moutria, Kristen. “The Advantages of Teenage Curfews.” Our Everyday Life, 10 Jan. 2019,

https://oureverydaylife.com/advantages-teenage-curfews-8344536.html.
“Teenagers Who Refuse to Obey Parental Authority.” LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf Group,

https://www.livestrong.com/article/1005728-teenagers-refuse-obey-parental-authority/.

Witmer, Denise. “The Do's and Don'ts of Setting Teen Curfew Rules.” Verywell Family,

Verywell Family, 15 Sept. 2019, www.verywellfamily.com/advice-on-curfews-for-teens-

2606170.

Wirtz, Bill. “Curfews for Teens Are Pointless and Violate Human Rights: Bill Wirtz.” FEE

Freeman Article, Foundation for Economic Education, 14 Aug. 2016, fee.org/articles/curfews-

for-teens-are-pointless-and-violate-human-rights/.

"Teen curfews: a good idea?" Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication, 5 Sept. 1994, p. 3.

Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A16732196/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=155998f5.

Accessed 8 Nov. 2019.