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Adolescent Curfews
Paige Montague

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Abstract
Adolescents need to be able to make their own decisions and learn from the makes that
they make. This because no one is going to hold their hand as theyre older. Making choices
and living with the consequences is apart of growing up. The older a child gets, the more
responsibility they receive and must attain in order to keep moving forward with trust and
becoming an adult. The lack of curfew will teach them quickly what will work for them and
what wont.

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Adolescent Curfew
Pushed too far this time. So many things interestings experiences and fun times happen
after the curfew. Sneaking out seems reasonable, if done correctly no adult will ever find out, a
good time will be had, and it will not be a big deal. Adults these days limit teens to a certain
time because adults feel that Nothing good happens after 10 pm. when in reality, there is a
striving fear for the adolescents and almost adults of todays society. The cold truth is that the
little girls and boys are growing up and need to start making adult decisions, before it is too
late and make a decision behind the parents backs that affects the future for the worse. The
controversy over teen curfew has been an important argument since the idea of freedom entered
the craniums of adolescents worldwide and the parents still feel the need to protect the children.
Adults expect adult like behavior when trouble erupts but when in fact childlike responsibilities
are still given to the almost adults and then the adults are shocked when children do not act with
almost adult behavior which is expected. Curfews only push teenagers to want to go behind
parents and the laws back, teens do as pleased because independence is the only thing in mind
and the teens are old enough to make the decisions parents talk about making. The adults say the
decisions are up to the adults because the responsibility of the teens is still in reach and under
parental control. But, when trust is lost in teens from attempting to make adult decisions, the
adults give more reasons why the teen was not ready but in fact, the teen is ready but was not
given a chance in the first place to prove the level of maturity inside. Not allowing freedom will
only push adolescents away from parents and eventually cause corruption within a household
and family setting. Teens should not have an early curfew because adult decisions need to be
made, teens must defend for the wrong choice that was possibly made, and to learn from the
mistakes and strive on the right decisions that were made.

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Adolescent curfews do not work, according to an article by Jonathan Zimmerman, in

Detroit, after it adopted a youth curfew in 1976. Juvenile crime dropped 6 percent during the
curfew hours, but it increased 13 percent in the midafternoon. Nationwide, more than 80 percent
of juvenile offenses take place between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. - outside most curfews. If the
following is true, why are adults married to curfews? Zimmerman states, The answer has less
to do with youth than with adults. Whenever we get worried that the youth are out of control, we
enact a curfew. And that makes us feel better, even if it doesn't make crime go down. The truth
is that the adults in todays society choose to attempt to control the adolescents instead of trying
to understand and work out an agreement because of the fear of being equal with the teens and
losing over all control of the teens. The crime rates dont even apply to the set times of curfew,
the greatest spike in curfews came in the early 1990s, amid a sharp rise in youth crime. Between
1988 and 1992, criminal offenses by juveniles rose 26 percent; even worse, youth crimes against
persons - murder, rape, and assault - skyrocketed 56 percent states Zimmerman.
According to Persuasive Essay, Curfew laws violate the First Amendment, which is
protection of freedom of speech and association. They also violate equal protection under the
Fifth Amendment as well as unreasonable searches and due process under the Fourth
Amendment, rights have been claimed to have been violated by curfew laws. Teens more than
most adults fight that the set rules, violate minor's freedom and that the First Amendment is
evidence of that and that, Parents should determine when their children should be in the house
not the government because, Statistics show that most juvenile crimes happen between 3 pm.
And 6pm, therefore youth curfew really does not serve a purpose. (Teen Curfew Laws). Also
chamikamckennon states that Some say it is bias and ineffective while others believe that it is
necessary and serves as an incentive to keep children in school and off of the streets. Teens

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dont care to be man-handled and told what to do, because becoming an adult is right around
the corner and being controlled doesnt set well in the mind of an independent, stubborn
teenager.
Money has always been an issue in this country and state legislative has made multiple
cutbacks over time because there is not enough school funding left in the state account. Grants
have been approved for the law to help enforce curfews and maintain the trouble stirred up
during the curfew hours over the past several decades. Statistics show that the most crime
happens outside of curfew hours which means the government is wasting money and time
attempting to gain control of an uncontrollable situation. Instead of spending so much money on
this so called issue, the money should be put towards after school programs for troubled
children or even into class supplies to give the children a better opportunity in school. Schools
have always had an issue with keeping children in school especially when the school is located in
minority communities, According to experts youth curfews are more strictly enforced in
minority neighborhoods rather than white areas (Teen Curfew Laws). Therefore, money used
for curfews should instead be used to help create programs and encourage students to stay in
school and to maintain an education for a successful future.
As said before, when teenagers seem to get in trouble, adults and government enforce
rules and laws to attempt to maintain adolescent actions and decisions. There are two major
reasons why parents feel curfews should be imposed on teenagers, The first is as parents its
their responsibility to keep their children safe, so they need to know when to expect a teenager to
be home. Parents need to know when their child is coming home so that they can get some
sleep. Second is that setting up a curfew will keep a teen out of trouble legally (shaunhiew).
Should teens give the ones responsible an idea of when the arrival time home will be? The

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adults and teenagers should be the ones discussing this and not the government because the
teenagers do not belong to the government and it is none of the governments business until a
law is broken such as assult or robbery, etc. In the essay from shaunhiew, it states as parents
its their responsibility to keep their children safe, and monitor their daily activities, so they need
to know what time their teenager is coming home the statement says that the adults need to
control the teenagers and their actions because there is not trust between the two. The adults
need to trust that the children were raised properly in a way that there is trust between a child and
parent, so the parent shouldnt have to know where the child is at all times and that the behavior
of the child is proper and orderly. If the child does not act properly then the consequences shall
follow as in any unruly or criminal situation. The second idea is that imposing curfews would
help keep teenagers out of trouble legally and In support of this teenagers are curious to try
and explore new things, and they may not always be good things, they may not know whether it
is the right thing to do or not, imposing a curfew would in a way help them not to make mistakes
that may affect their future, or something that they will regret for the rest of their lives
(shaunhiew). This second idea suggests that teens only get into trouble when curfew time rolls
around, shaunhiew also stated, most teens are influenced into smoking, drinking, and taking
drugs because of peer pressure, these few things can get you into a lot of trouble with the law
since you are doing these things that are prohibited to patrons that are underage. The influence
of drugs, smoking, and alcohol do not only occur during the curfew hours either, during school
hours is when most peer pressure situations occur. Students are around close friends for up to
eight hours a day during school and that is when most drug deals and smoking occurs. Just last
year in Clio High School during first period two high school girls, one a sophomore and one a
junior, were caught with heroin and arrested directly from the school. One senior from Clio

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High School two years ago was using a medical marijuana card to sell marijuana to other
students during fourth period in the bathroom by hiding it behind the toilets and gathering the
money first, this wasnt caught by any authority. According to Teen Drug Abuse Statistics,
29% of teens in grades 9 through 12 report that illegal drugs were made available to them on
school property. Not only that, 38.4% of teens in public schools report that drugs are readily
available (as opposed to 22.4% at private schools). Teens are more like to get into trouble
during school hours with drugs rather than on the streets during curfew hours.
Maturing adolescents scare adults because the thought of losing what has been within
reach for 16 plus years is now slipping away and there really is not anything that can be said that
will stop the teens from growing up and moving away. Change is a major fear for a lot of people
because when something becomes natural and comforting, changing it only creates anxiety and
nervousness because that comfort is gone. Change is a huge part of growing up and maturing,
childlike behavior is expressed by adults when the adults fear for the worse and want to change
the rules to keep the authority in hand. In all reality, the adults expect the teens to show adult
like behavior while making adult like decisions. But, the adults end up acting like children when
it is time for the actions of the teens are put into play and the adults are not exactly willing to
make the change and except the fact that the children are maturing. Cities become more strict
that states because the authority is the parents and elders of the teens in the community which is
explained in the book Are Teen Curfews Effective?, Cities within the state often impose
curfew laws with stricter requirements that the state."
Teenagers should not have a curfew because adulthood is right around the corner and the
decisions of an adult are uprising quickly. Freedom being restricted from the future rulers of this
country is against the Constitutional rights and creates trust issues from the being of early

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adulthood. Adults need to trust that the teens of todays society have been well raised and will
act responsibly when given adult-like responsibilities. The law is quite biased when it comes to
allowing adolescents having freedom, as explained in the book Are Teen Curfews Effective,
In general, some statistics will be more helpful than others to prove the narrow tailoring of the
ordinance". This is true because the government only releases the bad side of teenagers in the
the media to help adults be on the side of the authority. Curfews should be a discussed manner
instead of a set time and restriction because restrictions only lead to more trouble in different
times of the day and give more of a reason for teens to act out.

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Works Cited
"Chamikamckennon." Chamikamckennon. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.
Espejo, Roman. Are Teen Curfews Effective? Detroit: Greenhaven, 2009. 20-43. Web.
"Persuasive Essay; Enforced Curfew For Teenagers Essay." Free Persuasive Essay; Enforced
Curfew For Teenagers Research Paper. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.
"Shaunhiew." Shaunhiew. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.
"Teen Drug Abuse Statistics - Teen Drug Abuse." Teen Drug Abuse Statistics - Teen Drug
Abuse. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.
"This Essay Is about Teen-curfew Laws." This Essay Is about Teen-curfew Laws. N.p., n.d.
Web. 16 Jan. 2013.
Zimmerman, Jonathan. "Curfews Don't Keep Kids Out of Trouble." NewsWorks.org.
NewsWork, 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.