Curfews Should Not Be Enforced on Teenagers (Persuasive Essay Example)

Everyone has had a curfew enforced on them at some point, but as you grow older, you realize how much you wish curfews never existed. Having a different curfew from everyone is especially hard because when you must be home earlier, you tend to feel like you are ruining the fun for everyone. Most parents believe that curfews should be enforced to keep their children out of trouble, but this shows that there is no trust in their children. Curfews should not be enforced on teenagers because teenagers should be able to choose what time they get home. If they are home by morning, and text their parents what their plans are throughout the night, so they know they are safe a curfew is not necessary. I feel as if curfews are for more troublemaker kids, and more reasons help outweigh the benefit of no curfews vs. curfews should exist. 

Parents first see curfews to keep their children out of trouble, but I can bet their kids are not planning on doing anything rebellious. The only thing they are doing is being sad that they must be home earlier than getting to spend time with friends. According to Brandongaille.com, only 15% of juvenile crime occurs during the standard curfew hours of 10 pm to 6 am, so many cities are looking at non-traditional curfew hours. This statistic tells us that there is crime at night, but a teenager commits more crime during the day. Parents also enforce curfews, so their kids can get home earlier. Parents want to go to bed and not have to worry about whether they are safe or not, but in my opinion, these reasons that curfews exist are ridiculous. Why curfews should not exist outweigh why curfews should exist by a million miles. 

The first and main reason that curfews should not be enforced on teenagers is because they cause a strain on the parent-child relationship. This is because teenagers feel that their parents do not trust them, have no self-control, or are not good at making good decisions. I have felt this way as if my parents do not trust me because they set early curfews when I hang out with certain people. All this does is makes me feel as if my parents have no trust in my decision-making abilities. They make me feel dumb for wanting to go hang out with this person. Parents never realize that one curfew can cause trust issues, but they also cause anger because these curfews are causing time to be taken away from being with friends. Teenagers should be allowed to choose what time is best for them to go to bed, and teenagers know when that is. They should be able to have the responsibility of getting home and making sure they get enough sleep.

Along with the strain on relationships between teenagers and parents, teenagers will constantly text their parents asking for their curfew to be extended. Every time they ask this, they deal with the consequence when they get home for asking. These consequence may include being grounded and yelled at. All this does is cause poor communication between teenagers and parents. Causing them not to want to talk to their parents about anything for fear of getting in trouble. 

Time taken away from your friends is a huge reason why I believe curfews should be stopped. I find myself having an earlier curfew at times, which makes me super sad because I must go home earlier than everyone else. Causing me to miss the fun they are having and go home and lay in my bed and wish I was still there with the rest of my friends. The number of times I have had to get home because of a curfew, and all I do is go and lay in bed doing nothing happens a lot. Some teenagers also need to get out of the environment of their home because they feel stressed and being out with friends gives them a sense of air and time to breathe. A curfew brings them back to the stress of their home earlier. Teenagers can also feel depressed at home, while everyone is out having fun. All because their parents just decided to take them away from the fun and come home to lay in bed. Also, the older we get, like currently as a senior, we want to stay out later and have the independence to make decisions. We can decide what is best for us since we will be out of the house in under five months. As a senior, all I want to do is spend as much time with friends now as I can before I go to college, and I will not be able to see them every day.  

Parents believe that curfews keep their children out of trouble, but that is the opposite. Curfews can cause your children to get in more trouble than without a curfew. Due to curfews, teenagers get their time with friends taken away. When teenagers get home to make curfew and go to their room, little do parents know that this curfew causes teenagers to sneak out of the house to go back to hanging out with their friends. So, the questions come in: would you rather have your child sneak out due to a curfew and not know where they are, or would you rather not have your child have a curfew and know exactly where they are? I would rather have no curfew and have my parents know where I am if anything were to happen. As I have said so far, curfews are a waste of energy, but they can also be dangerous. 

From personal experience, I have found curfews to be dangerous due to having to drive home fast to make sure you get in the driveway on time, so you do not get grounded. I have found times where I have had to go 15 miles per hour over the speed limit to make sure I get home in time. I did not want to leave my friends, so I tried to stay as long as possible and end up having to drive home fast. Nevertheless, it is sad to say that I will drive as fast as I need to get home in time and risk crashing or getting pulled over to make sure I make my curfew. In 2012, of the fatal crashes that involved young male teen drivers aged 15 through 20, 35% were speeding when the crash occurred. (Teen Driving Safety Guide, 2020). This shows us that many crashes happen with a curfew due to teenagers driving fast home. Without a curfew, teenagers can take their time and drive slowly to decrease crashes. I had even had times when I knew I needed to drive slower to be safe, but I could not because I would be grounded if I did not make a curfew. However, with curfews, I choose to hang out with friends for longer and risk my life driving home. 

Curfews are not always just placed on teenagers when they hang out with friends. Some parents even think teenagers need to have a curfew that they need to meet after sports, get home from the lake, or even run to the store at night. Imagine doing a project for school but realizing that you are missing a poster board and need to run to the store. Sadly, you cannot because it is past your curfew, and you cannot leave the house. This is an automatic failure, all because a curfew was placed on you, and you could not run to the store for a small poster board to pass your class. I find it ridiculous that parents believe they need to have curfews on everything, especially if their child must run to the store; let them go no matter the time. 

Another time curfews make no sense and are my biggest pet peeve in this world is when it is summer. In the summer you have no reason to go home because there is no school the next day and life is good. Until parents tell you that you must be home from your friend’s lake at a particular time. This is the worst feeling ever because you are enjoying life. However, your parents make you come home that night before the sunset because they do not want you driving at night. The whole way home, you are mad that they would not let you stay the night and make you come home early to drive back to the lake the next day to hang out with them. Wouldn’t it make sense for your child to stay the night at their friend’s lake, then drive all the way home to drive back to the lake and waste gas? This is due to a tiny curfew, and the trust parents do not have in their teenagers. 

All teenagers are asking from their parents is to have a sense of independence in order to make their own life decisions. Since we are graduating soon and will be adults, we need to have that independence and get the choice of when to get home. We know how much sleep we need to function the next day and not have an attitude or be crabby. Along with independence, we want trust from our parents that we will make the right decisions. Once we go to college, curfews will not exist, and they will not get to control what time I must be in my dorm. So why not get rid of the curfew now and let me learn life without a curfew before I go to college, where I will not have one? Overall, curfews should not exist because teens should have the freedom to make their own decisions and deal with the consequences of their actions.