I feel like lately it’s common to hear stories on the news about parents who get in the middle of their teens arguments. Recently, a father from Florida was caught on video encouraging his 16 year old son to physically hurt the boy his son was fighting with. Rather than trying to stop the fight, he cheered his son on.

When I read the newspaper article about this story I was surprised, because parents are supposed to be role models for their children and shouldn’t influence them to do negative things. Encouraging someone to fight is bad, regardless of the situation. It sends the message that violence is a solution, and that’s never the case. After the incident, the father was arrested and charged with both child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. I think that his arrest was well deserved, because what he did was wrong and he needs to learn a lesson.

This incident should serve as a lesson for other parents. Some people might think that his arrest was unfair, but if you think about it, things could have ended with more than just bumps and bruises; the boys could have sustained serious or even fatal injuries. Having arguments is normal, but it’s always better to avoid getting physical (even if your parents think you should). Your actions will have consequences and I’m sure that you don’t want to risk getting seriously hurt, hurting someone else, or getting arrested. If you find yourself extremely angry and caught up in the moment during a fight, walk away, let the situation simmer down, and work it out like mature young adults. That way, you’ll solve your disagreement and nobody will get hurt.

-Kayla