LEGAL RIGHTS

Children, parents and abuse of legal rights: Comparing UAE & USA

Abstract

Parents in the USA face certain fines and punishment when they subject their children to punishment, especially physical punishment. The laws put in place by the government of USA prevent parents from being too harsh on their children or subjecting them to positive reinforcement. Children in the USA realize the prevalence of such laws and use them as leverage against their parents. Such children are then able to get away with minor offences and mistakes. This research studies the implication of such laws on the parent-child relationship in the USA and compares it to the prevalence of such laws in UAE. Findings of the research show that parents in the USA have less control over their children due to the presence of such laws as compared to parents in the UAE.

Introduction

It is one of the thumb rules of nature that children are the responsibility of the parents and parents have to take care of their offspring till the time the children become grown adults who no longer need support and can function independently. Mostly, parents love their children and see them as their future generations. Parents take care of their children and in most cases, put the happiness and well being of their children much before their own. Regardless of their financial status, parents try their utmost best to provide the most ideal upbringing and care to their children (Lansdown, 2005, p 117).

Where there is love and trust, there is also hate and mistrust. It is not always that children feel happy by every decision their parents make. To put it in other words, sometimes parents need to make certain decisions that the children do not like very much. For instance, if a child is constantly failing in school, parents might subject that child to detention or punishment to ensure that he studies harder. Such decisions are often taken negatively by children. Additionally, sometimes parents become too harsh on children and cross the lines between punishment and abuse. To protect children from such treatment and to ensure that parents do not forget the difference between abuse and punishment, governments of societies have enacted certain laws. According to these laws, parents can face strict punishment if they subject their children to any sort of mental or physical abuse.

Children in the USA are much more aware of these laws and sometimes use them to their advantage (Brennan & Noggle, 1997, p 32-40). Sometimes, children in the USA use such laws to escape punishment for serious mistakes. Compared to children in USA, the children in UAE are less aware of such laws and do not use them as often for their own benefits.

Aims and objectives

This study focuses on understanding the level to which children in the USA abuse such laws and use them as leverage against their parents. This study compares such children to the children in UAE to study if the children in UAE abuse such laws to an equal, less or ...