In your opinion, should a parent who throws their sixteen or seventeen year old child out of the house be charged with abandonment or neglect?

To actually throw them out at that age? Yes it is. When they leave on their own it becomes a bit more legally complicated. But if a parent kicks them out they should be accountable.

I think it's asking for trouble because even at 16 and 17 their choices are very limited, they could have a job, but last I checked, that's not legally old enough to get their own place, so what do the parents who do this expect to happen to their kids?

Yes they should be charged. If your child at 16 or 17 has major problems then instead of throwing them out of the house, get them the help they need, check them into a clinic or whatever it is that afflicts them.

Kids are their parents responsibilities for eighteen years. If the child becomes too unmanageable they should look into legal alternatives, like a juvenile detention center, boarding school or sign away custody to another adult. But a 16 year old shouldn't be thrown out into the streets randomly.

Yes, the parents should be charged with abandonment or neglect. At 16 or 17 they're still a baby. I had a neighbor, who, when he was probably 17 or so, got kicked out of his house because he was a drug addict and I always thought "and this is going to help his addiction how?"

MandyPerfumeGirl wrote:

Yes, the parents should be charged with abandonment or neglect. At 16 or 17 they're still a baby. I had a neighbor, who, when he was probably 17 or so, got kicked out of his house because he was a drug addict and I always thought "and this is going to help his addiction how?"

Oddly enough there do seem to be cases where something happened after the fact that they did recover. Pink at 13 was cooking meth in her home and selling it, and when she was 15 she overdosed at a club and was going in and out of consciousness, it was also at 15 that her parents kicked her out of the house, and now she is saying they were right to do it and that she would've kicked herself out at age 8.

Chris wrote:

In your opinion, should a parent who throws their sixteen or seventeen year old child out of the house be charged with abandonment or neglect?

If the kid is a minor according to the law, then yes. If the kid is that bad that the parents want to wash their hands of him, they should get the state involved. Pick up the phone and call social services. If the kid is involved in criminal activities, call the cops.

Like Tony said, If they are under 18 and are having problems, it is up to the parents to get them treatment, not to toss them out with no place to go.

RedBedroom wrote:

Like Tony said, If they are under 18 and are having problems, it is up to the parents to get them treatment, not to toss them out with no place to go.

I don't think I would have the heart to do that to a kid of mine unless he/she tried to murder me.

At a certain point if a teenager gets too grown and insists of disobeying, then I can't fault a fed up parent for saying GTFO. You so grown and think you know everything....go see if the world is easier to handle than the rules of this house. I see it as tough love.

Chris wrote:

In your opinion, should a parent who throws their sixteen or seventeen year old child out of the house be charged with abandonment or neglect?

No because at 16 and 17 someone can get a job. If a teen that age became unruly then I have no problem with their parents deciding to kick them out.

Unless they were violent or some kind of danger to the household, I couldn't see throwing a kid out. Even if they were 17. It's very plain that children are their parents responsibilities for 18 years.