This is again, JMO. Having volunteered in my kids schools for over 20 years and observing first hand the degree to which parents these days go to condone the actions of their children rather then holding them responsible for their own actions, yes. If I had a troubled kid, one who got suspended from school numerous times, I'd know if my kid had the propensity to get into trouble. On the few occasions issues concerning my kids, brought to my attention, I took care of the problem immediately, so as to not let my kid get to the point where they didn't accept responsibility for their actions. I read someones remark in these threads awhile back today. I'd said the exact same words to my own kid when they were young. "Don't try to tell me so and so MADE you do something!" "Nobody but YOU are responsible for your actions." "Nobody but you can get you into trouble!" "So don't try to tell me otherwise." MOO Me personally finds it telling that when Tracy Martin couldn't locate his son the following day he called the cops to see if he'd been arrested. If one of my kids was *missing*, I never thought of calling to see if they'd been arrested. I called friends parents, hospitals, worried about a plethora of stuff, but not 'gee, has my kid been arrested.' That one never crossed my mind. MOO JMO