At what age should we be held accountable for our actions? For too long, society has blamed inanimate things for its problems. Society blames food for obesity, guns for killing, and video games for youth violence. None of these things are responsible for the problems society suffers from. Instead of blaming video games and the media for child violence, parents must accept responsibility for teaching their children right and wrong. Inevitably, some children will still be violent; however, the video game is still not at fault. Juvenile violence has declined since 1993. According to the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, in 1993, 26% of violent crimes involved a juvenile perpetrator, while in 2011, only 10% of violent crimes were committed. committed by minors. Even though child perpetrators are less common, video game sales are steadily increasing. “Sales of computer software and video games in the United States increased 22.9 percent in 2008 to $11.7 billion, more than quadrupling the industry's software sales since 1996.” (Washington.edu ) With so many children playing video games, some with very violent content, violence against children should be growing at an alarming rate, but this is not the case. Youth violence can be linked to many things other than natural impulses. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says abuse, stress, drugs and even genetics contribute to youth violence. It may seem that committing acts of violence virtually would increase the urge to be violent in reality; studies have not shown this to be true. Parents' ignorance of how their actions or lack of actions affect their children is more to blame than video games. Alternatively, parents must be held responsible for their children's behavior. The Ame...... middle of paper ...... CitedAacap.org. “Understanding Violent Behavior in Children and Adolescents,” American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2014. Web. February 24, 2014Childstats.gov. “Youth Perpetrators of Serious Violent Crime” Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. February 24, 2014.NRA.org. “What is the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program?” » National Rifle Association of America website. February 24, 2014Olsen, Cheryl, Kutner, Lawrence, Warner, Dorothy, Almerigi, Jason, Baer, ​​​​Lee, Nicholi, Armand and Beresin, Eugene "Factors correlated with violent video game use by adolescent boys and girls", Journal of Adolescent Health, January 2007 Web. February 24, 2014ProCon.org. “Do violent video games contribute to youth violence? ProCon.org. February 2, 2014. The web. February 24, 2014.Washington.edu. “For your information: Video game statistics from the Entertainment Software Association” Web. February 24. 2014.