Young offenders

A Holyrood bid to bring Scotland into line with the "international human rights’ community" and raise the age of criminal responsibility from eight to 14 has been launched.

If you can’t take the punishment don’t do the crime.if the kids don’t get punished, punish the parens. It’s their responsibility to keep their kids under control.

Phil Alexander

You can't even get away with disciplining someone else's kids nowadays, even verbally, without being on sticky legal ground. It's easy to point fingers at parents, but we all vote for governments who pass these laws. We all have the power to petition and appeal them.

Nathan Cameron-hameed

Start giving the parents the fines and watch the number diminish.

William Orr Eight years old is too young.

Hwever, as parents are no longer allowed to chastise their children they are basically free to do they want.

Atholl Cunningham If you commit a crime you deserve punishment regardless of age. Stop blaming your upbringing as well.

Maureen Cummings

Mine made it to 19 and 13 with no police interaction, so nothing to do with surroundings or parenting? it's just pure luck right?

Junior Ross

At eight years old children are learning right from wrong. Most children that commit a crime at that age, it’s the adults in their life that are at fault.

Lucy Chambers Children don't understand that cheating in a game is right or wrong until about seven, so at eight are only just beginning to form their own wider moral compass. How each child acts by then is pretty much down to how they learned to behave at home from their parents and/ or older siblings.

Anji Rennie Eight years old is old enough to know the basics of what is right or wrong, and it`s time parents were more accountable for the actions of their kids. Most parents are responsible and teach their kids what`s right and wrong but thanks to the nanny state we now have children cannot be punished by parents so they now have a free pass to commit crimes in the knowledge that they can get off with absolutely no punishment at all.

Shan Dan We should have a little compassion for children being brought up by drug addicts, drunks and career criminals, not to mention the simply inadequate. There are many many unloved and unwanted children living with parents whose lifestyle is abhorrent.

Ellen Perkins Put the parents in the dock with them.

John Mcrae Surprised the SNP haven’t raised it to 21!

James Melvin Eight-year-olds are barely able to understand consequences of their actions and a lot of the time their behaviour is silliness, even though outcomes may be serious. They still don't understand much more than right and wrong not consequences.

Aisha Moohan