was for his parents to set limits and "lay down the law."

He even recalls a time when Bob came home visibly intoxicated and thought his parents were "gonna raise the roof." Instead of severely reprimanding their son, Bob's parents took all the blame and never punished him. Randy goes on to tell Ponyboy, "If his old man had just belted him—just once, he might still be alive."

Unfortunately, Bob's parents allowed him to get away with anything and everything, which eventually led to his tragic death. Randy is a firm believer in discipline and feels Bob would still be alive if his parents held him responsible for his actions. He also believes Bob's destructive behavior was a cry for help and that he acted out, hoping his parents would intervene and discipline him.

In Chapter 7, Randy Adderson has a conversation with Ponyboy where he discusses the life of his friend Bob Sheldon. Randy tells Ponyboy that Bob's parents allowed him to get away with whatever he wanted. Bob essentially had no boundaries or limits, and his parents dismissed his negative behavior. Bob was spoiled rotten, and his parents would take all the blame for his behavior. Randy believes that Bob simply wanted someone to tell him no and enforce a set of rules. Unfortunately, Bob's parents never laid down a set of guidelines for their son to follow, and Bob continued to push his limits. Randy even relates the story of when Bob's parents took the blame and did not punish their son for arriving home in a drunken stupor. According to Randy, Bob wanted to be given a set of limits that he had to obey. 

According to Randy, Bob's best friend and confidante, all Bob really just wanted:

"to make someone say 'No' and they never did.  They never did.  That was what he wanted [...] To have somebody lay down the law, set the limits, give him something solid to stand on" (116).

Bob's frustration came from having parents that spoiled him too much.  The reader can easily deduce that Bob's wild behavior resulted from his parents' negligently permissive attitudes.  He tested their limits to see if they cared enough to make him stop.  Randy even references a time when Bob came home extremely drunk to see if his parents would punish him, but they responded by taking the blame for his actions and poor decision making.  Randy speculates that perhaps if Bob's parents would have had a firmer hand in his upbringing then his friend might "might still be alive" (116). 

The section of the book that has the answer can be found near the end of chapter seven.  Randy has come to talk to Ponyboy, and Ponyboy is surprised at how much emotional pain Randy is in.  

Randy was supposed to be too cool to feel anything, and yet there was pain in his eyes.

Randy is very broken up over Bob's death.  He's not mad at Ponyboy, nor does he blame Pony.  He's sad over the loss of his friend.  Additionally, the loss of his best friend has caused Randy to call into question the point of all of the gang fighting.  

"I'm sick of all this. Sick and tired. Bob was a good guy. He was the best buddy a guy ever had. I mean, he was a good fighter and tuff and everything, but he was a real person too. You dig?"

What's interesting about Randy seeking out Ponyboy is that Randy knows his fellow gang members won't understand the feelings that he is going through.  He feels that Pony, a Greaser, will be able to feel and empathize with his pain. 

"I couldn't tell anyone else. My friends -- they'd think I was off my rocker or turning soft." 

Ponyboy doesn't do that much talking, which is what Randy needs.  He needs somebody to listen to him, and that's what Ponyboy does.  He listens to Randy explain about Bob and Bob's parents.  He says that Bob's parents catered to his every need.  They never said "no" to Bob, and that's what Bob wanted more than anything else.  He wanted his parents to set down some kind of boundary.  He wanted rules and order.  

"They spoiled him rotten. I mean, most parents would be proud of a kid like that--- good-lookin' and smart and everything, but they gave in to him all the time. He kept trying to make someone say 'No' and they never did. They never did. That was what he wanted. For somebody to tell him 'No.' To have somebody lay down the law, set the limits, give him something solid to stand on. That's what we all want, really."

Randy even goes so far as to say that Bob's dad should have "belted" him just once in order to show Bob that rules are in place and consequences exist for breaking the rules.  

Johnny, Dally, and Bob are similar to each other in that they each come from dysfunctional homes.  All three sets of parents "don't care" about their children in slightly different ways.  Bob's parents appear to care by giving him everything he asks for, but they don't care about him enough to set out rules and consequences to protect him.  Readers don't know much about Dally's parents, but Dally does tell readers that his parents absolutely don't care what happens to him one way or another.  

"Shoot, my old man don't give a hang whether I'm in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter.  That don't bother me none."

That's perhaps why Dally is so rebellious.  He could be trying to get any authority figure to tell him "no."  

He liked to show that he didn't care whether there was a law or not. He went around trying to break laws.

While Dally's parents do not show any interest whatsoever in Dally, Johnny's parents show all the wrong kind of interest in Johnny.  Johnny's parents are both abusive to him.  His mom emotionally abuses him, and his dad physically abuses him.  Johnny, like the other two boys, suffers from a lack of parental love.