@Neville Chaim Berlin – “I think the OP was talking about the families you see walking around where the father has no peyes yet the children do. It’s pretty common and perplexing.”
Not completely perplexing. Keep in mind the following. In the late 40’s and continuing through the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s parents often not only did not leave (longer, behind the ears) peyos on their sons, but often did not allow them outside to play or walk around the street with a Yarmulke, choosing a baseball cap or similar hat. As our communities grew in size and neighborhoods began developing, old customs returned with more comfort and ease. A case in point. . .
A very chashuveh talmid chocham, now a R”M in a major Brooklyn Yeshiva, who did not have “litvisheh” peyos at the time, put them on his three sons. When asked about this, he answered, that he simply left his son’s peyos, or better put did not remove them. That is a passive act. To remove them would have required he take a positive action (i.e. cutting them off). To grow them on himself is a conscious decision and requires an action, so to speak.