Crimes by minors

 Q. Crimes by minors are on the rise in recent times. The psychologists claim that the fundamental reason for this is that children these days are lacking the social and emotional learning they need from parents and teachers. To what extent do you agree/disagree?

It is undeniable that society is undergoing a degradation of morals and values. The statistics show an ever-increasing crime rate among minors. Some people believe that insufficient social and emotional learning from parents and teachers is the cause of this problem. I do not agree to this belief as several factors cause teens to indulge in anti-social activities.

To begin, nowadays, acts like rapes, thefts and murders flood pages of newspapers and television channels and more than often, these crimes are committed by teens. The adolescents of today, are very rebellious and make it impossible for parents or teachers to imbide the necessary social and emotional learning in them which contributes to the problem of teenage crimes. However, that is not the only cause; there are several other and greater reasons which are leading to a rise in this problem. A very significant cause of this problem is economic conditions. No matter, how much social or emotional learning is given to a child, financial inequality and unemployment fuel the urge of earning money through unethical and illegal means.

Friend circle of teenagers has a strong influence on their behavior. It is rightly said, a man is known by the company he keeps. If teens have a violent, aggressive friend circle they are likely to become like that. The influence of media and movies is also a leading cause of increased criminal tendency among youngsters because a lot of movies portray that criminals are rich and are respected out of fear by others. Therefore, lack of emotional and social learning on the part of parents and teachers is not the main reason of increasing crime by minors.

To conclude, I would like to say that the reason for increase in crime amongst children is not only because of detached approach of parents or teachers towards their wards and students, more than this, other reasons have also contributed to this social problem.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:

Teenagers are committing more crimes // Parents and teachers cannot be solely held responsible // Many factors like poverty, influence of media etcetera are also responsible // Friend circle has a major influence // Certain conditions are unavoidable and they always influence youngsters // Conclusively, crime is on the rise due to many reasons // Effective measures are important rather than blaming parents and teachers.

VOCABULARY:

Crime: Anti-social activities // Undeniable: sure, indisputable, irrefutable // Degradation: downfall // Teenagers: teens, adolescents, youngsters // Friends: peers // Shooting: rising // Several: numerous, innumerable, many.

Related Questions:

The violent tendency of youth is on the rise. What do you think are the possible causes and what solutions do you suggest? // The lack of social and emotional learning from parents and teachers is the number one cause of violence committed by young children. Do you agree or disagree?