There is no doubt that various experts can give us many theories as to the causes of juvenile delinquency, including one’s economic background, substance abuse, delinquent peer groups, repeated exposure to violence, increased availability of firearms and media violence, however, I feel that the number one cause of juvenile delinquency is the breakdown of families, including lack of parental control over children. It is ironic in America, today, one must have a driver’s license to operate a vehicle, a permit to own a gun and even a license to own a dog, but one does not have to have training or a license in order to become a parent. Without specialized educational programs in child development and parenting, many of our future parents will not have a chance at becoming successful parents and worse, yet, many parents today are already contributing to the ever increasing problem of juvenile delinquency simply by not knowing how to be parents. Being a parent is a lifelong commitment and new parents must learn parenting skills immediately; they do not have the luxury of internships and often times, mistakes in parenting will have drastic effects on the child.
There are many reasons for the widespread crisis in families today. Below are some of those causes:Changes in the Social Environment – there have been many changes in our social environment over the last twenty five years. These changeshave made a risky environment for today’s youth. Children and teenagersspend more time with peer groups than ever before. Drugs and deadly weapons are used increasingly as ways to solve problems. Illicit and explicit sexuality and violence are the main subjects of choice in the media; and the impact of media influence has widened and becomemore vivid with the introduction of computers, video games, portablestereos and MTV.
Changes in Family Structure and Functioning – The prevalence of divorce and the increasing number of women in the workplace havereduced the number of adults who provide interaction, structure andsupervision in a child’s life. Along with this, institutions have not kept pace in providing alternative programs for unsupervised kids. Add to this new parenting expectations that come with single parent and step-parent families and you now have a confusing, often inconsistent and/or unreliable home base for children. Confusion About Parent Roles and Parent Control – When childrenreach adolescence, conflict between parents and teens normally increasesas teens need to distance themselves from parental identity to establishtheir own identity. Experts agree they are generally three parenting stylesthat reportedly escalate these conflicts. The authoritarian parent tends to emphasize rules and very harshconsequences.
There is little room for discussion or negotiation. The indulgent parent tends to spoil the child and expects little or noresponsibility at home, choosing instead to clean up after the child bothat home and in his social misbehavior. The indifferent parent is so preoccupied with his/her own life andactivities that little time and energy is given to either involvement orappropriate structure. The type of parenting that does work is simply called authoritative parenting. This type of parent assumes a role of authority in the child’s life, but the rules and structure are sensible and flexible to accommodate the child’s growth toward adolescence and young adulthood.
The parent’s intelligent explanations of the rules plus reasonable enforcement help to maintain a steady reduction of control as the child matures.
