what does it come to your mind first when you heard the words "crime" and "children"?

Question

What should we do prevent this process? Do children should be punished as adults?Are children the same as they used to be?

Answer 1

Your headline question asks "what comes to mind," but your detail questions seem to make an assumption about what came to my mind. You seem to be assuming I would think of crimes committed by children, when in fact I thought of crimes committed against children.

However, there is a link. The children who are accused of crimes (whether in juvenile court or informally, by parents or teachers), cannot be held fully responsible for their actions. A real child -- not a teen-ager trying to push the limits of being treated as a child -- does not have a fully developed sense of responsibility for his own actions because he has been taught to do what adults tell him to. He has also learned the utility value of imitating the behavior of the adults around him. That's how he learned so many things he knows. So if the adults around him are criminals, what do you suppose he learns? He hears them tell lies, sees the things they bring home from the office or store that they did not pay for, listens in on their conversations with their partners in crime, when they brag about having beat this person up, or intimidated that one into giving up something that belonged to them, etc.

It's not always criminal parents, of course. Sometimes it's rock-bound conservative parents who seem no fun at all compared to the pimp down on the corner who has a flashy car and pays good money for a kid to "run errands," or the teenagers who are willing to have him hang around with them in exchange for doing "little favors" now and again.

But when they get to be 16 or so, kids are not kids anymore in this sort of innocence. They know the difference between right and wrong, or they can be held responsible for knowing. And I hear them on the bus telling one another about their criminal activities, and how "all they got was a vacation in juvie," etc. These kids eventually get a rude awakening the first time they are treated as an adult by the courts. The smart ones learn by seeing what happens to the dumb ones, without having to sacrifice their own freedom.

As to what can be done about it, the first thing I would suggest is to make juvenile hall less of a summer camp. In our county, it is rather literally that: it is up in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and is nicer than many if not most of those kids' homes. But a really restrictive juvenile hall, with lots of rules and lots of visits to adult prisons to see how horrible they are, might make a significant difference. And make them work! Give them jobs cleaning and peeling potatoes, doing yard work and the like, and let them see that it really is not worth their while to get put back there once they get out.

Answer 2

The words 'crime' and 'children' honestly reminds me of water fights, standing on a bridge and waving to cars. That's all the stupid things I've done in my life as a 16-year-old. Not all kids are like that you know, although I won't even blame you.

However, as I consider it, it's the way they have been treated at school or home. I've seen many friends (stupid but friendly) go all bad at high school. Starting to smoke and use drugs. I have a strong will and enjoy Law Enforcement... so I'd rather make them proud of me rather then look down at me and think 'another bad kid'.

I don't know how you can prevent this... probably by listening to them and what they have to say. "You let me do what I want and I'd do what you say." That's how it works for me. You say children that should be ages 12 and under. If that is what you're refering to then... no they shouldn't be punished as adults. As for teenagers, it depends on what they did. If they stole food from a corner store then they should get a 2-5 month penal to serve the community. That way they can gain a bit respect. However, if they go around killing people. Now that's a different story...

I'm a teenager... I don't know how children used to be before. So I can't answer that... Time changes people.

Having said that, I'm glad I'm not into crime. Little or big. My friend and I were talking about it last time... The only crime we'd do is steal straws from Tim Horton's if their Iced Cappucinno machine broke down on us. While we're running away from the store with straws we'll promise them that we'll buy more. See, we're harmless :)

Warm Regards!
- Hidden

Answer 3

Screwed Up Parents the children have changed because the parents are to dumb to discipline them. The kids in my day would not dare do some of the things they do because they knew their *** would be grass if they did and parents would let them go to jail to learn their lesson. Gangs is the second thing that comes to mind. Kids often follow in their parents foot steps. If parents weren't so caught up in buying the new car and the bigscreen TV and spent more time with their kids things would be different.

Answer 4

Ineffective and irresponsible parenting.
Offer free parenting classes.
If they do the crime they can do the time.

Children are not the same as they used to be. They are more sophisticated and more educated. They learn "adult things at a very young age and most do not have the emotional maturity to handle adult subjects.

Answer 5

most children nowdays are as intelligent and mentally developed as the average person 100 years ago. I think that we should treat children criminals more harshly than adults, to prevent these same children from commiting the crimes again.

Answer 6

Vandalism.

Too many questions, not worth 10 points.

Answer 7

Being a kid sucks enough, I say we should all back off and let them grow up- and their parents can deal with it.

Answer 8

because idiots like you give them a blank check to run wild