discussion on childhood and delinquency

Posted: August 27th, 2021

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Analysis of Chapter 1

Chapter 1; pages 2 to 33 is a discussion on childhood and delinquency. The chapter provides insight on a different issue affecting the development of a person from childhood to youth. Notable issues discussed include the adolescents’ dilemma, which is brought into focus from different perspectives such as youth crisis and adolescent problems. Besides, the chapter recognizes that there is hope to overcome challenges that the youth encounter as they deal with different life situations.  Accordingly, the chapter provides a clear analysis of my personal life as a child and as a youth, noting different crisis stages that I faced. Particularly, as a male aged 21 years and has grown from divorced marriage, the chapter directly responds to different encounters of my life. It talks to me in different ways. In my youth, I usually encountered different challenges that appeared to worsen with time.Therefore, the subsequent sections are reflecting on my life as a youth while analyzing the chapter.

The Chapter discusses youth problems that are attributed to conflicts in the family. Notably, divorce strikes affect almost all marriages and the family members have to make sacrifices while facing the encounter. My parents divorced when I was merely ten years old. It was tough for me especially during the first year as I struggled to get through. I could not imagine after witnessing the bitter divorce situation. It was a sad experience for me that led to distress and disbelief. Anxiety was overwhelming, hoping that my parents would make up. It took me long before I could accommodate the situation and get used to the normal routine of having only my mother around. Equally, occasional visits by my father played a critical part in ensuring that I heal. However, the emotional impacts that the divorce situation left me seemed to remain for long. It greatly affected my performance at school. I imagined if my parents stopped loving each other, my father’s occasional visits were equally going to be short-lived. He was going to stop loving me at some point. Likewise, I surely thought I was the cause of divorce. As the only child, I was supposed to be the bond between them but I failed to do enough to have them stay together. The feeling of lack of affection from my parents was clear to me. Even if they were supporting me, this was not enough since they were not together. Therefore, I had to seek love from my friends and the company of those who appreciated me. However, I felt bitter and I could occasionally run into fights or shy from friends who appeared contradictory.Therefore, reflecting on the Chapter, I acknowledge that family cohesion is key to the progress and development of a child. It determines their wellbeing and stability in getting basic needs such as education, food, and clothing as their emotional development.

Occasionally, my gadgets were the major source of consolation whenever I wanted to be alone. Since my mother was always busy fending for the family, I remained alone in the house surfing and exploiting all online content without restrictions. Besides, my environment was well exposed to technological advances and I could easily chat with friends. Equally, the growing digital communication worked to change my interaction with other peers, including expression of romantic interests. The use of digital platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp made it easy to communicate with friends without direct interaction. Although I thought this was the best approach, it worked against me because I later realized I lack the required interpersonal skills to express myself clearly on various social cues when I am with my friends. Besides, sometimes I became a target of bullying. However, I remained quiet in many instances because I did not want to bother my mother. Some of my friends could bully me online when I posted something that seemed controversial. Therefore, this just made me angry, and resolved to teach them a lesson someday.

Another social problem that the Chapter highlights are the contribution of peer pressure to the overall behavior of youths. This is a common crisis. Peer pressure is common especially when kids lack appropriate guidance towards avoiding negative influence from their peers. Looking back at my life, I was influenced negatively by my friends. Constant bullying influenced me into being reactionary and ultimately vowing to punish anyone that was bullying me. However, I could not accomplish my objective of punishing those who offended me on my own. I had to seek help from some of my closest friends. Therefore, we formed a group of four members, and occasionally, we could unleash terror on selected targets. Progressively, our team expanded and diversified activities including mugging, drug abuse, and engaging in all manner of unnecessary evils just to show others how powerful we were. I had finally found a group where I was loved and all my frustrations could be tackled. Thus, relating to the issues addressed in the chapter, delinquent youth are grown from the fouls of society. Reflecting on my real life, I lacked sufficient guidance. My parents were never close and I could not get close attention from school. Hence, I became prone to bullying and negative peer pressure.