Man’s greatest hope has always been to live in universal peace.  This hope is often thwarted by the existence of crime, which in itself is a difficult reality to come to terms with.  It becomes even more difficult to deal this when crime is perpetrated by the youth.  Essential to the discussion of the cures for Juvenile Delinquency is the Nature vs. Nurture debate.

Juvenile Delinquency refers to criminal acts performed by juveniles.  Most legal systems prescribe specific
procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers.  Youth crime is an aspect of crime which receives great attention from the news media and politicians.  Crime committed by young people has risen since the mid-twentieth century, as have most types of crime.  A Juvenile Delinquent is one who repeatedly commits crime, however these Juvenile Delinquents could most likely have mental disorders, behavioral issues such as schizophrenia, post traumatic stress disorder or bipolar disorder. 

It has become apparent even in my generation that the rate of teenage and even younger children becoming juveniles is growing at an alarming rate.  So much has changed in the past decade, and what has caused families to be torn apart by those who are half our age and have not even graduated high school yet? 

In my lifetime alone, I have seen the rate of Juvenile Delinquency skyrocket and it continues to threaten all
innocent people as they go about their day.  Could it be the families fault that they did not care for the child or pay any attention to the child?  Does divorce or separation have an impact on the child’s behavior?  And just how much pressure does the child’s group of friends have on the child’s behavior? 

Juvenile Delinquency is very real and its happening all around us everyday.  But the only question is why?  Why are our children going wild?  Nature vs. nurture, one has to pause and wonder.  It is a common assumption that children get their behavior from their family and friends.  What many parents don’t realize is that from birth, children have a natural attraction to their mom, dad or caregiver.  As children grow up, often times it is hard for parents to pay attention to their child.   Now days, parents are not even raising their own children.  Instead, parents are putting their children in daycare which doesn’t substitute for parental guidance.  When parents don’t pay enough attention to their child, it basically leaves the child to do whatever he or she pleases and allows them to make friends with whomever they want.  Poor judgment of friends is usually the consequence.  Then the next thing the parent realizes is that suddenly their child appears on the cover of the local newspaper for selling drugs or shooting the older man down the street.  Often times the crime committed by the child is not that severe.  It may only be an act of vandalism, still and yet, it’s a warning sign for the parents.  By definition, parenting is the rearing of a child or children, especially care, love and guidance given which is given by the parent. 

In conclusion to this article, it is a fact that the lack of parental guidance may lead to the development of
defiant behavior in children which might translate to Juvenile Delinquency.  Nature vs. nurture - you decide.

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