Delinquent Child
When a child violates social, economic, moral, and educational rules, their behavior is called juvenile delinquency, and that child is called a delinquent child. Stealing, running away from school, indiscipline, and misbehaving with peers are the main examples of juvenile delinquency.
Generally, only children between the ages of 8 to 18 years are included in this category.
Characteristics of a delinquent child:-
1. Physical Qualities: Usually, child offenders are physically strong.
2. Temperamental traits: Such children are usually aggressive.
3. Attitudinal Traits: Such children mainly stay in school. They have a negative attitude towards officers. They are often suspicious and defiant.
4. Socio-cultural qualities: Such children usually do not have affection, love, and compassion.
5. Psychological characteristics: These children only follow the straight and easy path in problem-solving. Such children have a high sense of ego.
Types of child crime:
1. Stealing Tendency.
2. Running Away Tendency: Running away from.
3. Aggressive Tendency: Teasing other children, damaging school property, etc.
4. Sex Delinquency: Indulging in activities such as pornographic images, prostitution, rape, and masturbation.
5. Forgery: Making fake signatures of teachers, principals, and parents.
Causes of Juvenile Delinquency
(A) Biological Factors:-
1. Heredity:- Due to parents being criminals, children develop criminal tendencies.
2. Physical Defects:- Children with erect ears, fewer lines on their palm, excessive mobility in hands and legs and symptoms of rapid movement in the globe have criminal tendencies.
3. Low Intelligence :- Due to their low intelligence, children are easily influenced by others and become criminals.
4. Chromosome disturbance: – Almost every human has 23 pairs of chromosomes. The last pair is XY in boys and XX in girls, but in some criminal children, it is XYY, with an extra Y.
(B) Environmental Factors
1. Parental rejection:- when the parents rejects or neglects the children make them feel unwanted.
2. Limited relationship of parents outside the family:- Children whose parents have a limited relationship with the neighbourhood tend to develop criminal tendencies.
3. Home environment:- Disagreement and separation between parents can lead to criminal tendencies in children.
4. Domestic discipline:– Faulty domestic discipline, whether too strict or too lax, can contribute to criminal behaviour.
5. Economic status:- Poverty or low economic status can cause crime. A child belongs to poor family may feel insecure among friends which leads to the stealing behaviour.
6. Undesirable relationship:- Friendship with a child of criminal tendencies can influence a child’s behaviour.
7. School:- A faulty school environment and inappropriate teacher behaviour can also contribute to juvenile delinquency.
Education and Treatment of delinquent children: –
A. Preventive Techniques:-
These are techniques by which children can be saved from becoming criminals. These are as follows:-
1. Affection and Love of Parents
2. Fulfillment of Desirable Wishes
3. Proper Home Environment
4. Proper Education – Moral education provided by parents and teachers.
5. Proper School Environment and Discipline
6. Government Aids
(B) Curative Techniques:-
1. Juvenile Court System:- Children are mainly warned, or in serious cases, they are sent to a reformatory school or camp for improvement of their behaviour.
2. Psychodynamic Method:- An attempt is made to reduce criminal tendencies by taking the criminal into confidence in a cordial atmosphere.
3. Rehabilitation Method:- In a human environment where they receive affection, their criminal tendency gets reduced.
4. School Education System:-
(i) Appointment of qualified teachers
(ii) Education based on the child’s interest and ability
(iii) A good library system
(iv) Proper arrangements for sports, debates, and entertainment in the school
(v) Appointment of psychologists in school
(vi) Use of simple and appropriate teaching methods
(vii) Teacher-parent meetings
(viii) Arrangement of Residential Schools:- The child gets the opportunity to spend more time under the supervision of the teacher.
Role of a Teacher in deliquency:-
As a teacher, it is essential to be aware of children’s delinquent behavior to provide guidance and support whenever needed, enabling them to become good human beings. Understanding their behavior, tendencies, and the reasons behind their actions is crucial, and teachers play a vital role in modifying their behavior.
A teacher should consistently observe their students’ behavior and offer polite guidance, making them feel wanted and secure.
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