Band 6+: Recent figures show an increase in violent crime among youngsters under the age of 18. Some psychologists claim that the basic reason for this is that children these days are not getting the social and emotional learning they need from parents and teachers. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples

Current indicators demonstrate a rising trend in violent offences mostly among younger people who are still minor. Some argue that the root cause of this issue is the parent neglecting, and not properly supervision from teachers to children. It negatively affects their emotions and mental state, which can lead to acts of cruelty from children when they grow up. This essay agrees to some extent, as the family environment plays an important role, but other factors are also involved.

One reason why I agree with this view is that children who grow up without proper guidance may develop aggressive behaviour. Some parents do not pay enough attention to their child’s attitude, and hardly participate in their school or personal life. For instance, teens with hormonal splash, who barely control their emotions and acts, engage in violent actions towards their classmates. Teachers and parents, however, may not have a serious conversation with them, and just ignore the fact that the child has offended someone. As a result, the child might think that if he commits such crimes and is not punished, it will be acceptable to continue to do so.

Despite that, violent crime cannot be explained by parenting and teaching alone. Factors such as poverty, peer pressure and media influence can also contribute to criminal behaviour. Due to a child’s not fully developed mind witnesses bullying from peers or sees a harmful message online in social media platforms, their mental health begins to deteriorate and are not able to distinguish between right and wrong. According to British research, which investigated the percentage of people who experienced a toxic attitude from their peers, finding showed that more than a half of those people later employed various forms of violence.

In conclusion, the fact that children are not getting the right discipline and emotional learning from their parents and teachers at school is increasing the rate of young people violent crimes, but other not less contributing factors such as toxic environment plays a crucial role in a tendency towards cruelty among young generation.