IELTS - Writing Task 2: Child Development & Criminal Potential
Scientists believe that by studying behaviour of 3-year-old children, we can predict if that child can become criminals in the future. To what extent is crime a product of human nature? Is it possible to stop children from growing to be a criminal?
Nobody is born a crime. There is a well-known saying, ‘babies are like sponges’, as during infancy, children display a high level of curiosity in order to learn about themselves in relation to the world around them. Therefore, crime-prone personality is highly correlated with environmental factors, prominently family and the school environment. Therefore, it is instrumental that actions are taken from various stakeholders to discourage a child from engaging in criminal activities.
External aspects play a critical role in shaping a child’s personality traits. According to an experiment, despite being identical twins, the two siblings demonstrated absolute different personality as they were exposed differently to their parents, teachers and friends. In a different research studying criminality, adults experiencing childhood trauma and maltreatment such as domestic violence and child abuses had higher likelihood of committing serious crimes. In addition, individuals tended to be involved in petty crimes like pickpocketing or shoplifting if they were raised in poverty- and crime-ridden neighborhoods.
With regards to actionable solutions, parents are obliged to be fully informed on the most effective child-rearing approaches, and proactively act as the guiding light helping the child navigate through different development stages. Furthermore, schools need to divert funds to high quality child’s counseling services, creating a safe environment for students to raise voices if they encounter any issues at school as well as at home; so that these problems can be timely detected and treated by professionals. On the other hand, education is undoubtedly a vital element to reinforce one’s moral compass, and hence governments should provide financial aids and promote equal learning opportunities for students with disadvantaged backgrounds.
To conclude, crime is not part of human nature, but instead, there is a strong connection between criminal potential and a child’s surrounding environment. As a result, important influence such as parents, schools and the local community are all responsible in creating a positive and healthy upbringing experiences to minimize the possibility of children becoming a criminal as they grow up.
