Introduction
Child behavior has been a common topic in most sociology and psychology debates. The main concern among practitioners in these fields has been the evolving characteristics of child behaviors over the past decades (Dukarm, 2011).
For instance, the nature of child behavior in the fifties and sixties has significantly changed over the decades and now, new generations of children behave completely different from earlier generations. Considering the negative influences of today’s societal pressures, research experts show that more children today are exhibiting signs of severe behavioral problems than in the past (Dukarm, 2011).
For instance, in a past social study, which was done in America to investigate behavioral problems among the youth (aged between 4 years and 15 years), it was reported that, the rate of children with behavioral problems had increased from 6.8% to 18.7% (Hough and Roberts, 2004).
Furthermore, in a book titled, Youth Crime and Youth Justice: Public Opinion in England and Wales, UK adults said that, child behaviour was worse today than in the past (Hough and Roberts, 2004, p. 17).
The above statement outlines the main argument for this paper. The argument that, child behavior is worse today than it was ten years ago defines the audience’s position regarding child behavior (although some people propose that child behavior has been constant throughout the decade). This paper however opposes this view and proposes that, child behavior is worsening by the year.
To rationalize this view, different societal behaviors will be analyzed including increased violence, inappropriate sexual behaviors and increased incidences of underage drinking. These factors will be analyzed to establish if child behavior has become worse or not (Kirby and Goodpaster, 2006).
To ensure the findings of this paper is credible, credible research sources such as peer reviewed journals and books will be used as the main sources of research. The main arguments borrowed from these sources will be used to provide the groundwork for this paper (transplanting root elements).
Finally, the findings of this paper may be used as the basis for carrying out future studies so that other respondents can integrate their opinions to the research problem.
Increased Violence
Child violence is one parameter that assesses child behavior. Over the last decade, experts observe that violence has reached epidemic levels in today’s society (Dukarm, 2011, p. 5). School shootings, bullying, and suicide have increased over the last ten years, with some countries like the US reporting historic levels of school violence.
Partially, the access to guns and the increased broadcasting of violence in the media has been cited as a catalyst to the violence witnessed among school going children. In a recent report that was done by the US bureau of justice, it was reported that, about 46% of males engaged in physical fights while about 26% of females engaged in similar fights (Dukarm, 2011).
Through the same study, it was confirmed that, lower grade children were more likely to engage in physical fights, compared to children from higher grades. These figures are in sharp contrast to previous figures of child violence in the US because the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) claimed that, there was a 50% increase in the number of juvenile cases within the last decade (Dukarm, 2011).
When we analyze the number of juvenile cases reported within the last four decades, we can see that, the number of cases reported within the past decade has increased significantly. A 2010 report done by Crime in America (2010) shows that child delinquency has been steadily on the increase. Statistically, the report shows that since 1985, female juvenile delinquency has doubled (Crime in America, 2010, p. 1).
Within the same period, male juvenile delinquency was reported to have risen by 30%. Liquor law violations were reported to contribute a great proportion of these cases. Disorderly conduct and sexual offences were reported to comprise 39% and 20% respectively of the total number of juvenile cases (Crime in America, 2010, p. 1).
Inappropriate Sexual behaviors
Today, many children are increasingly showing signs of inappropriate sexual behaviors at a very tender age. Owing to the content of inappropriate sexual acts in the media, children have become extremely sexual today. In fact, there is a growing assumption that, teenagers are developing different perceptions about sex than it was a few years back (Kellogg, 2011).
For instance, the center for disease control and prevention did a ground-breaking study on American teenagers and concluded that, teenagers today have very divergent views regarding sex (when compared to previous generations like their baby boomer parents) (Kellogg, 2011). It is reported that more than 50% of teenagers between the ages of 15-19 years are engaging in some form of sex (Kellogg, 2011).
Oral sex has been identified to be a common sexual act among teenagers but unlike many generations in the past, children today do not view such sexual acts as sacred between two partners. Children today have developed an extremely casual view of sex. In fact, many children today do not believe that sex has to happen within the context of a relationship.
Referring to oral sex, the director of National campaign to prevent teen pregnancy in America explains that, “oral sex is extremely intimate, and to some of these young people, apparently it is not as much” (Kellogg, 2011, p. 992).
Albeit the changing perceptions of sexuality among teenagers do not demonstrate worsening child behaviors, the casual manner teenagers view sex explains the increased sexual immorality among teenagers.
Recent studies show that, adolescents are now engaging in sexual behaviors at a younger age than previous generations did (Kellogg, 2011). Within the last ten years, adolescents have become more promiscuous and now, they are engaging in riskier sexual behaviors at a relatively tender age.
Studies show that, initially, adolescents used to lose their virginity about 17 years but currently, adolescents lose their virginity about 15 years (Kellogg, 2011). There are even more cases where adolescents are reported to have sex about the ages of 12 or 13 years.
In a related context, Hornor (2012) acknowledges the worsening sexual conduct among teenagers and indulges in shocking statistics showing the growing sexual immorality among today’s youth. He explains that, about 60% of American teenagers engage in sex before they leave high school (Hornor, 2012).
In United Kingdom (U.K), the statistics are the same. In the UK, it was reported that, one in every five teenagers had indulged in sex before the age of 16. Similarly, it was reported that more than 30% of UK teenagers had been pressured into having sex before they were ready to do so (Hornor, 2012).
The decreasing age at which teenagers today engage in premarital sex has worried many social workers. More so, the rising number of premarital sex among the youth has led to a subsequent rise in the number of teen pregnancies.
Recent statistics show that, about 11% of all unmarried teenage girls in America get pregnant every year (Hornor, 2012). When these statistics are explained in another context, it is reported that, every 64 seconds, a baby is born to a teenage mother in America. Many people may argue that, teenage pregnancies have existed for decades and there is nothing new about the high number of teenagers engaging in sex.
However, Reports and studies sampled by Hornor (2012) differ with this view because they show that, there has been a general increase in sexual immorality among the youth. William J. Bennett (a former secretary of Education in the US government explains that, the number of illegitimate births among American teenagers has increased by 400% since 1960 (Hornor, 2012). By any standard, this is a worrying statistic.
The trend is only worsening. The US News and world report expresses more concern about such statistics and explains that, if something is not done to change this worrying trend, one out of every two children will be born out of wedlock (Hornor, 2012).
Clearly, these statistics show a worrying trend in the sexual behaviors of today’s youth. In addition, the rise in number of teenage pregnancies and the decreasing age of making sexual debuts among teenagers shows that, child behavior is worsening
Underage Drinking
Underage drinking is also another indicator for the worsening childhood behaviors among children. Today, many children are engaging in irresponsible drinking, as opposed to previous years when there were lower incidences of underage drinking (Cornell, 2005). According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “many adolescents start to drink at very young ages.
In 2003, the average age of first use of alcohol was about 14, compared to about 17 1/2 in 1965 (7,8)” (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2006, p. 3). Indeed, today, the number of teenagers who drink alcohol is perceived to be at an alarming level.
Even though authorities have tried to limit the number of teenagers who have access to alcohol (through age limits and policy reviews), it is impossible to ignore the number of young people who drink alcohol today. In the past, fewer teenagers engaged in underage drinking, possibly because of the limited access to alcohol.
However, today, the access to alcohol has increased and the society keeps ignoring the phenomenon of underage drinking. Furthermore, the society is becoming more receptive to young people engaging in alcohol thereby leading to deteriorating moral behaviors (Cornell, 2005).
Conclusion
After weighing the findings of this paper, clearly, children today have a very different moral compass that has led to the decline of moral standards in the society. This paper uses different social parameters such as underage drinking, increased violence among children and increased incidences of inappropriate sexual behaviors as some of the indicators for the poor behavioral standards among children.
Evidently, these indicators show that, child behavior today is becoming increasingly intolerable. In future, it is important to investigate the extent of moral disparity among children from different generational divides. Nonetheless, considering the decline in moral standards among children today, it is very important to note that, child behavior is worse today than it was ten years ago.
References
Cornell, A. (2005). Teenager Or Adult. New York: iUniverse.
Crime in America. (2010). Female juvenile delinquency doubled since 1985 while males rise 30 percent. Web.
Dukarm, C. (2011). Violence among children and adolescents and the role of the pediatrician. Journal of Urban Health, 72(1), 5–15.
Hornor, N. (2012). Society’s Slide into Sexual Immorality. Web.
Hough, J. & Roberts, J. (2004). Youth Crime and Youth Justice: Public Opinion in England and Wales. London: The Policy Press.
Kellogg, N. (2011). Clinical Report—The Evaluation of Sexual Behaviors in Children. Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 124(3), 992 -998.
Kirby, G. & Goodpaster, J. (2006). Thinking: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Critical and Creative Thought. London: Prentice Hall.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2006). Underage Drinking. Web.