Is it me or are felons getting younger and younger? Being middle aged, crimes of hate passion, race or just spontaneous acts of violence change names and faces but are done by the same people of the same psychological profile. Been subscribing to e-news and the news all over the world have headlines of gruesome crimes and premeditated assault by children as young as 8 years old and not older than 16.
My kids cover the age 'spectrum' these young offenders, and I can't help but double up teaching moments and keeping a majority influence over them. As a child of the 70's children were more of the silent victims, when society never dealt with the reality of sex offenders and incest or even harassment. Out technology was limited to the TV and newspapers where information and credibility was unquestionable. Personally, the link of technology influence and children being more assertive and violent should be tackled.
As much as I would like to shield my kids from what the world is coming to they have the right to know what some youngsters their age have done. It's surprising when I shared my disbelief on the 3 third-graders who planned an assault to their teacher, there was only a 5 second jaw drop and my eldest goes “They thought it would be as easy as a Detective Conan crime”…ouch, you mean there was an anime that dealt with how crime was done? In fairness that show always showed the mystery being solved, IF shows like these were what gave these kids the courage to do it then our homes need to brush up on parental guidance. Before anyone disagrees, the conclusion about the fiction kids watch and their acts of violence is strengthened by the case of a 10 year old boy whose head was held by his 'friends' in a sand box thought his struggles were a joke thinking that if the character Naruto survived it so can their friend (he died, drowning in sand). I could go on and on, yet the observation stays the same: too many households have trusted technology to babysit for the young ones and find out when it's just too late.
April 15th, 2008 
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