Research Paper Outline - Essay Example

?Research Paper Outline Topic Summary of the findings Child stealing an unfortunate reality Causes of stealing behavior Guidance approach for children Reasons why children steal Poverty Lack of guidance Family culture Miscellaneous reasons Guiding children’s behavior Parents’ role Teachers’ role Topic of research Children Stealing Summary of the findings One of the harshest realities of our society is that some children in it steal. It sounds strange but it is a fact that children can steal. Although stealing remains a heinous crime, yet many children are not aware of the gravity of the crime. They know that it is just as bad as telling lie or abusing, though the sensibility of the crime of stealing in a child also depends upon the age of a child. Children can steal for a variety of reasons like poverty, lack of parental guidance, and bad family culture. For a child that steals, there are certain roles and responsibilities of the parents and teachers. With mutual effort, parents and teachers can guide the child’s behavior so that they do not steal. It is important to differentiate between children and adults when punishment is being decided for the crime of stealing. “Your child is probably not evil or destined for life in prison” (familyeducation, 2012). Children need to be dealt with much more carefully and strategically because they have a lot of room for improvement. Reasons why children steal Children can steal for different reasons that may include but are not limited to poverty, lack of guidance, and culture. Poverty Poverty is the biggest cause of stealing among children. Children steal something when they do not get it granted to them by legitimate means. The legitimate means for a child are parents or the caregivers. Parents generally do try their best to provide everything for their children but sometimes they cannot because of which children are tempted to steal. Lack of guidance Many children lack parental guidance. Every day, so many babies are born to unmarried mothers in their teenage. As single parent, the mother cannot spend enough time with the child because she has to take care of her studies and work. The child remains alone most of the day. Even the grandparents cannot look after the child the way a parent does. “School-age kids usually know they're not supposed to take something without paying, but they might do so anyway because they lack enough self-control” (KidsHealth, 2012). The child attempts to steal. When nobody forbids, it becomes child’s habit. Family culture Every family has its own culture. In certain families, stealing is not discouraged because the parents themselves are thieves and criminals. They inculcate the same values in their children. In such cases, children adopt the habit of stealing from the parents. Miscellaneous reasons According to the Hudson Valley Parent Magazine (2012), children steal either to address a need like lack of attention, affection, or love from parents or because they have gained approval for stealing directly or indirectly or the children want to attack the parents by causing them embarrassment with their behavior. Guiding children’s behavior Parents’ role It is fundamentally the parents’ duty to guide their children towards the right path. Parents that find that their child steals should first teach the child with patience and love not to steal. Parents should tell what the consequences of stealing are and why it is considered a sin in the religion and a crime in the law. Most probably, the child would not steal again. If the child does, next time the parents should beat and scold the child for this and again forbid him/her to steal. Most children would definitely stop stealing. Still if a child steals, parents should refer the case to a psychologist or police. Teachers’ role Teachers also assume very important roles in guiding the children towards the right path. Since children remain with them for a considerable portion of the day at school, teachers get to learn the psychology of each child and can thus know how to tame the child. Teachers should repeatedly tell each child how bad it is to steal. Still if a child steals, the teacher should specifically warn the child not to steal again. If the habit continues, the case should be reported to the principal. Reflection This was an interesting paper for me to write because to write this, I had to conduct a lot of research about a very unusual topic that I had not read about much before this project. Children are generally assumed to be innocent and if something goes missing somewhere, children are normally the last to be suspected to have stolen the missing thing because of the very perception of innocence. As I conducted this research and wrote the paper, it added a lot to my own knowledge about children’s tendency to steal and the factors that may cause them to execute such behaviors at such a small age. Children are undoubtedly innocent but we must understand that circumstances in which they grow can make them indulge in the filthy act of stealing even when they do not fully understand the gravity of this crime. Since we as strangers cannot predict what circumstances a child is being raised in, it is better to be more protective about our things in the presence of children, particularly those that we personally do not know. They can be neighbors’ children or the friends of our own children that visit our homes to attend the birthday parties of our children. However, I personally believe that we should not deal as strictly with a child if he/she has been caught red-handed as we deal with grown-up thieves because the children are very sensitive. We should teach them with patience that stealing is a heinous crime and so they must abstain from it. We should also bring the child’s act in notice of his/her parents in such cases. References: Familyeducation. (2012). Why Kids Steal -- and What to Do About It. Retrieved from http://life.familyeducation.com/parenting/morality/45313.html. Hudson Valley Parent Magazine. (2012). Why Does My Child Steal? Retrieved from http://hvparent.com/articlepost.aspx?id=158&c=0&t=BLOGPOST. KidsHealth. (2012). Why Kids and Teens Steal. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/shoplifting.html. Read More