Causes of Social Disadvantage Amongst Children

Causes of Social Disadvantage Amongst Children

Socially handicapped children find it difficult to have a place for themselves in the society. Lack of social acceptance is due to the fact that they do not behave like the so called normal children of their age. They indulge in antisocial activities like stealing, pick-pocketing, gambling, alcohol and drug abuse. Some take to crime and abnormal sexual behaviours. Various causes leading to social handicap can be summed up as follows:

1.     Broken Homes. Children fall out from families where there is constant bickering among the parents. The children do not get the love and guidance due to them. They may even be deprived of the basic necessities of life and take to streets for survival. Unwanted children and orphans often fall victims of social maladjustments.

2.     Poverty and Ignorance. Children from very poor families and of ignorant parents are often deprived of food, clothing and shelter. In the absence of proper guidance from their parents, these children start petty thefts to survive. Later they get habituated to antisocial activities in a big way.

3.     Inadequate Schooling. School is the second place where the children learn the values of life. Do you know which is the first place? Yes, Home. Poor parents do not send their children to school for want of funds. These children remain unguided in streets for long hours. They often get into gang fights and undesirable activities. Lack of school discipline is a cause of truancy. Children also succumb to negative peer pressure when they do not have strong normal and social values from parents, teachers and other adults in their environment.

4.     Lack of Good Role Models. Children have very sensitive minds and learn fast from adults in their environment. Living with corrupt and dishonest persons give negative values to the children. They fail to differentiate between right and wrong. Moral values are not taught like they used to be in olden days. Children imbibe these values from adults and siblings at home, from teachers and peers at school. Problems arise when they have wrong individuals as their role models.

5.     Lack of Supervision During the Formative Years. This can happen to children from poor as well as rich families. Poor parents have to put in long hours of work to sustain life while rich ones overlook/neglect the upbringing in their desire to become richer. These parents leave the upbringing of their children to the maids and servants. Parents should be committed to the upbringing of their children, specially during the formative years. They should spend quality time with children for healthy upbringing.