Therefore the decisions set out by the family can cause a major upset in the Childs future. Everywhere we travel to today we can identify at least one family problem, the main being single parent families, by the way a child socialises. Today so called ‘Chavs’ are a major problem to society, however why is the case, is it their decision to just be a problem, or is their a much deeper problem in their lives which has influenced this decision to cause trouble on the streets and harass others who have made different more rewarding decisions in life.
“The centrality of family responsibility is found in the prevailing contention that crime runs in certain families and that anti-social behaviour in childhood is a predictor of later criminalities” (Roche, J, Tucker S., Thompson, R. and Flynn, R (ed) (2005) youth in society, (2nd Edition) London, Sage. p138)
Their decision to gather on a street corner and either deal drugs or become a social matter in communities will have a major effect on their lives, and the main reason behind all of this is because of the influence of the family, the father or mother figure may have left the household, leaving no peer to look up to and be aided in decisions by. Or even worse, the father or mother figure has been taken to prison, thus having a major influence on how the child views their life and the decisions they make within it. The major factor being that the child will make the decision to follow in their fathers or mothers’ footsteps, and this could also possibly lead to a sentence in prison. It is therefore essential that the family raise their child to have their own say on how they choose to live their life, but also be able to guide them through the process of developing into an asset of society.
Society
Today society can determine the life of a young person and the decisions they may make in life to determine their futures. The main source of society is the peer group that has been constructed as a part of society. A peer group can be defined as a group of which offer guidance and a relationship other than the one within the family, they are there to provide an opportunity to learn social skills and values within their life and community, also to be able to develop themselves into a well rounded individual and adult.
However the peer group programme usually only runs to the age of 16 and the young person has to make decisions on their own, it usually comes down to their social context, of which are their family and the working class they live within. A young person living in upper class London s likely to have a greater decision than a young person living in Liverpool due to the social context that they are in. In societies, which suffer from poverty and a depression in the area, the youths are sub-cultured and looked upon as a threat and a non- decision making threat at the highest level. The youths have no say on how society is run and we do not realise that the young people of today are the future of the society we live in. certain societies however have identified this problem, and as a result formed a council of youth, aged between 11-16, the main target of a sub-cultured group of which is seen as that threat.
Llanwrtyd mayor Peter James said: "For the first time we have direct contact, consultation and decision-making powers with today's young people who will become our town's future,"- (BBC NEWS (28th September 2003) Award for first youth council [online] Available a: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/3146622.stm])
The above quote recognises the start of a process, which encourages young people to be part of society, it encourages them and also the adults of the society to be essential decision makers of the society. Encouraging this type of initiative has proved successful with other programmes and towns also. Oxford for example has set up a programme for young people aged between 5-13, allows them to allocate a certain amount of money to projects which will be able to develop the area. They chose to allocate their money to leisure activities, which would enable them to benefit from. Today children are on the streets because we put them there, they have no choice, and we as adults encourage them to go out and play, however what is there to do in certain areas but play on the street, and with these initiatives of developing leisure activities children can benefit from them decisions, and what is better then to have children make the decisions which they themselves will use.
"One 11-year-old girl said to me, 'We know best what children want, because we are children'." (BBC NEWS (18th January 2005) Youth project wins award [online] available at:
The programme will also develop their ability to make decisions in latter life, developing their skills for the future.
"Learning to make responsible decisions now will stand them in good stead in later life." (BBC NEWS (18th January 2005) Youth project wins award [online] available at:
Education
Every child must attend school and be educated to a certain standard in order to progress to the next level after an 11-year teaching period. However during the time of education, certain decisions must be made by the child to achieve their personal goals of success. From an early age in primary education children have the opportunity to decide which high school they attend, however the parent can also undertake it in this case. The main decision making starts in high school, when the child decides the subjects they decide to undertake and attempt to succeed in within the school life, usually at GCSE level and above. During this period however the youth can be discouraged by certain aspects of life, which have a major impact on all peoples lives at one point or another. These aspects include for example, sex, relationships, personal development, health and violence. From these aspects, life itself can change without the appropriate decisions and guidance from others around them. A new initiative recently set up in the last decade has been able to look at these pressures and aid the decisions of the youth in making the correct decisions in life, the programme looks at certain chapters of life, outlining what the young person can do and what is not seen as appropriate, it allows them to explore their problems in society and make the correct decisions based on what they see themselves as. (“Advocates for youth” November 2007 [online] available at:
)
Education allows the young person to develop certain parts of their life, it allows the to explore areas they have never visited in their life, their decisions in this part of life can determine who they become in the future by what decisions they choose to take. Another programme has also been set up in the past decade which allocates certain peer groups to education, allowing the child to come to the group for advice on the decision they are about to make. The programme entitled ‘Peer education for youth’ allows the young person to explore the risks of certain aspects of education and life in general, the child can explore sex, alcohol, drug misuse, etc. however it also allows the young person to develop skills in decisions, consequences of sex (HIV/AIDS) and how to improve the self-esteem of the child. (“Peer education for youth” [online] Babelyte V, Aleksejunaite G, 1996 Jul 7-12, available at:
These initiatives above in education can allow the child to make certain decisions in society and help them to achieve and thrive for success within their future. Education is a major part of life for all young people, and if good decisions are made, great prospects will arise for that young person.
The above three social factors I believe can influence the decisions made in life by the youth, it can determine how society perceives the youth and how the youth can develop in creating a much better society throughout not just the nation but the globe. For the youth are our future, they will determine how the world is run, we must not see them as trouble causes but as young adults who can change the world through their decisions.
Reference list
(“Advocates for youth” November 2007 [online] available at:
)
(BBC NEWS (28th September 2003) Award for first youth council [online] Available a: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/3146622.stm])
(BBC NEWS (18th January 2005) Youth project wins award [online] available at:
"Learning to make responsible decisions now will stand them in good stead in later life." (BBC NEWS (18th January 2005) Youth project wins award [online] available at:
(“Peer education for youth” [online] Babelyte V, Aleksejunaite G, 1996 Jul 7-12, available at:
“The family holds within itself the future of society….the family is the vital environment where every child brought into the world is welcomed” (Pope John Paul 2nd (1993)
Roche, J, Tucker S., Thompson, R. and Flynn, R (ed) (2005) youth in society, (2nd Edition) London, Sage. p138