Hyderabad: Absence of moral teaching hits kids'

Hyderabad: With internet being easily available to some children, who are left unattended by parents, they are more inclined towards criminal offences, a psychologist said. 

Though they may get involved in crime, they should be treated based on their mental capacity.

It is important to distinguish delinquency acts from criminal acts. The first one refers to acts that are prohibited by social norms, while the second one is violation of existing laws defined by a state, said Dr Priyanka Padhi, clinical psychologist.

Instead of talking about minors getting into crime, it is important to understand when they start showing signs of primary delinquency due to defective or abnormal mental processes, she said. This may be caused by improper conditioning or punishment and abuse, emulation of inappropriate role models, and adjustment to inner conflicts.

“Even a behavioural disorder during childhood where many kids are seen talking like grown-ups or showcasing their anger in a harsh way, which many parents find funny or cute, can be early signs of wrong influence,” Dr Padhi said. Lack of education, which includes not teaching children moral, family and social values, can contribute to  the same. Even now we frame it as ‘Net-Generation Children’, where they are surrounded by gadgets all the time, have all the information at their fingertips, but what is important to understand is that all the information is not required for that age group.

Gadgets also create mental distress such as addiction to certain games, over-emotional disturbances which can distract them to fantasy world than the reality of people around them, she said.