Joining A Gang: How To Help Kids Prevent It, How To Tell If Theyve Joined One, How To Help Them Out
|
|
While youth gangs are nothing new -- they've been traced back to the early 19th century -- the demographic of a youth gang is something that is constantly changing. Many people stereotype gang members as urban, inner city males from racial minorities, but in fact gangs are a problem in suburbs as well as cities, for all races and for girls as well as boys.
There are about 750,000 gang members in the United States, according to estimates by the U.S. Department of Justice, and one-third of them are under the age of 18. And while it's still true that men account for the majority of gang members-more than 90 percent are male-gang membership among women is becoming increasingly common.
What Exactly is a Gang?
Every gang has its own requirements and characteristics, but the U.S. Department of Justice says that all gangs have one thing in common: "A group must be involved in a pattern of criminal acts to be considered a youth gang."
Similarly, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines a gang as, "A criminal enterprise having an organizational structure, acting as a continuing criminal conspiracy, which employs violence and any other criminal activity to sustain the enterprise."
Additionally, gangs typically:
* Develop around racial and ethnic lines
* Are typically male-dominated with some female members, though female gangs are on the increase
* Center on a specific territory
* Act as an organization that may be part of a larger group
* Display symbols associated with their gang through clothing, tattoos, graffiti, hand signals and language
Why do Kids Join Gangs?
According to a White House fact sheet for the new youth initiative aimed at protecting America's youth from gangs, an overwhelming number of violent U.S. criminals like those in gangs grow up in single-mother households with no father around. It's also been shown that kids who are involved with their family, school and community are less likely to be involved in risky behavior like joining a gang.
This may explain why, generally, kids join gangs to feel like they belong and have a sense of purpose. In fact, kids join gangs for many of the same reasons that kids join any group, like a soccer team or Boy Scouts:
* Looking for a sense of self-worth, belonging and commitment
* Seeking structure and discipline
* Companionship
* A need for recognition, higher status and acceptance
* Excitement and something to do
Gang Signs
Additionally, kids may join gangs because of a:
* Need for protection
* Family tradition
* Need for money (kids in gangs can earn cash from drug trades)
How to Keep Your Kids Away From Gangs
Since most kids who join gangs do so because they are looking for a social network, for a group to belong to, ensuring that your child gets plenty of love and support at home and through positive activities is key in keeping them away from gangs.
Such was the case with David Danisa, a young man who could have easily fallen prey to gangs himself as friends around him joined steadily. Instead, Danisa and friend Jurell Spivey joined school programs and even got involved into keeping younger kids out of gangs.
"There's a lot of pressures in high school," says Danisa. "If you have people who are helping you out in programs, you start having more self-respect. You can fight through the hard stuff." And, to put is simply, after your day gets filled up with sports, volunteering and other activities, "You don't have time to do anything bad," Danisa said.
Aside from enrolling your kids in community or school youth programs from an early age, the following tips can also help:
* Encourage your child to think independently
* Take an active interest in his/her life: Be involved!
* Get to know your child's friends and encourage healthy friendships
* Teach your child coping strategies to deal with hard times
* Support your child with words and actions to instill in them a sense of self-esteem and personal responsibility
* Discourage too much exposure to media influences that glorify drugs, sex, gangs and violence to kids
Resources That Can Help
If you suspect your child, friend or family member is in a gang and in need of help, there are many resources available. First, according to the Los Angeles' County Sheriff's Department:
* The member must think and believe that they can get out of the gang, and must want to do it.
* Reduce the amount of time spent with the gang. It's best to do so gradually, rather than trying to sever all ties immediately.
* Replace gang activities with positive activities like sports, the arts, employment, religion, education, volunteering, etc.
* Remove gang tattoos and attire and modify language away from gang communications.
* Create a new set of friends and an alternative support system, such as boys and girls clubs.
* Help other youths in gangs to create a better life away from the gang.
Other helpful resources include:
* National Clearinghouse for Families & Youth
* Family and Youth Services Bureau
* The YMCA
* Your local youth community center
From the FREE SixWise.com e-newsletter, the Web's #1 most read newsletter with original articles in all 6 areas of life leading to complete wellness.
|
|
|
Childhood Obesity
Economist John Kenneth Galbraith has said that more people die in this country of too much food than of too little. It's an appalling notion - but an accurate one. As of 1999 more than 60 percent of American adults were overweight or obese - and obesity among children was increasing faster than among adults. In 2000, 22 percent of U.S. preschoolers were overweight and 10 percent clinically obese.Nevertheless, there a...(related: Parenting)
What Should I Know About Strattera For Adhd?
Strattera came out around January of 2003, and is becoming more and more popular as a treatment for ADHD. Strattera is a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor that came on the market in 2003. It is becoming more and more popular as a treatment for ADHD and is available nationally. Strattera is a type of ADHD treatment that works differently ...(related: Parenting)
5 Solid Reasons: Why Your Child Can Be An Achiever
All of us, including your child, entered this world equipped with a super-computer that can be programmed to achieve almost anything.We all have what it takes to function at optimum level--to be the best student, to be the best in our career, and to function efficiently in every area of our life.Want proof?See the wonderful things and systems around you: your PC, internet, satellite, spaceship, mobile phone, video conference, modern health-care systems, development in biotechnology, and other millions of wonderful things that make life easy and enjoyable. ALL these were conc...(related: Parenting)
Choosing A Daycare Or Pre-school ? Top Ten Safety Tips
When it's time to put your child into a daycare or pre-school, there is some homework involved. Here are the top ten safety tips that are useful when looking for a pre-school or daycare center.1. Take the time to make sure the program is reputable and whether the facilit...(related: Parenting)
Natural Disasters: Help Your Child Cope With The Anxiety
How on earth can you help your family cope with the anxietyand fear that natural disasters strike into the heart ofeveryone?In early 2005, for example, the world was rocked by thetsunami in South East Asia that killed thousands and leftmany homeless and orphaned.Yet, at the Edinburgh International Festival yest...(related: Parenting)
First Year With Twins - A Father?s Point Of View
People always ask my wife and I: "How did you ever do it with two babies? I just can't imagine it". My answer is always th...(related: Parenting)
Back To School Responsibilities Again
It's that time of year when mom and dad look for ways to improve their child's academic standing, during the upcoming scholastic year.There are many options to weigh in such as: new school clothes, school supplies, peer pressure, after school care, homework, league sports, and transportation.This is time of year for great chang...(related: Parenting)
A Chance For A Home
"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." - Johann von GoetheHome. Family. Backyard cookouts. A table laden with more than we can eat on Thanksgiving day. These things ground us, offer us stability, and give us an environment where we can learn, explore, grow, and even self-actualize.Yet for 210 million children, these basic human needs will never be met because most of these children will come of age in an institution, never knowing a family, never experiencing the warmth, joy and acceptance of a home environment.These children are orphans. And for them, finding a family is like winning a lottery...(related: Parenting)
Clean Slates And Fresh Starts
Hope, excitement and anxiety all wrapped up in fresh haircuts and new clothes. Pens, pencils and notebooks, the smell of a new box of crayons and a brand new book; it all speaks of such promise.It's the first week of school and everyone starts with an "A". Children are on their best behavior as they cautiously gauge their new surrounding. But once those first days fade and familiarity takes shape, the playing ground is no longer even. A pecking order becomes evident as cliques form and personalities emerge. And it is this pecking order that ...(related: Parenting)
Dinner Table Drama
It has been a long day. Home from work, you put together a nice, healthy dinner for the entire family to enjoy. Gathering the family around the table, you sit down to eat and within a minute, a voice pipes up, "I don't like anything." Encouraging, you say...(related: Parenting)
Is Your Child Ready For An Allowance?
Children think money grows on trees. Maybe not literally, but they sure think there is a never-ending supply of it. They see you at the grocery store pushing a cart overflowing with the week's groceries; you hand the cashier a piece of plastic and suddenly it's all yours. People come to the door asking for money to support a charity and it magically appears from the bottom of your purse as if you were pulling a rabbit from a hat. Instead of "mama" or "dada", "checkbook" might have been your child's first word. It makes no sense to them then, that every time they ask for something they'd like from the ...(related: Parenting)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 | Contact Webmaster | Baby Care Info | All Rights Reserved. | Parenting