Law /
Polish Police and Their Tactics [181]
children's psychological and cognitive development
Well, I trained as a Montessori teacher (ages 3-12 years) so I understand the stages of development and I worked with children in the inner city of Dublin for almost 20 years, many of whom came from dodgy family backgrounds so I'm speaking from that perspective.
Having known/taught hundreds of children, there were many who were vulnerable to being lead astray into petty crime and obviously one wouldn't want to see them get a criminal record. However if their misdemeanours went through the courts, as Jon said, their behaviour would be taken more seriously and addressed more efficiently than leaving it in the hands of social services alone.
There are two types of children that are really a worry. One is the kids who are borderline special needs, with well below average IQ and can end up going along with stuff because they want to have a friend, or be obedient to their parents (yes, parents use young kids to help with crimes). They get exploited all the time, but again they need proper intervention.
However, there is another group of children who, even at the age of five, have something very sinister going on. I suppose they are the sociopaths. I came across at least three and when you look into their eyes, even when they're under the age of six, you can see that something is not right in there.
One example is a five year old boy who put bleach in a teacher's tea when her back was turned. He had previously thrown a hamster across the room 'to see if it would burst'. When asked why he put bleach in the tea, he gave a very interesting answer. 'Because it has no colour so she wouldn't know it was there'. Now, he gave from a 'good' family. Nice parents, professional people, well educated etc. but in denial about his behaviour. At that age he had full knowledge and deliberate intent to harm. If that boy, at the age of ten, goes on to stab someone in the back 'for fun', what then?
