PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM GANG INFLUENCE
Gang activity and gang violence have become serious problems in urban areas and are rapidly spreading into suburban and rural communities as well. Gang members often engage in vandalism, theft, assault, and the sale of drugs in schools as well as in the community. As a result, many schools have become centers of violence and fear rather than safe centers for learning. Children and youth join gangs for a variety of reasons: the need to belong, low self-esteem, peer pressure, boredom, academic failure, and a lack of employment. The American Psychological Association reports that gang members are as young as nine and as old as 30, and males outnumber females by 20-to-1. However ominous the threat of gangs may seem, parents can prevent their children from joining. The support and nurturing children receive at home enable them to make good decisions and to find alternatives to gang involvement.
TIPS FOR PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM GANGS
- Spend time with each of your children every day. Show affection and make them feel special and important.
- Contact your local police department to find out if any gangs are active in your community.
- Children are attracted to gangs by their offer of friendship and support. Start teaching your children early (from age four or five) that gangs are dangerous and do not provide positive support or positive role models.
- Teach your children what to do if gang members approach them. The best response is to walk away and tell an adult.
- Know your children’s friends and families and your children’s whereabouts at all times. Set definite curfews for your children.
- Children with a history of academic failure are at high risk for gang membership. If your child has learning difficulties, work together with his or her teachers. Seek help from tutors and guidance counselors. Help your child with his or her homework.
Be on the lookout for signs of possible gang involvement:
- Change in a child’s friends.
- Change in dress habits (such as wearing the same color combination all the time).
- Secrecy about activities.
- Flashing hand signs.
- Having income from unknown sources.
- Having symptoms of alcohol and other drug use.
- Having a diminished interest in the family and school.
If you notice these signs, contact your school principal or guidance counselor, juvenile justice workers, or law enforcement personnel. Keep your children active in sports, clubs, and volunteer work, and family and community activities.