
Imagine neighborhoods brimming with children laughing and running around, playing manhunt and freeze tag, shooting hoops and riding bikes. That is what the ideal stereotypical childhood used to consist of, kids just being kids. Unfortunately, these carefree actions are dwindling at a rapid pace. Children no longer get the same joy from the simple outdoors and their imaginations. Instead, they would much rather grow up as soon as possible and leave all of the childish games behind. Their mindsets put them in a place where they believe themselves to be mature enough to engage in adult or even risky behaviors. Such behaviors include, underage drinking, smoking, the use of drugs, and sexual interactions. The minor versions of those would be the ownership of smart phones, laptops, and iPads, using social media, watching R-rated movies, and wearing scandalous clothing. Young children are adopting more vastly mature mentalities in the past few years than ever in history, leading them to partake in unsuitable practices for their age group, but with the proper guidelines parents can reverse and/or prevent these occurrences.

Parents of these troubling generations need to be aware that this epidemic is a current problem. “Security firm Bullguard surveyed over 2000 parents of kids aged 8 to 12, and the majority of those parents indicated that they were concerned that their kids were growing up too quickly” (Geddes). They also need to be enlightened on the probable causes of such behaviors in their children. For instance, James Geddes from the Tech Times believes that the desire of children to mature much quicker than necessary is caused by the internet and social media. Others agree with Geddes and go further to elaborate on the corruptions of social media. “Seventy-seven percent of them blamed the Internet for this, and also blamed peer pressure and the increased influence of celebrities in modern culture” (Geddes). Even so, these parents still admitted to allowing their children to utilize the internet without supervision and allowing them to have their own social medias. This unsupervised access to unfitting role models for children is a major reason behind their eagerness to grow up and appear cool by jumping on the bandwagon. 

Dealing with the issue of the internet, Victoria Woollaston of the DailyMail.com provides more to the argument proving social media, specifically in her eyes Facebook, to be a root of evil with kids. A vast majority of parents who were polled for her article “attributed this accelerated maturity, in particular, to peer pressure, the vast amount of information they see online, and social networks” (Woollaston). Evidently, many people do concur and voice their opinions on how peers can influence each other through social medias. These networking sites provide such easy and simple access to the lives of anyone at any given time. Adolescents will share anything they please online with no disregard for the outcome of their posts. “The study also revealed that 40 per cent of parents find it annoying that celebrities and friends have more influence over their children than they do” (Woollaston). This shows just how prevalent peer pressure is amongst impressionable young people who are searching for ways to be cool and popular. At that age, children will do anything others do in order to feel accepted by their peers. Henceforth, if kids are posting online about drinking and smoking and being praised for these actions, then others are going to join in to receive the same appraisal. 

Following the proclamation of social media and celebrities being a reason is the idea that a sexualized media-driven marketplace is the culprit. “The Nickelodeon-Yankelovicht Youth Monitor found that by the time they are 12, children describe themselves as ‘flirtatious, sexy, trendy, athletic, cool’” (Hymowitz). These young adolescents wish so desperately to appear as mature as teens or even young adults. These, what are labeled as “tweens”, are turning this trend into deviant or risk behaviors as well. “According to a report by the office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, ‘offenders under age 15 represent the leading edge of the juvenile crime problem, and their numbers are growing’” (Hymowitz). Not only is the number of crimes being committed by these young ones increasing but also the severity of them. Along with crime rates rising, so are the percentages of tweens engaging in sexual activity, drugs, and alcohol use. “Equally striking, though less easily tabulated, is the increasing prevalence of sexual contact short of intercourse. Michael Thompson, co-author of the forthcoming ‘Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys,’ says he hears from seventh- and eighth- graders a lot of talk about oral sex, which they, like a certain prominent role model, don't think of as sex” (Hymowitz). It is clearly evident that children value the lifestyles and actions of their apparent role models greatly and will look to imitate them.

Another major cause of many young adolescents engaging in high-risk behavior is the environment from which they were brought up. “Increasing numbers of America's youth are growing up in circumstances that limit the development of their potential, compromise their health, impair their sense of self, and generally restrict their chances for successful lives” (National Research Council, 13). Unsuitable living conditions do not result in healthy or successful development for children. The environment in which a child is raised “influences the development of a person over time, through experience, socialization, and exposure in various contexts, and it also interacts with that person at any given time in influencing the specific behavior that occurs” (15). Therefore, if a child is growing up in a home or neighborhood where drugs and alcohol are an apparent norm than they are going to follow within these footsteps. Young infantile ages are when children are most severely impacted by the atmosphere and individuals around them. They will continue their development in search of becoming like those surrounding them, whether good or bad influences they are.

A more scientific theory behind the influx of maturation is the correlation between children’s emotional maturity and their sexual development, rather puberty. Doctors and psychologists are attempting to pinpoint why exactly children are now seeming to hit puberty at such young ages, even going as premature as 6 years old. “Diet is by far the most important factor – medics and psychotherapists both point to better nutrition being the definitive change in children over the past century” (Williams). Gaining a sufficient amount of great nutrition has been proven to lead to early puberty, while starvation will result in not reaching puberty at all. “Puberty is the physical change, adolescence the psychosocial transition, from childhood to adulthood” (Williams). When children go through puberty, they force themselves to believe that they are mature emotionally to coincide with their newly mature physical changes. 

Chai Woodham of health.usnews.com also believes in the plausible reasoning behind early onset puberty and advanced emotional maturity. Proclaimed “findings have led some experts to theorize that precocious puberty may be an evolutionary response to one’s environment” (Woodham). Puberty can theoretically be brought about by stressful or dangerous conditions and this sexual maturation is a simple defense mechanism of the body. “While the physical effects of precocious puberty are obvious, the unseen social and psychological ones can have just as great an impact. Experts note that early puberty is associated with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, early sexual activity and substance abuse” (Woodham). These emotional side effects are brought about by the children’s sense that their body is actually maturing too rapidly for their own good. However, eventually they turn these feelings to the other side of the spectrum and mature mentally with their bodies, wishing to engage in premature sexual activities. 

To continue with the idea of early onset puberty having an effect on the behaviors of adolescents, is the relationship between this early puberty and risky substance use. Not only does this premature sexual development alter young children’s concepts of sexual activity but also their regard for drugs and alcohol. As Negriff states in the Journal of Adolescent Health, “Early puberty can be stressful and confusing, and for youth with maltreatment experiences, these stressors may be exacerbated, potentially strengthening associations between early puberty and problem behaviors” (625). Children will look for an escape from their anxiety and hardship with a substance that causes them to forget their problems. Unfortunately, the most commonly used and accessible scapegoats are alcohol and certain drugs. “Increases in risk behavior may be because of early maturers’ exposure to deviant peers or as a coping response to the mismatch between physical and social maturity” (Negriff, 626). When children are already confused by what is going on in their own bodies, it is difficult for them to pinpoint what is right and wrong. They are vulnerable and look for others to depend upon, sometimes these others will lead them towards an unwanted path. Peer pressure has always been an influential aspect in the lives of children because everyone wants to fit in when growing up and they will do as they see done. If many peers or a particular ‘cool peer’ are partaking in underage drinking and substance abuse, then others will follow. 

Now, it has been stated again and again how there are parents and other adults who firmly see the problem that is children growing up and wanting to partake in unsuitable activities. However, there are those who would say that they recognize the exact opposite. “The ‘Tethered Generation’ refers to young people who have to be in constant contact with their parents and each other via cellphones and Instant Message” (ASPEN Education Group). It is believed that this dependent generation can not do anything on their own without their parents’ involvement. This dependency is brought about by a certain type of parent, called ‘Helicopter Parents’. “This phrase invented by authors Neil Howe and William Strauss refers to parents who constantly hover over their child in search of dangers. If anything, no matter how trivial, upsets their ward, they swoop down to fix it” (ASPEN). It can be countered that undergoing this consistency of always having one’s parents at hand causes children to rebel in the end. They will feel smothered and suffocated, wanting to experience anything for themselves and by themselves. “Some campus psychologists like Dr. Paul Joffe of the University of Illinois link binge drinking, experiments with drugs and sex and self-cutting to their need to have an authentic experience that is truly their own” (ASPEN). This is not an unimaginable outcome for adolescents who are tired of being treated like infants by their parents. The unconditional support may go over well for a time, but eventually they will want to grow up and break free from their guardians. In order to appear too mature for their parents, these children will begin the downward spiral of engaging in adult activities. 

After reviewing all of this cold-hard evidence and research on the topic, it can be concluded that rapidly maturing children who involve themselves in risky behaviors is a problem that is real and growing. It can also be recognized that there is not just one cause for this outbreak, but numerous and far-differing ones. The internet containing social media, peer pressure, celebrities, and a sexualized media-driven marketplace can absolutely be partly to blame. As well as, early onset puberty which is believed to be caused by a child’s diet or surrounding environment. The home situation, neighborhood, or community can also be linked to children putting themselves in risky situations. It is remarkable and extremely beneficial that people are able to acknowledge that this issue exists and have already begun research and studies on it. The first step to recovery is always admittance. 

It is most critical that parents recognize the signs of an at-risk adolescent because they are the ones who will be hurt the most by the changes and they are the ones who can really help to put an end to it. Parents need to keep an eye out for the way their children interact at home and how much time they spend away from home, possibly committing illegal or immoral acts. Once they notice a change in their child’s demeanor, they should not hesitate to attempt to pinpoint for themselves the exact cause in their case. The parents should first reflect on themselves and their own parenting techniques to see if there is anything that they have done to influence their child’s behavior. If so, they can work to help the situation through themselves, maybe involve a child specialist as well. Next, they can reflect on the environment that their child is being raised in. Could the neighborhood possibly be too dangerous or hold poor role models for a child? Maybe it is their classroom setting that is filled with troublesome peer influence. This is a more difficult source to fix themselves. Parents could go to extreme measures to remove the child from the harmful environment, or simply do their best to drill that the actions that they are witnessing are not proper or acceptable for young minds. 

Parents also need to examine their child’s social media to see what kind of posts they are viewing online. Peers could be posting to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. with the types of unruly activities and language that they are participating in. It may be crucial for parents to insist upon blocking these poor influences from their children’s timelines. Some social media sites are simply too mature for young kids to have of their own in general. There are sites that need parental blocks on them to prevent immature children from witnessing posts that they should not see at their age. Not only can these posts come from young peers but from adult celebrities as well. News stories thrive off of the misdoings of celebrities, the binge-drinking and drug use make the biggest headlines. Parents should take note of the celebrities that their children idolize and the values that those celebrities have. Those with their heads on right, headed down the proper path of stardom, are who parents should pride their children to look up to. 

There are ways for parents to take precautions to prevent their children from undergoing early onset puberty. The first step is to make sure their children get proper nutrition to not overdo it or under-do it. They can also ensure that their children are not put under stressful situations that may cause induced puberty. If it is already passed the point and early puberty has been reached, then parents need to communicate with their children and make sure that they are comfortable in their bodies. The discomfort that young kids will feel when they do not understand what is happening to them is what causes them to act out in unreasonable ways. It is especially harmful when other peers who have not yet reached puberty make them feel like outcasts. Parents can do the most to defend against the repercussions of their child’s potential over-bearing desire to grow up and act as an adult, by paying close attention to what they need to feel comfortable, safe, and childlike. 
