I have been listening to all of the news stories describing the crazy, absurd crimes that are being committed by juveniles and young adults which made me begin to wonder what is going on. There seems to be too much senseless crimes and crimes that involve unnecessary violence inflicted on old and young alike. While reviewing the various crime scenarios it began to indicate that the perpetrators seem to have no value for human life.

As I began to think back to significant occurrences in our society to seek understanding for the mass amount of criminal activity I flipped to a TV channel that was discussing the physical and mental challenges of “crack babies”. Crack babies being the term used for babies that were conceived and carried by mothers addicted to cocaine. The narrator spoke about the babies not being able to connect or build relationships as they grow older. Also, there is a lack of focus and slow physical and mental development. Researchers’ estimates suggest that a minimum of 11 percent of all newborns in the United States today were exposed in the womb to one or more illicit drugs.

I began to research further and it was noted that alcohol also has a very devastating effect on babies born of alcoholic mothers known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Features may include facial deformities, stunted physical and emotional development, memory and attention deficits, impulsive behavior, inability to reason, a failure to comprehend the concept of time, difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality, inability to control sexual impulses, and a lack of remorse. Researchers further indicate that most women who use drugs also drink heavier. If we look at the years that crack became readily available and look at the ages that these children would be today, it begins to correlate with the increase of violent crimes committed by juveniles and young adults. A lot of these babies have been exposed to cocaine and alcohol.

A vast amount of of these babies remained with their addicted parent(s) and were raised in an environment not conducive to formulating lasting positive relationships and socially accepted behaviors. Unfortunately it has been noted that these babies when held pull away and cry until exhausted interfering with child-parent bonding. Other babies that we given up for adoption or filtered into the foster care system were not all treated in a manner to enforce acceptable social behavior and moral consciousness. A majority of the children remain in the foster care system. In reviewing reports on this subject, it became apparent that researchers have been aware of the consequences possibly associated with these babies that are now maturing into young adults with the lack of understanding or value of life. This is a very scary situation that affects all of us.

We need to support organizations that promote positive social interaction and mentoring of these juveniles and young adults to help them assimilate positive behavior to productively function in society. We have to take some responsibility for these juveniles and young adults. Many of them had special services provided to them as infants and children but have little resources available to them as they become young adults. We see everyday the outcome of the negligence of not having ongoing programs and follow-ups set up to maintain control of a very explosive situation which affects all of us. One Third of these children exhibited emotional and behavioral problems and got frustrated very easily during childhood.

It’s a shame to see so many juveniles being incarcerated for crimes knowing that the time spent in the prison system is neither a positive experience nor a preventative measure for future criminal activity. We need to treat these babies now juveniles and young adults with more compassion and create programs to help them combat the demons that were inflicted upon them including low self esteem due to poor cognitive skills and diminished mental/physical developmental problems, harsh upbringing, environmental shortcomings and lack of proper parenting.

Babies that are born of chemically dependent parents are subjected to the same rules and laws that the rest of society is held accountable to and yet they are very different. Unfortunately, they are the forgotten members of society and definitely misunderstood thereby creating another group of lost children that grow from lost juveniles to lost young adults.

This is a very serious situation. If you have a family member, friend or associate that has a dependency problem that is pregnant, please warn them about the damage they are doing to their unborn child and our society as a whole. We need to take a more active role. The affects of the drugs and alcohol can be life threatening to the baby and also diminish the quality of life for babies that survive.