lullabies for little criminals

Early childhood is the most important phase of development in one’s lifespan as the experiences during childhood sets the course for later stages of development. It has been noted that a mother’s actions during pregnancy may influence the development of an infant. The developmental influences include prenatal, perinatal and neonatal environments. (Santrock, 2002) Although babies come into the world with no say or control over which family they will be placed into, or the environment in which they will begin to live in, theorists agree that the first two years are crucial, with early emotional, physical and social development influenced by the infant’s biological and environmental factors (Sigelman, Rider, & De-George Walker, 2013). The

The lives of children are greatly influenced by the environment they grow up in, and the people they come in contact with. For years, psychologists, researchers, and social workers have studied children, and why they do what they do. All have developed many different perspectives on how to view social problems and the development of individuals.

A child’s environment, for example, their family or school play a huge part in their development. Some of the main factors that influence a child’s development are their family, where the child lives, and socio-economic status. These factors often cross over and blend as they are related.

Baby does not realize that once she loses her innocence, it’s not something that she can get back. She’s missed the best stage of life, which is childhood. Baby often spent a lot of time with her pimp, Alphonse. Many people around her viewed her differently because to her dad and her close friends, a twelve year old shouldn’t be involving herself with a pimp, who caused her to go to juvenile detention for awhile “ I missed Jules and I couldn’t believe the he had sent me away” (O’ Neill 189). Baby was involved with drugs and was getting corrupted. Juvenile detention was to help Baby realize that she is still very young and to acknowledge that what she was doing is not acceptable at this age, that she’s only ruining her life. “Becoming a child again is what is impossible…childhood id the most valuable thing that’s taken away

Socially and Emotionally the family is a big influence in a child’s development. Parents have a big role by providing care and guidance for their development. Unfortunately some families cannot promote the development of a child because of the conflict among the parents. A single parent can have difficulties in boosting a better development in children and young people, sometimes a child is separated from its siblings and this can affect them too.

Children and young people often experience many things which have a direct impact on their development; things such as their family environment and structure, personality, hospital visits, childcare arrangements, and culture.

The book puts in question what are the important factors to a child’s development all the way until there teenage years. When growing up there are two main group of people that make us who we are; our parents and the outside world. When we are little, before we start school we do not know anything other than our family, this is called the first stage of development. By only knowing your family members this causes you to only act the way you see. However, a few years later, when

Nature versus nurture, is the question. Are we really born as the person we always will be, or does external influences have a crucial effect on who we will become. In the novel Lullabies for Little Criminals the protagonists Baby is seen to have an absence of an adequate caregiver or prominent parental figure in her life. Her mother passed away when she was very young with only her teenage father to care for her. Jules her father, shows little interest in his child. Constantly leaving her to fend for herself and issuing verbal and physical abuse. This causes the young adolescent girl to experience great hardship as she tried to get on with life, without proper role model and guidance. The adverse character development of Baby throughout the novel supports the theme of the necessity of a proper role model in the upbringing of a child. Without the proper guidance a child will begin to take impression to her environment. No matter who they were destined to be, they will always become products of their own surroundings. Her impression of her corrupt environment causes her many problems in her life such as her inability to form and maintain healthy romantic relationships, to gain a reputable and appropriate career for her aptitude, and her desire not to pursue a higher level of education.

Childhood is an important time in a person’s life, a time where one can be carefree and do as they please without having to worry about what others think of them. During this stage of life, children are groomed and prepared for the transition between childhood and adulthood to be as smooth as possible. However, in Heather O’Neil’s novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals, Baby throws herself into the adult world without giving any second thought or even having the proper knowledge to survive or even to manage herself. This causes her to follow the wrong paths and trust the wrong people. Baby grows wise beyond her years, and soon becomes stuck in the middle of the two worlds, as she is too young for the adult world but too old for the child world. This traps her with her having nowhere else to go except continue on the path she is already heading. Baby’s loss of innocence at such a young age showcases that one cannot properly mature and be ready for the future without having a stable childhood. This loss is shown through Jules’ lack of parental ability, her exposure to the adult world at a young age, and her struggle with herself. Adding all three together causes damage to Baby that no one should experience.

The second experience that Baby has which causes her loss of innocence is being placed in foster care while her father is in the hospital. First of all, while Baby spends time in foster care she is exposed to many sad, disheartening realities about life and her own childhood. Baby is forced to come to terms with many sad realities and she sees things that children should never see while living in foster care. For one, she watches as a boy is beaten up by some bullies and then yelled at by his uncle. After that, the boy sinks into a deep depression, showing Baby a sad side of life. Also, the boy’s uncle asks Baby “...Is he [her dad] still selling weed?” (33). Baby is forced to come to terms

After analyzing Lullabies for little criminals in a feminist theory lens, it becomes clear that this novel is based on the portrayal of women In a male dominated society. Men are described as stronger or more important in the story than women are. Baby meets a lot of women in her 2 year life span in the novel, but they never make as much of an imprint in her life as the males do. She has no mother and so you think that she would be out looking for someone who can be a role model for her. Instead because of the way her society is built she is forced into something that the men think is normal, and that all the women seem to be doing. Her father albeit being a junkie has high hopes for his daughter and doesn 't want her to be seen as a “whore”, yet even he can 't stop the pressure of society being put on her.

On top of the expected pattern of children and young people’s development including “physical, communication & intellectual & social, emotional & behavioural development there are also “personal and external” factors which will affect how they develop.

In this section of the novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals, it introduces the falling action, which ends with the resolution, and brings a positive change upon both the main characters, Baby and Jules. In the beginning, situational irony occurs when Baby ends up like a bum as if she previously described Jules as, and she has a flashback of him in withdrawal that helps her to cope with living on the streets. Once someone tells her that Jules is looking for her, she starts having flashbacks of Felix, Xavier, and Jules, the happiest moments of her life, as she roams the streets. Another example of a theme is introduced, that although she is exposed to adulthood at a young age, children will stay children, and she cannot stay away from her father

Development of a child have been a thing that most of the parents have been neglecting without noticing that it is very important in the development of a child’s character and social

The factors that influenced the heredity and environment on the Amelia’s psychological development are her parents on and off instability with each other, and their children. Her environment played a small role because her upbringing overshadowed her environmental factors. Her mother’s and grandparents continued support, made a major difference in her life, academically, professionally, and personally as well.