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Introduction
As the matter of fact, every country has certain norms of the age of criminal responsibility. First and foremost, it should be highlighted that the major argument in support of the raising the age for the responsibility is that children are not mature, and brain development, social, and emotional factors only start to improve. The major purpose of the paper is to analyze three scenarios based on actual events from the point of view of the developmental characteristics of a child aged two-six and to highlight the significance of the implementation of the biological, cognitive, and emotional and social arguments to support the idea that children should not be responsible for crime actions.
Biological Argument
The childhood is considered to be a very sensitive period in the development of the human being as it is the time when the brain shapes and it affects the development of emotions, concentration, ability to overcome stress, and have self-control (Berger, 2014). In the discussed scenarios, children cannot be responsible for the murder. Their brain chooses the option to eliminate the distraction moment (in the case, where a six-year-old girl murder her brother because he was constantly crying) or the person that caused conflict (in the first and second case, where children decided to kill the offender).
As the matter of fact, children usually imitate the actions of parents or something that they saw, for examples, in movies or video games (Berger, 2014). The immature brain cannot analyze or evaluate the consequences; it follows the model of the behavior that was previously seen in the mass media or experienced in some conversations (for example, in a fairy tale, when the bad person got killed for the happiness of the main hero).
Cognitive Argument
The theory of Piaget is centered on the peculiarities of the cognitive development and improvement of the intelligence (Berger, 2014). Children up to four years cannot analyze the information according to logic, whereas children up to six years use only primitive reasoning. The feeling of justice is highly developed in children. In the first case, the child shot the girl, because he was offended and thought that this way she will be punished. However, he did not understand the consequences and probably could not realize that shooting leads to death as the vast majority of children do not face death (of either family members or friends). They do not have the real understanding of what death is.
Emotional and Social Development
It should be stressed that the age of the criminal responsibility should be compared to the age when people can make individual choices. Teenagers are legally allowed to have sexual intercourse from the age of sixteen, can get married and vote after eighteen, and drink alcohol after twenty-one. The stated above can sometimes have the same dreadful consequences. Then the question arises, why should children be treated as criminals, when they are not allowed to make certain decisions as they considered to be immature. The child is not emotionally and socially developed (Berger, 2014). To make choices one should realize the consequences they might face. The child cannot control or distinguish emotions. It is the primary reason why the age of criminal responsibility should be raised.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be stressed that the stated above arguments, namely biological, cognitive, emotional, and social should be taken account. One of the most relevant thoughts is that the brain of the child is immature. Children lack logical reasoning, and that is, solve their problems in the way that is acceptable to them according to their personal experience. However, all the discussed above arguments should not be undervalued as they are significant and prove that the child should not be treated as the criminal.
References
Berger, K. S. (2014). The developing person through the life span (9th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers.
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