Negative Influences

Adolescence is a key point in a child's development and when their environment is most influential. Negative outside influences could steer the course of their lives in a negative direction. When a child is growing up they will look to their parents and family for guidance on how to live their life. How the child acts, thinks, perceives and responds are all learned traits that have been observed from parents, family members or individuals involved in the child's life. As a parent you influence your child more than you know, make the decision to learn about positive and negative influences you can have on your child and take their future seriously! 

So think about it, What could be a negative influence in a child's life?
Outside influences that affect a child’s life and development are their environment/neighborhood, peers and violence. If a child grows up in an environment that is influenced by drugs, crime and poverty then they are at higher risk to fall into the cycle themselves. If they choose to hang out with a bad crowd of kids that gets into trouble and likes vandalizing things then that is a negative influence on the child from their peers. Or if the child witnesses and/or is the victim to violence that is also a negative influence that can taint their view on right and wrong as they grow older. These to me are not considered generalizations because I know many people who have been in these situations. I have also worked hands on with children that are growing up in poverty compared to children who are not.

My parents own two Early Learning Education Centers in my hometown, Rhode Island. I have worked for both of the centers for many years and have grown to know the kids and see them grow from infants to school age and then off to first grade. One of the locations is in a poor and run down area called Cranston. The day care is filled with a majority of state kids. When I say “state kids” what I mean is that they are on welfare or in a foster/adoption program that makes them the responsibility of the state. The state pays for the child’s day care and food because many of the parents cannot afford to feed their children breakfast, lunch and dinner. The children here are a handful, but they are the craziest and most lovable kids around. While I worked there, I noticed that a lot of these kids went without and came from a broken family or foster home and many where shut off, angry and cold. There was a 5 year old who had been put in foster care because her mother beat her senseless as an infant, all this little girl wanted was love and she didn’t even get it with her foster mom. Situations like that always broke my heart because it seemed like no one cared enough to help her out and she was just going to get lost in the system. She had a different social worker every few weeks and never got the chance to develop a bond with anyone. She always acted out, craved attention, cried, wet the bed, stole and hit other classmates. She was a handful, but it was not her fault that her environment had a negative influence on her. 

Now, compared to the other school I worked at in Exeter, RI it is a different world it seems. Exeter is a very wealthy town with one of the best school systems in our tiny state. The children there all eat organic food, refuse to take naps and many are spoiled brats with the occasional kid who isn’t going to give you a hard time.

To make a long story short, I was able to observe first hand the differences in quality, appearance, materials and attitudes between the two schools. One school was in a poor location and the other one in a rich location. I made the conclusion that negative outside influences in a child’s life can hurt them in the long run as they develop in an environment that is a poor influence.

Know someone who is being affected by violence in a relationship of any kind? Or need some advice yourself? Visit or Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for help and advice if needed! You're never alone, stand up against violence!