Conclusion Gang vs. Family

Overall, there are many factors on why children join gangs. One of the reasons is lack of parental support and lack of parents in general. There are a lot of other factors to keep in mind on why children join gangs. If children are looking for support, they need adults to show them other ways of finding support instead of just joining a gang.

Parental Influence

Parents have a great influence over their children. They need to teach them that fighting is not the answer and that families, real families, help each other by supporting one another. Families help each other in ways that don’t harm others or cause people pain. Children need to know that there are others places they can go if they don’t have stable homes, they do not need to get involved with gangs. There are after school activities they can join to meet new people, they can volunteer at the local libraries, or just play pickup games at the local basketball courts. Children can find so many things to do and so many places to go where people are willing to help them and be there for them. They don’t need gangs to replace the void they feel from their lack of families. I know that local YMCA’s have activities for children to do after school that helps them stay off the streets and get involved. They have sports activities, volunteer opportunities, and there are field trips to go on. Even if children don’t have parents that are there for them, there are adults out there that would be willing to be there for children and places like the YMCA have those adults.
In the survey my group took for this project, one of the questions was do you know how use a gun? The answer out of 100 people was that 35% of them knew how to use a gun. Are the parents teaching children how to use a gun? If the parents are, why are they teaching their children ways to protect themselves using violence? Guns are extremely dangerous; recently so many young children have died due to accidental, self inflicted, gunshot wounds. Parents need to teach their children other ways of dealing with anger, and they need to teach them that killing is wrong. If parents put out a strong message against violence, children will listen.

Getting Out

Once someone joins a gang, it is almost impossible if not completely impossible to leave. Family members can attempt to move their children away from the gangs, but it is an extremely hard and risky process. The “bond” gangs have are very strong, and they don’t want you to leave for fear you will join a different gang and become a traitor. If a child does manage to get out of a gang, they have to move the whole family away, change their name, and live in fear that every day the gang will find them.

Why Children Join Gangs

In an article written in 1997, titled Why Girls Join Gangs, girls join gangs to help deal with the frustration, rage, and anger they obtain from living with dysfunctional families. Joining gangs help the girls feel wanted, needed, and important. When they join a gang, they join a new family, a family that will stick up for them and fight for them without any questions ever being asked.
Some children chose to join gangs because they are lonely. Their parents both work full time, they have no one to talk to, and they want friends and people that will watch their back. They chose to join a gang because they will no longer have to be alone. There will be someone that’s there for them when they are upset, and they have something to do during the day.
However, some children join gangs for other, hurtful reasons. Some young children join gangs to spite their parents. In an article written in 2002, titled “Adult Absence Can Lead Teens to Join Gangs”, a girl named Kim claimed to join a gang because “she just didn’t like her mom”. Her mom had abandoned her and left her with an alcoholic father. So in order to get back at her parents for hurting her, she joined a gang at the age of 13. She wanted to be a part of something that honored her, and respected her. Kim found that honor and respect she wanted in a gang.