There are several issues which are faced by children and Adolescents. Some of them are Social issues, emotional issues, health issues etc.This presentation elaborates about social issues being faced by Children and adolescents. Check the slides to know more

1. A Presentation on…
Social issues of childhood &
adolescence
Presented by-
AbhishekNayan
B. Ed.
School of Education
CentralUniversityof Haryana

2. Introduction
A man’s entire future is based on how he/she has been nurtured in childhood.
Children need extra care as they are physically and mentally dependent on
adults.
Society plays an important role in development of a child.
Social relationships helps in-
 generation of new ideas,
 providing a platform to discuss issues and concerns.
 obtain social, economic and emotional support

3. According to the World Bank, Poverty is
pronounced deprivation in well-being and
comprises many dimensions.
 Characterised by low incomes and inability
to acquire the basic goods and services
necessary for survival with dignity.
Lack of accebility of
resources and
livelihood
opportunities
Economic
distress
Multidimensional
poverty
Lose avenues of
social upliftment
Social
discrimination
& Stratification
Figure: The vicious cycle of discrimination and poverty
Poverty and socio – economic discrimination

4. Causes of poverty
Lack of Inclusive Economic Growth
SluggishAgricultural Performance
and Poverty
RapidPopulation Growth
Unemployment and Under-
employment
SlowGrowthof Employment
Opportunities in the Organised Sector
Inflation and Food Prices.
Effect on children
 Don’t get opportunity to obtain education
 Unavailabilityof resources
 Dropout issues
 Poor cognitive and mental development
 Sense of isolatedand socially
discriminated
 Development of inferioritycomplex
 Becomes the cause of intergeneration cycle
of poverty.

5. • Initial basis of division of caste - ‘Profession’
• New basis of division- Inheritance
• The backwardand Dalit communitywere considered as untouchables.
• Government abolished Untouchability by bringing Untouchability
Offenses Act ,1955.
• But the mindset remained somewhere in the society.
• Children learn this mindset from their parents an family member
and this becomes the basis of further discriminationamong their
fellowschoolmates.
• The discriminated child develops a perceptionabout higher class and
inferiority complex. They avoidconfrontation withpeople higher class.
Figure: Pyramid of caste system in India
Discrimination

6. • Overall contributing in decreased
opportunities, social, mental and
cognitive development.
Figure: The two faces of schools. The difference in terms of infrastructure
and resources can be clearly seen.
Infrastructure and resources
•Poor infrastructure and
resources lessens the
effectiveness of learning.

7. • Children belong in schools not workplaces.
• Child labour deprives children of their right to get education
and reinforces intergenerational cyclesof poverty.
• 152 million children (64 million girls and 88 million boys)are
estimated to be in child labourglobally.
Consequences-
Children are prone to various forms of exploitation including
sexual exploitation and production of child pornography.
These factors result in multidimensional poverty and social
discrimination.
Child labour and exploitation

8. Trafficked children face all forms of abuse-
physical, mental, sexual and emotional.
Are subjected to prostitution, forced into
marriage or illegally adopted.
They provide cheap or unpaid labour,
Are forced to work as house servants or beggars
and may be recruited into armedgroups.
Child trafficking

9. Defined as-
a marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18
and refers to both formal marriages and
informal unions in which children under the age
of 18 live with a partner as if married (UNICEF).
Child marriage ends childhood
Child marriages
Consequences-
•Compatibilty issues due to immaturity
•Teenage pregnancy
•Poor health
•Illiteracy
•Poverty

10. Accounts greatly for the most cases of
 female foeticide,
 domestic violence
 Mental trauma.
 Homicides.
Dowry system
Sati practice

11. “Educate one man, you educate one person, but
educate a woman and you educate a whole
civilisation.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
• Mother and child share a special bond which is formed
even before birth in mother’s womb.
• Basiceducationof child starts withmother
• Children which remained deprived of parental care live
with self-esteem issues like anger, bad temperament,
less caring nature etc.
• If a women is highly educated, she can provide him
guidance throughout his academic career too.
Table: Literacy Rate and literacy gap: India 1981-2011.
(Source: Status of literacy- Census of India)
Illiteracy among women

12. Refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of
individuals based on their gender.
 Arises fromdifferences in socially constructedgender roles.
 The discrimination is generally seen-
• In household activities
• At workplaces
Major causes of gender inequality-
 Illiteracy
 Backward mind-set
 Uneven access of education and resources.
 Lack of employment equality and job segregation
 Lack of legal protections
 Lack of political representation.
Gender inequality means
inequality with women
only.
Gender inequality and Low status of women

13. Uneven access of education and resources
Figure: Changes in regional female and male shares
employed in industrial sector, 1990 to 2009.
Figure: Regional trends in F/M secondary
school enrolment.
Lack of employment equality and job
segregation

14. Lack of political representation
Figure: Regional Trends in Female/Male
Shares of parliamentary seats, 1997 to 2011
Figure: Graph on ‘winnability’ of candidates.
(Source: The Wire)

15. Ethnic and religious conflicts
Negative effects-
Affirms social hierarchy
Promotes extremismand intolerance (In children too)
Causes discrimination
Triggers conflicts and fights
Serves as economic tool for controllingthe mass
Impedes scientificsuccess and development
Loss of property, displacement and migration of people
 False interpretation of religion.
 Religion as a tool of dominance.
 Forced practice on children too.
 Brainwashing of children and
adolescence. E.g. Amir Ajmal Kasab

16. Adolescence
 Age group (12-19)
 Changes in physical shape and size occur.
 Emotional unstabitlity.
Social issues of adolescence
Adjustment with family Excessive peer group orientation and dependency

17. When a woman under 20 gets pregnant
 According to WHO,
• Every year, an estimated 21 million girls
aged 15–19 years in developing regions
become pregnant and approximately 12
million of them give birth.
• At least 777,000 births occur to adolescent
girls younger than 15 years in developing
countries.
Teenage pregnancy

18. Causes of teen pregnancy
 Family pressure.
 Underage sex
 Sexual abuse by peer or partner
 Sexual violence
 Media Influence
Consequences of teen
pregnancy
Health consequences
Maternal death.
Poor growth of newborn.
Cause of various diseases like
anaemia, eclampsia and
puerperal endometritis.
Rapid repeat pregnancy.
Social and economic
consequences
Social stigma.
Rejection or violence by partners,
parents and peers.
Violence within a marriage or
partnership.
Illiteracy.
Dropout issues

19. Juvenile delinquency
2,750 juveniles were arrested in 2019 on charges of rape, assault on women
and attempted rape, cumulatively.
-National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Reasons behind juvenile delinquency
• Broken family
• Lack of Communication.
• Lack of Finances
• Lack of Social and Moral Training
Some other issues:
 Divorce
 Living Situation(live in homeless shelters can find
it difficult to sleep well or get homework done)
 Working Parents
 Parents substance abuse

20. Other issues….
Drug and alcohol abuse Bullying Peer influence and competition
Harrasment and social insecurity Social media
 Superstition
 Sanitation And
Cleanliness
 Religious Conflicts
 Beggary

21. References
1. Tiara Wilson. Getting to the root of poverty: The relationship between poverty and discrimination. https://borgenproject.org/getting-to-the-root-of-poverty/
2. Child labour and exploitation.UNICEF https://www.unicef.org/india/what-we-do/child-labour-
exploitation#:~:text=Child%20labour%20deprives%20children%20of,reinforces%20intergenerational%20cycles%20of%20poverty.&text=According%20to
%20data%20from%20Census,and%204.5%20million%20are%20girls.
3. End child marriage. UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/india/what-we-do/end-child-marriage
4. Green, L. M., Palumbo, I. M., Shishido, Y., Kesner, J. E., & Latzman, R. D. (2020). Social Problems in Children: Exploring the Contribution of Triarchic
Traits and Parenting. Child psychiatry and human development, 51(1), 151–162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-019-00918-0
5. Children, social problems and society. Sage publication.
6. How reservation in private schools isn't working for poor children- Business Standard. November 2, 2020
7. Rajasthan: Students from poor background face problems in online learning. The Times of India. Nov 30, 2020
8. Data on child trafficking. GSDRC. https://gsdrc.org/publications/data-on-child-trafficking/
9. Status of literacy- Census of India. https://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/data_files/mp/07Literacy.pdf
10. Tara Krishnaswamy. Female Parliamentarians at a Historic High, but Parties Must Do More. The Wire. 11th August, 2020.
11. Causes of Gender Inequality. Human rights career. https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/causes-gender-inequality/
12. Gender inequality. UNDP
13. Juvenile Delinquency: What Makes Teens Commit Crimes? Secure teen. https://www.secureteen.com/juvenile-delinquency/juvenile-delinquency-what-
makes-teens-commit-crimes/#:~:text=Juvenile%20delinquency%20is%20the%20act,law%20by%20committing%20a%20crime.
14. Juvenile delinquency in India. Indiapedia.
http://indpaedia.com/ind/index.php/Juvenile_delinquency_in_India#:~:text=According%20to%20data%20from%20the,2013%20to%205.4%25%20in%202
014.
15. Alcohol and Drug Abuse. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Glossary_of_Symptoms_and_Illnesses/Alcohol_and_Drug_Abuse.aspx
16. Pacer centre action- information sheets on bullying.

22. Acknowledgements

24. 1. Childhood is the stage of
a) 0-2 years
b) 2-5 years
c) 2-12 years
d) 5-12 years
Answer- c
2. Social issues affect
a) Mental ability of child
b) Emotional ability of child
c) Educational attainability of student
d) All of the above
Answer- d
3. Gender inequality means
a) Inequality with feminine gender
b) Inequality with female at home and workplace
c) Inequality with transgenders
d) Inequality with any gender
Answer- d
4. Educate one man, you educate one person,
but educate a woman and you educate a whole
civilisation.” is the quote of
a) Nelson Mandela
b) John Dewey
c) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
d) Mahatma Gandhi
Answer- d
5. Discrimination and poverty are prominent
issues of our society. Which is correct about
these issues?
a) Discrimination is the cause of poverty
b) Poverty is the cause of discrimination
c) Both are interconnected
d) None of the above
Answer- c
MCQs based on social issues of childhood and adolescenece