Development of Children Under 7 Case Study

Developmental Evidence for Contemporary Law

Criminal behavior is unfortunate at any age. Yet, when the one committing the crime is a child, society tends to not know how to digest the actual acts as they unfold. Children are supposed to be so innocent, yet they can be capable of heinous acts. Much of this is learned through exposure to such acts, making the act itself reflexive in that the child weighed its potential success. However, it is clear that the undeveloped cognitive abilities of a child, especially at the age of six, makes that child void of responsibility of criminal acts because they lack the proper fully developed cognitive structures to understand the very real consequences for their actions.

It is true; children are a lot smarter than we often think they are. They are true sponges, in that they absorb what they see and then reenact that behavior to a tee. The research presents what is known as the theory of the mind, which is essentially a general understanding of typical human actions and processes.In this understanding, children even only six years have an understanding of the complex human processes that are involved with criminal behavior. As such, children often have some grasp of how their behavior affects others, based on this generalized conception of the theory of the mind.

Yet, children under 7 should not be held responsible for criminal acts based on their inability to truly comprehend the consequences of their actions. AT that age, they have not developed cognitively enough to be able to responsible for taking full accountability for their actions. Children barely have control of their gross motor skills at six years old. This age period is typically understood as the bridge between early and middle childhood. Children here are growing substantially both physically and mentally. Not only are they learning knew things about what their own bodies are capable of each day, they barely understand the complex social….....