Lullabies for Little Criminals

Child development is the genetic and internal changes that occur in children during earliest years. There atomic number 18 many internal and external factors that meet a childs growth and development. The connection between a childs environment and a childs development are explored in cusk ONeills lullabies for little criminals where a child named do by becomes a product of her environment. This is explored through the early death of Babys mother, her being raised by a young father and her fathers drug addiction. Babys unwholesome decisions and choices come from a lack of guidance necessary for a childs accessible growth and development.The absence of a mother in Babys life is without a doubt one of the nearly significant factor in how her life turns out. Not having a mother to guide her, encourage and mold her to become a healthy young adult is evident end-to-end the nurse as the strategic life lessons from a mother was never instilled. Although Baby is grateful for her f ather, Juless attempts at parenting her, she recognizes that he is unable to take premeditation of him ego, therefrom unable to give Baby the nurturing environment necessary for a child to flourish.This is evident when she laments Jules tried to be a mother, but hed endlessly amiable of fallen short on the mark (ONeill, 186). Furthermore, Baby does non understand the feeling of unconditional bash that mothers often have towards their children which ca designs her to look for love in all the wrong places. Without a mother in her life, Baby does non have someone she can lean on for some of the most sanctioned roles of a parental figure, and she grows up feeling ashamed of what she has becomes.Hence, Baby reflects on her outcome when she states I thought that if my mother met me now, all grown up, she would be disappointed (ONeill, 97). Without guidance Baby succumbs to the life of drugs, alcohol and prostitution, a fate she feels was inevitable given the lack of maternal love. Nevertheless, in her insightful moments Baby states that, A lot of kids get the privilege of looking at themselves through their mothers eyes. I could only see my egotism through my own eyes, and sometimes I could barely stand to look (ONeill, 186).Here Baby Speaks matter-of-factly, without any resentment towards her mother but more resolute that her life is shaped by her circumstances without love, self esteem or respect for self. In A Theory of Human Motivation, A. H. Maslow writes We have what we may call the desire for reputation or prestige (defining it as respect or esteem from other people), recognition, attention, importance or appreciation. These needs have been relatively stressed by Alfred Adler and his followers, and have been relatively neglected by Freud and the psychoanalysts.More and more today however there is appearing widespread appreciation of their central importance. (Maslow,1943,370-396) The instinctive needs and reassurance mothers provide their girlfriend s with is what Baby searches for throughout the have got. Therefore the lack of guidance and nurturing is arguably some of the root causes of her poor decision making, as she continues looking for love in the wrong places. When Baby was born, her parents were teenagers and therefore ill prepared for the responsibilities of taking care of a child.Her early childhood was characterized by neglect as a result her behavior inevitably changes for the worst. She learns early on that adults in her life are not reliable. For instance, when her father is released from the hospital, Baby was under the impression that her father will come for her immediately however, she is disappointed when he fails to come for her. She expresses her disappointment by saying I thought Jules was still in the hospital. I thought the day theyd release him, hed hitchhike right over to the foster home and get me. (ONeill, 50)Jules is unable to understand that Baby has no one to depend on but him and he is present ed as negligent of her needs through out the book. Jules is unable to put the needs of others above his own, and in return shows Baby that the only thing important in life is yourself. Baby wants nothing but a stable and nurturing home environment but Jules is unable to provide the basic necessities for her. In Contemporary Liberalism and the Fate of American Children David L. Tubbs writes Children depend on adults for many things, and this dependence encompasses more than material needs.Certain intangible goodseducation, for exampleare just as crucial to their well-being. (Tubbs, 2007, 1) This idea is especially true in lullabies for little criminals where the emotional bond Baby yearns for, her younger father is unable to provide. This lack of caring for his daughter can also be seen when he is taken away by the police, leaving Baby stranded and confused, As the cop car pulled away, I waved to Jules in the backseat. He had been too distracted to even notice me being hit by a car ( ONeill, 57).As a child, Baby has learned to be self reliant and independent. Nonetheless Baby witnessing her fathers run in with the law profoundly affects her attitude towards the law as she herself becomes a prostitute and an addict. Despite the fact that Jules does not seem to care intimately Babys well being, she rationalizes his brusk parenting as simply lack of experience. Throughout the novel Baby chooses to make decisions that are not in her best interest simply because thats all that she knows. It is this lack of guidance that paves the way for Babys poor decision making.Babys inadequate and drug addicted father is unable to provide the appropriate environment for her to learn the skills needed for success in life. As Baby talks about her fathers drug addiction she makes a remark that is telling. She says For a kid I knew a lot of things about what it felt like to use heroine. (ONeill,10) Early on in life, Baby is aware of her fathers dependency on drugs and is given no c hoice but to take on the parental role within her family. Baby has never been told otherwise and will never understand the dangers of heroin use.At a young age she already feels the anguish and pleasure that comes along with drugs. In turn, Baby naively begins to glorify heroin as she associates it with happy times in her life. This is demonstrated in the book when Baby talks about her father and his friends, They made me laugh so much. I thought they were the coolest group of humans that ever lived. (ONeill, 72). Early on in the book Baby is introduced to drugs, thus she makes a connection between drugs and happiness. Unfortunately, she does not have responsible adults in her life to tell her the negative effects of drugs, and hence she does not grasp the dangers of drug use.This is later proven when Baby decides that she is, firm on the idea that she would become a drug addict too now. she didnt care what drug she was going to be addicted to. (ONeill, 72) Baby idolizes her father and he willingly or not, leads her to believe happiness can be gained through drugs. In the book Jules is arrested for possession of heroin and Baby says that, Since Jules had started using heroin again it was inevitable that he would be arrested (ONeill, 57). Baby has become accustomed to her fathers abuse of drugs and understands the large presence it has on her and her fathers life.The certainty in her statement also foreshadows the events that occur in her own life if she followed in his footsteps. Baby understands no other alternative than going to prison for her father or for herself. Likewise, Jules is unable to understand that by letting Baby grow up in this kind of environment, it is inevitable that she will adopt these actions and behaviors as the norm and mimic them in the future. By adopting the life skills and choices of her father, Jules has trapped Baby within a life of lousy choices.Child development is the biological and emotional changes people go through during childhood and there are many factors that can affect a childs growth and development. Heather ONeills lullabies for little criminals explores the similarities between a childs environment and development through Babys bad decisions and choices and how they originated from lack of guidance necessary for a childs social growth and development. This is seen through Babys mother early death, her father tiptop her at an early age, and her fathers addiction to heroin.