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Here's a primer on various aspects of delinquency, including some things to look for:

The emergence of behavior problems can be detected as early as age two. Opposition to parents and aggressive behavior with other children are natural developmental pathways for toddlers. These oppositional behaviors typically decline between the ages of 3 and 6 as children acquire the ability to use appropriate speech; this ability facilitates the expression of needs and feelings as well as the resolution of conflict. However failure to develop complementary behaviors such as honesty non-aggression and respect for authority figures may lead to problematic behaviors such as the following:

Authority Conflict- Stubborn and defiant behavior, disobedience to parents and other authority figures, skipping classes or not attending school at all, and running away from home as a means of avoiding rules and regulations.

Covert Acts- Lying, shoplifting, property damage (including vandalism and fire-setting), or more serious forms of property damage such as burglary.

Overt Acts- Annoying and bullying others, physical fighting, gang fighting and other violent behaviors such as attacking others with a weapon and sexual assault.

If you fear that your child may be heading down a path towards delinquency, or is at a high risk for developing these behaviors, then keep in mind that prevention is the best solution.

Siting as "the most logical place for prevention efforts" as the family, there are many suggestions in the article on how parents may head this behavior off at the pass including: setting rules, listening to your kids, using logical consequences, and counseling.

Even more frightening to potential parents than the crime numbers are teen death stats. With 76% of all deaths in the age group (15 - 19) caused by accidents, homicides and suicides, keeping teens safe is no easy task.

How terrifying is it to learn that in 2002, 13,812 American teens died, amounting to 38 PER DAY.

Recently, death by accident has risen by 6%, but those from murder and suicide have fallen, and location seems to have more to do with this sort of tragedy than parental age could ever have. In 2002, the teen death rate ranged from a low in New Hampshire of 34, to a high of 103 in West Virginia.

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