In her novel, Lullabies for Petty Criminals, author Heather O'Neill draws on themes of abandonment and dependency to describe in touching way Baby's loss of innocence at a very early age. Raised by a heroin-addicted father with no stable place to live, Baby finds herself drifting from one foster home to another. He grows up without a responsible adult in his life and never experiences any form of love and security. As a result, she is forced to juggle her adult responsibilities and try to keep her sanity in check. O'Neil uses Baby's disturbing narrative to highlight the bitter truth of urban society, where poverty, education, and housing play important roles as social determinants of health. People living in poverty tend to engage in risky behaviors, such as drug use, which make it more difficult to hold a job and, as a result, find stable housing. By depicting Baby's lack of moral values, premature loss of innocence, and inability to sustain lasting relationships, resulting from the absence of a parental figure and safe living conditions, O'Neill sheds light on the problem prevalent in urban areas affected by poverty. children with unmet needs, which society is morally obliged to satisfy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay O'Neill shows that Baby is unable to develop basic moral values, as well as the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. This is due to the fact that her only role model, her father, is never close to her, either physically or emotionally. When Baby becomes involved in prostitution with Alphonse, Jules resorts to verbal abuse claiming that "[she is] a damned liar and a whore" who will be "only fit for drug addicts" (O'Neill, 2006, p. 156) instead of helping her overcome that difficult moment (O'Neill, 2006, p. 156). He seems to ignore the fact that the only reason Baby is involved with Alphonse is because he isn't there to tell her right from wrong. The casual use of foul language and absence from Baby's life are part of the reason she fails to develop a moral framework. Furthermore, not only does Jules suffer from heroin addiction, but he often invites his drug-addicted friends like Lester over. They engage in adult conversations and are often under the influence of drugs around Baby. Baby knows about their drug use claiming that "Jules and his friends called heroin chocolate milk for years." She also recalls that her father “had red marks like mosquito bites on his arms even in winter,” and she knows a lot about heroin as a child simply by “watching and listening” (O'Neill, 2006, p.10). Growing up surrounded by drugs, Baby begins to think that drugs are okay. When Baby visits her father at the rehab center, "[she] wished she was on drugs too" so she could bond with her father (O'Neill, 2006, 71). It is this type of careless and questionable behavior on the part of Jules and his friends that plays a major role in Baby's lack of morals later in life. Finally, Baby grew up in the "red light district" of downtown Montreal, surrounded by strip clubs, drug dealers, and prostitution. This is not a healthy environment to raise a child. She is exposed to 'newspapers [that] had strippers on the front page with their wrists cuffed and their breasts hanging out everywhere' (O'Neill, 2006 p.5-6) ​​as she walks down the street. She is told that if “[she] were raped after nine the courts would probably say that [she] deserved it” (O'Neill, 2006 p.155). Given thelacking basic moral values, Baby will have difficulties throughout her life as she will be involved in petty crimes, drugs and prostitution. This is the sad reality of many families experiencing financial instability. According to episode 5 of The Raising of America, children can sense stress caused by financial problems and such stress has been shown to influence their genes during adolescence. This generally causes anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses. This is highlighted in the novel when Baby states, “Jules made me so angry about him that I couldn't have lunch at school the next day” (O'Neill, 2016, p. 4). O' Neill is trying to shed light on these unmet needs of children in his novel. Being overexposed to an environment of crime and drugs, Baby endures an early loss of innocence and struggles to maintain lasting relationships later in her life. From an early age, she begins to idolize prostitutes because they "made her feel bad when [she] was little because they always had beautiful high-heeled boots, while [she] had to wear ugly galoshes" (O'Neill, 2006, p. 5). Baby also expresses her admiration for street women and states that “the women [she] was most crazy about were the young drug addicts. Late at night they sat on the hoods of cars wearing white leather jackets with wide lapels and denim shorts. When they were high, they always smiled at her” (O'Neill, 2006 p. 243). Since Jules is never present in her life, Baby always feels neglected. This is why when she meets Alphonse, her pimp, he manages to lure her with friendship and love. She reflects that “when Alphonse came into [her] life, she strangely felt a bit like he was a mother figure” (O'Neill, 2006, p.186). She is desperately trying to “belong to someone, no matter who” and Alphonse has filled that gap in her life (O'Neill, 2006 p. 207). As a child, without a moral compass and sense of personal integrity, she simply accepts that "[she] would have to do a trick" (O'Neill, 2006, p.215). Alphonse takes her virginity, does drugs with her and turns her into one of his prostitutes. He demonstrates addictive behavior when he "continued to get high" with Alphonse instead of going home. (O'Neill, 2006, p. 286). His statement that "when [one] is young, sex doesn't mean as much," shows that he doesn't fully understand the concepts of self-esteem and respect. His casual acceptance of sex and self-destructive behavior is evidence of how his upbringing in an unsafe environment leads to a loss of innocence at an early age. O'Neill shows how difficult it can be to grow up and become a woman in the modern world. society, especially for Baby, who is all alone and has very little understanding of how to do it. He shows signs of distress in terms of personal integrity and self-esteem as he struggles to accept his character. Furthermore, with exposure to the adult world, Baby begins to exhibit criminal and destructive behavior which contributes to his struggle with the adult world. lack of a moral compass. Raised in several foster homes, Baby befriends many who are a bad influence on her. O'Neill first shows how Theo, an outcast, is a bad influence on Baby as he leads her to vandalize and steal things from her friend Lauren's house. After performing the act with Theo, Baby states, "Now that [she] was becoming a criminal, [she] thought there should be a large audience to applaud [her]" (O'Neill, 2006 p. 134- 5). O'Neill then points out how Baby is fascinated by Zoë when she comes into her life and teaches her that smoking weed "made you feel like a woman". Baby later adds "[she] didn't know, but [she] liked the idea,.