I know that MY kids knew right from wrong even when they were 11 and 14. They knew how to choose their friends and which kids to stay away from. They knew what would get them into trouble and what would gain them rewards and mitzvos. If they felt someone was doing something wrong or something that would get them into trouble they came to me to talk about it.
Many of the kids I dealt with told me how they tried to protect other kids from going down their path. But when they find kids in pain they try to help them. WIY, you are never going to convince me that the kids you knew were “bad”. I know from my experience that they only had “bad” problems or bad issues.
EDITED