Every Child Matters.
It’s important that when necessary other professionals and other organizations become involved in a child’s life when that child needs help or protection to protect the child’s welfare. The above statement suggests that there may be many factors affecting children and blocking their childhood, such as the internet, domestic violence/abuse, family legislation, the law, counselling, children with disabilities etc. These types of things are when other professionals need to step in and look at how it affects the child and what risk that child is at.
I have chosen to discuss ‘better parenting’, ‘the internet’ and ‘children with disabilities’.
Better parenting
Parents all have their own unique way of bringing up their children and who is to say what is right and wrong about how they bring up their own children. All children need a warm loving home with stability and given the right freedom and opportunities they need. Some parents may have had experience at working with children before e.g. in jobs or being brought up in a large family so therefore may adjust to bringing up their own children quite easily. Others may be an only child and have no experience and therefore don’t have a clue to where to start. Parents can come from a bad background/past and therefore this may start to affect the child’s life when the child is then put into the middle of that cycle. Parents can start to let this affect their child and sometimes not even realise.
Bad parenting’ can lead to a form of abuse, for example, a child witnessing domestic violence, alcohol abuse. Children are dependent on their parents, if they do not feel safe in their own homes; it can have many negative physical and emotional effects. Some children will not know what to do and quite a lot of children may see this behaviour as normal as they don’t know any different. Therefore, better parenting is a resolution for many of the issues which are associated in children being open to abuse, and help towards safeguarding all individuals. Some people may look at parents that abuse drugs or have been in a domestic violent relationship, but this doesn’t necessary mean that they are ‘bad parents’ to their children. This is why it’s important that professionals take everything into consideration and see if the parents can be helped without their children being taken away. Tactics for good parenting are listening to your child, giving your child warmth and love, fed, clothed and providing them with their individual needs. Also for their development, keeping in good contact with their nursery/school etc making good communication with them, to see how your child is coping, developing etc and any issues that need to be addressed.
Parenting classes; these are provided through agencies such as sure start. Sure Start is the Government’s programme to deliver the best start in life for every child, and help parents’ choose with confidence, how they balance their work and family commitments.
“Sure Start will deliver better outcomes for all children, families and communities by working with local authorities and local partners to provide high quality early learning and integrated health and parental services. Services will increase the availability of childcare; improve the health, education and emotional development of children; and support parents”
Through good parenting it will provide children with a better upbringing and enable children to have and experience the important, childhood. By going to parenting classes, parents have the opportunities to meet other parents but to also share experiences with one another and discuss any issues that affect them.
The internet
The internet can be taken in two ways, really useful and helpful for children, but then again really dangerous for them. Parents should allow child access to the internet as it helps them build a wide knowledge and understanding of things they want to know and also talking to friends and building a social network. The internet can be good for their homework and is useful for research and useful facts. The parents should step in and be a good parents by giving that child the independence to do things on their own on the computer but at the same time ensuring that the child is safe, not going on any unsuitable sites and making sure that they aren’t talking to anybody they shouldn’t be on the computer.
If parents don’t really bother with their children when on the internet, their children could come to harm if they have been talking to unsuitable people on their e.g. as there are plenty of paedophiles about who target young children. Parents either need to supervise their children when on the computer but still give them the freedom e.g. not standing behind them every second they are on it as that will show you don’t trust them and they will then think you lack confidence in them but making sure that they keep checking they are on appropriate sites.
Children with disabilities
The last issue to do with safeguarding children is children with disabilities. Disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. A child with a disability can be very demanding for the parents, causing stress and problems within the family. ‘Normal’ developing children are also demanding, however, their needs become less as they age; children with disabilities become more demanding with needs which will not be out grown.
‘The Department of Health et al (1999) in 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' recognise that the available UK evidence suggests that disabled children are at greater risk of abuse and that the presence of multiple impairments appears to increase the risk of both abuse and neglect’.
Lecture notes
Children with disabilities do seem to be more vulnerable and open to all types of abuse; they could be physically abused due to the children being too much to handle, which may cause parents to ‘lose control’, also parents believing they don’t have a quality of life. Domestic violence or domestic abuse can be linked with stressful living conditions. Children who are unable to perform the same tasks as other children of their age are more vulnerable for many reasons; their inability to see, hear, move, communicate, dress, toilet or bathe themselves independently puts them at risk to rough, careless or intrusive personal care, or neglect of their personal needs.
It’s important that parents try their best to cope and bring up a child with a special need but as soon as they are struggling or they are struggling to cope themselves with a problem they have it’s important to seek help straight away. It’s also important that the parents work closely with the schools to ensure that the child’s development is at its best when trying to cope with a disability. It’s also important for the school to keep a close eye on the children and that they ensure they are not having problems and or being neglected at home. Children with disabilities can be affected through the abuse from parents; society has many resources available for parents to access in order to receive more and better support. Resources such as help lines, are available for parents, here they can confidentially admit where they may be struggling and to gain advice on better parenting strategies when in their situation. The support services, such as sure start, are provided to help create better and fulfilled childhood for children. The DfES should ensure that staff working with or in contact with children with disabilities, in private fostering situations and with asylum-seeking children, know how to recognise the signs of abuse or neglect and which procedures to follow in such cases. The DfES should also review arrangements in currently unregulated settings such as sports, music or language centers.
All children need to be protected, given freedom, space to breath, individual needs catered for, loved and the chance to develop and learn in their own way. If parents have chose to bring that child into the world they should protect it and love and care for that child. No child should be neglected, be abuse of suffer because of their parents mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes and should be given chances but not in a way where a child is getting hurt or the welfare of the child is also affected. Professionals and organisations need to work together and work with parents to ensure that the children are getting the best help they need, whether that may mean living with their parents or being taken away from them. The child’s safety is more important and it’s vital that they are protected.
References
- Every Child Matters
- Lecture notes