Protecting Children

Abstract

In this study, difficulties that women with alcohol problems and victimization experiences might have protecting their children from victimization were investigated. Mothers of children (ages 3-17) were recruited from a longitudinal study of women, alcohol problems, and victimization; women came from alcohol treatment programs, battered women's shelters, mental health clinics, drinking and driving programs, and a random household sample. Hypothetical parenting scenarios were constructed to assess mothers' ability to protect their children from victimization trauma. Women's responses to the scenarios were analyzed thematically and coded. Next, coded responses were analyzed quantitatively to identify significant differences among women with past alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems, current AOD problems, and no AOD problems. Women with current AOD problems were more likely than women with no AOD problems and women with past AOD problems to provide aggressive responses to scenarios. Women with past AOD problems were more likely than their non-addicted counterparts to perceive sexual abuse as a possibility, to attribute responsibility for the problem to the other participant only (seeing no role for their child), and to seek information about what happened from the other participant only. Findings suggest that some interpersonal problem-solving difficulties resolve when women become sober while others persist into recovery, potentially affecting women's ability to protect their children.     

Twilight's Children

The following article describes conditions in South Africa just as the "dismantling of apartheid" was beginning in earnest at the start of this decade. Thus it provides something of a baseline by which to compare changes which have taken place in that country since then. However, its greater contribution may be its evocation of the atmosphere of the time. As such it provides a unique perspective and a useful addition to the historical record of South African social welfare as well as a testament to those who struggled and continue to struggle to serve the nation's children.     

Expendable Children

In spite of alarming statistics about the status of children in the United States, there is little evidence of a public commitment that addresses the various dimensions of the problem (e.g., poverty, abuse) in a systematic, integrated, and long-term way. It is argued that this is because very poor children contribute disproportionately to these statistics and that they have become expendable within the context of contemporary economic trends. Examination of a variety of programs addressing children's issues illustrates that many of these have the effect of further marginalizing young people. Suggestions on how to reverse these trends are discussed.     

把爱心奉献给孩子们 中国儿童少年基金会

作为伴随着我国改革开放而诞生的第一家全国性公募基金会,中国儿基会恪守为儿童少年竭诚服务的宗旨和陈慕华会长提出的"把爱心奉献给孩子们"的指示,紧紧围绕实施"春蕾计划"和"安康计划"两个公益项目,通过举办"中国儿童慈善活动日"、海外募捐、零钱慈善、网上结对救助和义卖、义演、义赛等多种形式的公益活动,在为中国儿童教育福利事业谋福祉的努力中,描绘出一幅亮丽和美的儿童公益画卷。     

The Limits of Working with Children Cards in Protecting Children

Abstract

In 2006 Western Australia passed legislation that introduced a system to check criminal records and issue permits to those who wish to work with children. In 2007, the legislation was described by the minister responsible as a “powerful system that would prevent harm to children”. This paper explores that system and identifies limits to its effectiveness. The paper concluded that unless the system's limits are fully appreciated there is a possibility of a paradoxical outcome, whereby children's lives will be less safe. It also raises the question of whether in the area of record checking a national approach is not preferable to each state and territory developing its own system.     

Children of Divorce

This mixed methods study identified six elementary teachers, who, despite the widespread marginalization of elementary social studies, spent considerable time on the subject. These six outliers from a sample of forty-six Michigan elementary teachers were interviewed, and their teaching was observed to better understand how and why they deviate from the norm. An autonomy-versus-control continuum is used to frame how teachers decide what, when, and how to teach. Challenging existing literature that suggests that additional attention to elementary social studies comes from testing pressure or by providing teachers with autonomy, findings of this study reveal that five of the six teachers taught social studies frequently and extensively because their schedules were externally controlled to designate specific time for social studies instruction.     

Children Deconstructing Childhood

Commentaries on childhood, whilst abundant, largely depend on secondary sources, namely adults. This research attempts to address the question ‘what is childhood?’ by consulting the primary source — children. This case study, of children attending a day‐care centre in the West Midlands, England, adopted research tools that were developed to meet the needs of young children as research participants. Perspectives of childhood were identified and labelled the ‘Playful Child’, the ‘Unknowing Child’, the ‘Needful Child’ and the ‘Unauthorised Child’. The findings suggest a necessary review of the role of the early years practitioner, in particular where practitioners are ‘playing with’ young children.     

Internationally Adopted Children

ABSTRACT

The main aims of this study were to compare the prevalence and the developmental course of problem behaviors in a large sample of 1,538 internationally adopted children with the prevalence and developmental course of nonadopted children across adolescence. The higher levels of problem behaviors in adopted versus nonadopted children as reported by their parents, were confirmed by the results based on the children's self-reports of problem behaviors. The higher levels of problem behaviors in the adopted versus the nonadopted sample even increased across the 3-year study interval from ages 11-14 years to ages 14-17 years. It was concluded that despite the much higher levels of problems in adopted versus nonadopted children, the majority of adopted children seem to function quite well as adolescents.     

Young Children in Rural Areas: Implementing the Children Act

SUMMARY. This article is based on the results of the first stage of a study of the Children Act (day care and preschool education), and looks at how the Children Act 1989 has been put into practice with respect to services for children under eight, in rural local authorities in England and Wales. It considers the duties given by the Act to local authorities from a rural perspective, including providing a range of services for children in need, reviewing the services that are available for all young children, and setting standards for day care services provided by the voluntary and private sectors. It concludes that although the Act has helped to focus attention on the needs of children in rural areas, there is a danger that nothing will be done to meet them because of the principle of targeting resources on children who are most in need. Rural isolation was rarely specified as an indicator of need, and other criteria often had an urban bias which may work against the development of services in rural areas. The article also argues that there is a particular need to develop new models of service delivery and ways of providing training and support to early years workers which are appropriate for rural areas.     

Children in Hospital

SUMMARY. The care of children in hospital has greatly changed over the past thirty years. Their stay in hospital is now much shorter, they are more likely to be cared for in paediatric wards, by staff specially trained to meet their needs, with close, continuing attention from their parents. This article traces these changes from the days when visiting was strictly limited to the family centred care to be found in most hospital wards today. The processes by which these changes came about are described and the areas of concern which still remain are considered     

Children of Divorce

Abstract

A case-control study was done to observe the association between the parents' divorce and their children's results in school.

The information was obtained from a questionnaire which was answered by the counselors of 8 public schools in Santiago, Chile.

From one class of each school, 52 pupils of divorced marriages were searched. The control group of 52 pupils of non-divorced parents was chosen by selecting the name following the case on the class list.

The children of divorced parents were: 37 (71%) girls, 15 (29%) boys, the average age was 11.8 ± 0. 8 years; 12 (29%) had failed the year; the average marks were 5.2 ±0.7 (range 1-7) and the average attendance was 92 ± 8 %.

The controls were: 33 (63%) girls, 19 (37%) boys, the average age was 11.4 ± 0.6 years; 3 (5.7%) had failed the year; the average marks were 5.9 ± 0.5 (range 1-7); the average attendance was 94.5 ± 4.5%.

The conclusion is that children of divorced marriages have 4.9 more estimated relative risk (RR) of failing year and 7.1 times more estimated relative risk of having an average mark of 5.5 or lower than children of non-divorced parents.

These numbers must be observed with caution because of the small size sample and show an association but are not cause-effect.     

大力实施“倾听留守儿童心声”关爱行动

Officials in Ma＇anshan, a city in East China＇s Anhui Province, during the past year have done the following to improve the lives and promote the development of left-behind children （whose parents have left home to work elsewhere）：     

Children are unbeatable

The European Court on Human Rights has recently held that the law in the United Kingdom, which allows reasonable corporal punishment to be administered by parents, gives insufficient protection to children. Is the answer to distinguish between inhuman or degrading punishment (for example, with an implement) and ordinary safe smacks or is it to outlaw corporal chastisement by parents altogether? The author argues for the latter which he shows is in line with developments in European jurisprudence. It is also argued that the United Kingdom law is in breach of a number of international law norms, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. And, far from this proposal leading to greater intervention into the family, it is argued that the removal of the parental right to smack will lead to less abuse and therefore less interference with parental autonomy. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Children who run

SUMMARY. A lack of national statistics is compounded by a range of terms used to describe young people away from home and a definition for ‘runaway’ is suggested. Eased on 12 months data (interim findings of a three year research project), a ‘safe house’ for young runaways in London, run by The Children's Society, is described. Reasons for running, both from parental home and local authority care, are outlined together with some of the consequences. Five key areas are highlighted in order to develop appropriate services, skills and policies to meet the needs of runaways A ‘runaways’ pack containing the briefing paper and leaflets for use in school, together with further information about the Central London Teenage Project is available from: The Public Relations Department, The Children's Society, Edward Rudolf House, Margery Street, London WC1X 0JL