The concept of safeguarding includes many different factors. A major one of these is family circumstances. When looking at the parents/carers of children, the health of those in charge can be a very important factor when looking at the wellbeing of children. Parents who may be struggling due to their own health problems, either physical or mental, may as a result have difficulty in caring for their own children. In some circumstances, parents/carers may be struggling with substance misuse and drug addiction. This may result in a failure to provide for their childrenâ€TMs needs adequately or even just to provide a safe home environment. A parents/carer responsibilities in relation to their children involve many important decisions such as the nutritional value of their meals, access to health services …show more content…
Poverty is another factor child protection within the wider field of safeguarding children. Poverty can have very damaging effects upon the health and overall wellbeing of children. Growing up within poverty can mean being cold, hungry and not being able to join in with social activities with their friends. A study by the Child Poverty Action Group, (CPAG), found that 3.5 million children are living in poverty in the UK and that children from low income families are more likely to die at birth, suffer chronic illness during childhood or have a disability. They also found that children living in poverty are almost twice as likely to live in bad, unsuitable housing which has a significant impact upon their physical and mental wellbeing as well as impacting upon their educational progress. (CPAG 2013)
When looking at child protection within the wider field of safeguarding, cultural practices need to be taken in to account. There are some cultural practices within some countries that are considered to be a form of exploitation by many international organisations. In some parts of the world,
1 Identify the factors that impact on outcomes and life chances for children and young people:
Poverty - A child may be living in a household with a very low income and their family may not be able to afford to provide for their children as they ad hoped. They may struggle to buy enough food, especially health food, to eat, buy clothes to wear or even to provide heating and electric. This can affect their physical and mental health due to poor hygiene and diet. Some children may suffer with low self-esteem and low self-respect because of the stigma attached to poverty, this can affect them in later life also.
As mentioned by Ruane and Cerulo in Second Thoughts, harsh realities of poverty affect children’s lives in profound ways. Children lack any power in improving their circumstances and depend on adults to gain access to basic necessities. Access to proper healthcare, education, and basic nutrition continues to be an obstacle for children. Poverty impedes children’s aptitude to learn and contributes to poor overall health and mental health. Perhaps most important, poverty becomes a cyclical nature that is difficult to overcome. Children who experience poverty when they are young tend to experience persistent poverty over the course of their entire lives. According to the Child Welfare League of America, the national poverty rate for children
The following literature review will discuss the different ways that parents around the world approach these same factors.
1.3 Analyse how national and local guidelines, policies and procedures for safeguarding affect day-to-day work with children and young people
Health status - A child with poor health may have to have the support that they receive at home and whilst in education adjusted to meet the needs of them. Parents that rely on their children to be Child carers may suffer if their children become ill.
One of the side effects of poverty is poor housing. People on low income are often dependent on local authority housing. This may result in overcrowding, for example being located in a bed-sit or home with not enough bedrooms. This means the child has no privacy, or personal space. This
If a child is living in poverty statistically they are more likely to to suffer ill health in later life and also be unemployed and turn to crime and substance abuse this will then cause their children to then suffer and the cycle continues.
An explanation of child protection within the wider concept of safeguarding children and young people.
There are many Social, Economic and Cultural factors that will impact the lives and development of the Children and Young People in my care, these can include:
When analyzing children growing up in poverty a lot of factors come into play such as their physical, psychological and emotional development. To grow up in poverty can have long term effect on a child. What should be emphasized in analyzing the effects of poverty on children is how it has caused many children around the world to suffer from physical disorders, malnutrition, and even diminishes their capacities to function in society. Poverty has played a major role in the functioning of families and the level of social and emotional competency that children are able to reach. Children in poverty stricken families are exposed to greater and emotional risks and stress level factors. They are even capable of understanding and dealing with
Children are faced with many consequences due to growing up in poverty. Most children who live in poverty go to poor unsuitable schools, live in unexceptable housing, and grow up around more violence and crime than any other parent would wish for their child. As soon as the child is born into poverty, they begin to feel the effects of it. They tend to have low birth weight and contain a higher risk of dying during infancy. We watched a video in class that showed that poverty could take a toll on the child’s learning capabilities, and health status. There were stories of children with hyperactivity problems, chronic ear infections which caused hearing loss, and even children who were not receiving the proper amount of nutrients to be able to grow and function correctly. The first years of a child’s life are the most crucial because most of the development of the brain occurs then.
“High rates of child poverty are a cause for concern, as low family income has been associated with a range of negative health, education, justice, labour market and social outcomes. Negative health outcomes include low birth weight, infant mortality, poorer mental health and cognitive development, and hospital admissions from a variety of causes” (Craig, Reddington, Wicken, Oben & Simpson, 2013, pg. 24).
Poverty can lead to serious effects. Children who grow up in poverty are likely to have frequent health problems than the children who grow in better financial circumstances. For example, infants who are born into poverty have a low birth weight, and they grow up with mental or physical disabilities. Not only are they sick, but they are most likely to die before their first birthday. Children who are raised in poverty might miss school often because of their illnesses, and they have a much higher accident rate than the other children. Nearly a billion of the world’s population can’t read nor write. Poor families experience stress much more than a normal family does. They are more likely to be exposed to negative events such as illness, job loss, death of a family member, and depression. Homelessness is another effect of poverty. Homeless children are less likely to receive proper nutrition, protection and they experience more health problems. Around 1.4 million children die each year from lack of access to safe and clean water and proper nutrition. Homeless women experience a high rate of low birth weight infants as well as miscarriages. Families who do not have homes receive much more stress than other families. They also have disruption in school, work, friendships, and family relationships. There are other effects of poverty such as drug abuse and addiction, child and woman abuse, debts pressure, and increase in crimes.
Unemployment or underemployment can cause significant household stressors; parent may feel incompetent to meet the basic needs for their children, unable to make ends with financial problems. Consequently, individual seek alcohol and drug as a way to escape their problems. This could lead to child abuse; children who suffer from this can develop emotional,