Child Development and Rights Essay

There is little evidence of what it was really like in the past so it is difficult for a lot of people to re-construct the life of a child, however from what I have researched, and in my own opinion I am going to summarise the historical changes in childhood experience and relate these changes to childhood development and rights. In the 19th century I think children missed out on most of their childhood as most of them took on jobs such as chimney sweepers, street sellers and farms for example. These were mainly children from poor families who were seen as extra farm hands and were exploited by receiving low pay for long hours and working in poor conditions. Families did not look at how the children were treated and the possible impact on parts of their development (such as their social skills, health and education). When the government promised all children the same rights in 1989 it helped out a lot of development and gave them a childhood to enjoy. For example; â€Å"The right to be protected from exploitation of labour, drug abuse, sexual exploitation, sale, trafficking and abduction† This meant children now didn’t have to work and had also been given; â€Å"The right to education, training and special needs support where necessary† This improved social skills and social relationships as they where able to mix with other children in school and out of school, instead of having to miss school often or not attend at all because of the long hours and also the parents could not afford to lose their financial contributions. Children’s health was not good and child mortality rate was high, mainly due to overcrowding, poor diet and the poor working conditions which so many workhouse children didn’t live to become adults. These are the children who never recovered from years of chronic malnutrition. â€Å"The right to health and medical services† This gave rights to free healthcare in Britain which originally came out in 1948 (NHS) and a decline in childhood illnesses as children were given vaccines plus child mortality improved. Other parts of the developmental framework such as identity, self-care skills, emotional and behavior is that they never developed them fully as they grew up too fast so they could go to work and look after other siblings. Also from what my grandad has told me, back then they weren’t allowed to express themselves as they would get emotional and physical abuse towards them, so they just carried on with everyday life. They was wealthy families and was a lot easier from them as they had the money to attend a private school or was home-schooled. They were also encouraged to donate money and goods to the poor. Kerry Woolford Even though a legislation was drawn up and improved childhood education, healthcare and welfare, children were and even now in modern society around the world are being taken advantage of for monetary gain. Modern society now especially since 1997 have tried putting children first such as committing to meeting children’s needs. There are still problems such as school truancy, adolescents not in education or training and also child protection as there have been tragic deaths including baby P and Victoria climbie, which her death was largely responsible for the formation of every child matters inactive plus a lot of other changes in different systems, 2. Discuss how family systems are influential in child development processes and include challenges to meeting a child’s needs, such as conflicts and poor parenting practices. Family systems can influence in a child’s development process as the family is on of the main tools for the structure of personality. Parents now days are so inundated with work and/or social relationships that they neglect to spend time with them and fail to communicate with the children and also large number of families consist of any mother and child(ren) because the fathers are absent so it could lead to poor parenting. I’m not saying all single mothers lead to this because I know this from my own experience but according to a study in America in 2006 a broken family structure leads to education difficulty for children, saying; â€Å"when it comes to education achievement, children living with their own married parents do significantly better than other children.† An example of one family that I looked at and found interesting was that both parents were excessive drinkers and argued a lot, the father was also physically abusive and their 2 children could be affected all they way in till they reach adulthood by being angry and never trusting male-female relationships as all they have seen in their parents relationship is a war zone. They have never seen problems resolved constructively, so maybe severely limited in their ability to deal with stressful situations involving the important person in their adult relationships. Challenges in family systems can be hard to meet a child’s needs especially during a divorce. It can be very emotional for children during this time as one parent leaves the house or the child is re-locating, leaving the family home that they have ever known. They can blame themselves, especially if they overhear an argument over something the child has done around the same time of the divorce. The child needs to feel more secure during these changes and it will help to assure them the divorce was by grown up issues, not by anything they have said or done, make sure the child access has to both parents when feeling lonely or need reassuring. Most important take the time to talk with your child, and to spend quality time with them regularly. Kerry Woolford Poor parents practices is the lack of support, monitoring and harsh punishments which are linked with children’s adjustment, development and well-being. When children misbehave some parents use coercive form of discipline (such as spanking) where other parents rely on non-coercive method (such as discussing the consequences of misbehavior). Abusive or neglectful behaviors could cause or have caused serious behavior, cognitive, emotional or mental problems which can lead to substance abuse and crime. Parents that have a great deal in their child’s lives, usually have higher grades, fewer behavior problems, less substance use, better mental health, greater social competence and more positive self-concepts. In conclusion even in the 19th century and in modern society is that children want need is the love from their parents, protection, help and be there for them when there’s a major problem occurs that could disturb the family system.