Barriers to Provision of Childrens Services - Report Example

BARRIERS TO PROVISION OF CHILDREN’S SERVICES al Affiliation) Introduction There are various challenges that have been cited to prevent parents from dealing with children with regard to certain aspects of children services. These challenges basically prevent parents from providing proper environments for children’s mental and physical development. One of the challenges that have been cited as most common is ascribed to Early Childhood Development Services (Bellamy, 2012). The corpus of early childhood development services entails a wide array of issues for instance teaching children how to speak, walk, and read among other issues. These are not only played by Early Childhood Development Teachers at the Kindergartens, but also by parents who spend a lot of time with their children (Davies, 2011). This discussion will focus on the barriers that are usually experienced by parents as they make efforts to facilitate their children’s early childhood development processes. It will also elaborate those challenges that may be faced by practitioners’ ad they solve the challenges associated with early childhood development process as well as the strategies that these practitioners apply to facilitate the reduction of identified barriers. The conclusion section shall focus on a summary main finding regarding issues discussed in the entire discussion. Consequently the discussion shall provide a recommendation that basically describe the techniques that may be applied by practitioners to eliminate challenges that may be experienced by parents as they facilitate early childhood development processes. Discussion Early Childhood Development Services is one of the most imperative services that are provided by both parents and teachers at the early childhood development centers. These services involve an array of activities that are geared towards facilitating a healthy and appropriate mental as well as physical development at their early ages. Research has shown that early childhood development stage is critical to children’s well-being and requires a proper attention and understanding to ensure that cognitive and physical challenges that may hinder proper children’s development are eliminated or prevented (Bellamy, 2012). In addition some practitioners have asserted that the essence of early childhood development does not simply involve teaching children how to read and write ABC’s and numbers, but extend towards nurturing and caring for their needs in order to facilitate appropriate mental and physical development. There are certain institutions that focus on provision of early childhood development services, especially for children that may not have appropriate mental and physical care from their services due to commitment or even lose of parents. The rationale of discussing this topic is based on the fact that early childhood development is fundamental to the entire process of human well-being. Barriers that are experienced by Parents in Facilitating Early Childhood Development Services Research has indicated that are some barriers that prevent parents from engaging with their children during the early childhood development stage. The barrier of disengagement usually stem from various issues such as emotional barriers may be caused by factors such as fear of being exposed to judgment from early childhood development practitioners or even other parents. In this regard, some parents may avoid engaging in issues that facilitate the developmental processes within their children. Moreover, emotional barriers may stem from the fear of being over-whelmed by the duties of parenthood as well as the avoidance of mental depression that may arise from the duties of parenthood. Some parents basically fear taking the responsibilities associated with raising a child especially at the early stages of childhood development. In addition emotional barriers in relation to the effective provision of early childhood development services may also arise from attitudes among parents that basically arise from the feeling of being undermined in relation to the manner through, which they provide care to their children at the early stages of development and growth. Another barrier ascribed to parental engagement with children has been cited with issues of interest among the parents. Some parents tend to show lack of interest with regard to taking care of their children due to lack of understanding of the values, purpose as well as the relevance of provide appropriate parental care to their children at the early stages of growth. This has compelled some parents to take their children to early childhood schools and other centers i.e. Children’s Funs Club et cetera. Lack of interest among parents to take care of their children at the early stages of development has also been associated lack of knowledge in relation to the pertinence of parental engagement. Moreover, research has shown that some parents may lack knowledge with regard to who should be consulted in the case that they face challenges in providing care to their children. In addition some parents tend to lack knowledge regarding their specific roles in early childhood development hence reducing their interest in provision of care their children. On the other hand, early childhood development practitioners have argued that the existence of mistrust and suspicion among parents is also another major barrier against the provision of effective children’s services. Suspicion and mistrust has disengaged many parents from developing a close and healthy relationship with their children. The essence of suspicion and mistrust among parents may be caused by the fact that some of them fear being perceived as failures in relation to provision of childcare, hence avoid taking care of children at the early stages of development. Additionally past experiences i.e. failures associated with taking care of children or even conflicts that were experienced by such parents as they attempted to take care of their children at the early stages of development: This may hinder them from providing pertinent parental services that facilitate children’s development. There are also some barriers that are referred as practical barriers; they are not majorly associated with cognitive factors. They may include issues such as lack childcare provision that provide platforms for parents to learn and apply the concepts of taking care of their children at the early stages of growth and development. The essence of isolation is also another practical barrier that has been identified as a hindrance to the process of providing child care services. Isolation among parents may occur when there is no equipment such as cars or even lifts that can be used to access childcare services or even areas where trainings are provided to parents on how to take care of their children at the early stages of development (Britto, 2013). Inadequate resources such as adequate time required to attend institutions of training for child care service provision has also been noted as a major barrier among parents on provision of children’s services. The notion of inadequate time to attend such services has rendered some parents with inadequate knowledge on how to take care of their children thus jeopardizing the quality of parental-childcare support (Bellamy, 2012). Research has also shown that some parents are basically not usually committed to taking full responsibilities of children at the early developmental stages. This has been majorly evident when it comes to committing time towards taking the responsibility of children at their early childhood stages. In some cases, parents may not be in a position to attend some parent training programs that are guided by stiff timetables as well as operational time frames (Rao, 2005). The essence inadequate skills and proper language to communicate at the parent training programs has been identified as a major barrier towards the provision of early childhood development services (Britto, 2013). Some of these sessions are usually characterized by filling forms and questionnaires that may be presented in a language that is not understood by the parents. Moreover, some parents may be subjected to discussion groups and meetings guided by complex language that are basically not understood by the parents. Additionally, some parents may be affected by certain forms of disabilities i.e. vision impairment, physical as well as mental disabilities that may affect their efforts directed towards providing services to children at the early stages of development. Some of the barriers associated with providing children’s services have been associated with certain aspects of society for example: Domestic challenges such as conflicts between parents or even between relatives have jeopardized the quality of services provided to children during their early developmental stage. Research has shown that parents are usually subjected to emotional and psychological pressures when they engage in domestic conflict thus diverting their attention from providing proper care to their children at the early childhood development stage (Whitaker et al, 2011). Moreover social challenges ascribed to lack of financial capital have affected the quality of parental or guardian care that are provided to children at the early childhood development period. This is a period that requires proper financial capital as it entails provision of proper medical care, food, clothing as well as proper shelter. Some parents may feel over-whelmed especially when they are raising their children on a single-parenthood dimension (Berlin, Brooks-Gunn & Aber, 2011). Incidences of drug addiction among parents have also been identified as a barrier to the provision of children’s services especially during the stage of early childhood development. Research has shown that drug addicts usually spend a lot of time and the little financial resources they have to seek drugs from vendors. This has been associated with the diverted attention from provision of fundamental early childhood development services to children. Roles Played by Practitioners to the Identified Barriers There are different stakeholders that are usually engaged in formulating solutions towards eliminating the barriers ascribed to the provision of early childhood development services. In most cases, researchers are usually engaged in this issue owing to the fact that they employ the use of research approaches to provide solutions to identified barriers. Some of the stakeholders that may be involved in the process of eliminating these barriers are care givers in early childhood development homes as well as experts in early childhood development processes (Walka & Crockenberg, 2011). These practitioners usually take the responsibility of providing care services to children at their early development stage especially when their parents are facing difficulties in regard to provision of these services. Practitioners have also applied an integrated approach whereby different stakeholders from various disciplines work collaboratively in order to solve the barriers experienced by parents as they provide early childhood development services to their children (Hillary, 2002). The essence of working together creates a platform for the concerned stakeholders to generate and exchange an array of ideas that would facilitate effective and efficient elimination of the barriers identified. The aspect of integration not only focuses on collaboration between practitioners, but is usually extended towards parents as well as children, who are engaged in research in order to determine their perception in relation to provision of early childhood development services. Moreover, there are those stakeholders that are charged with the responsibility of providing training to the parents in relation to how they can provide appropriate services to their children at the early childhood development stage: Research has shown that they have come up with an approach that basically involve creation of a friendly and warm environments to the parents in these training institutions in order to ensure that parents that are emotionally demoralized due to conditions of shyness can have an equal opportunity just like any other parent to learn (Rodd & Milikan, 2010). In some cases, practitioners have undertaken initiatives directed towards creating awareness programs that are focused towards provision of knowledge and skills to those parents who cannot access parental training programs in designated areas (Britto, 2013). In relation to overcoming the barriers associated with lack of interest in providing appropriate care to children at the early development stage, practitioners have ensured that they undertake research geared towards facilitating an understanding as to why parents cannot engage in providing early childhood development. Moreover, Practitioners have taken an initiative geared towards facilitating a proper relationship with communities to ensure that incidences of mistrust and suspicion are prevented. This is usually performed through creating a platform where the practitioners spend adequate time with local community, specifically families that are affected by barriers of providing appropriate early childhood services to their children (Whitaker et al, 2011). This approach ensures that the practitioners gain a proper understanding of the community’s facets i.e. family structures thereby facilitating the formulation of effective and appropriate solutions. In addition, practitioners have shifted their focus towards developing interactive websites; these websites ensure that parents faced with barriers against provision of appropriate early childhood development services access pertinent information in relation to the services provided by the practitioners and how it can be applied to facilitate reduction of elimination of associated barriers. Another role that can be performed by practitioners to reduce the barriers associated with provision of early childhood development services among parents is provision of child care and support at the early childhood development stage (Huntley, 2009). Practitioners believe that child care support systems allow different parents to interact and get engaged with their children thus promoting their understanding of the various issues ascribed to early childhood development services. This can also be performed in the dimension of creating interactive platforms for parents i.e. family breakfasts in order to ensure that families interact with early childhood health practitioners with a desire to exchange ideas (Huntley, 2009). Practitioners can also involve the essence of policy making to ensure that enforcement structures are applied to guide parents on how to provide early childhood development services. This is a procedure that has been applied in many countries, with majority formulating rules and regulations that guide the provision of certain fundamental rights to children at the early development stages for instance, the application of certain Laws like Every Child Matters Act 2003 that has been vastly applied in the United Kingdom (Fordham, Gibson & Bowen, 2011). Conclusion and Recommendation It is apparent that the provision of Early Childhood Development Services involves a wide array of issues that require the involvement of various stakeholders, ranging from parents to Early Childhood Health Provision Practitioners. Children are a fundamental aspect of the society and their development require appropriate approaches geared towards ensuring that they are provided with the right mental and physical conditions to facilitate their Early Childhood Development processes. From the research above, it is evident that most of the barriers faced by parents as they provide Early Childhood Development Services basically stem from their cognitive facets. In this regard, it is pertinent for stakeholders to formulate and implement strategies that are geared towards ensuring that they work in collaboration with parents in order to understanding their perceptions in regard to identified barriers, this facilitating the formulation of appropriate strategies. 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