Childhood Protection and Welfare in Australia - Essay Example

Childhood Protection and Welfare in Australia (Author’s name) (Institutional Affiliation) Abstract As the world continues to change and grow with each passing day, children’s interests continue to be given increasing priority. This is because over the years, people have realized how important it is to give a strong background to children’s lives from a very early age because they are seen as the future of the nation. Introduction The term childhood protection and welfare encompasses a number of services that are provided for children. This include care centers for children, kindergartens, baby sitting services, emergency child care services, early learning programs and many others. This paper focuses on the child care program in Australia. It highlights the history of child care, how it has grown over the years, the current influences of this service on the community and the country as a whole and the challenges faced in terms of providing quality services for children. Child care services were established help parents and guardians to care for their children as they go about their daily activities (Hertzman 56). Children are left with care givers as their parents work to provide for their families and help the national economy grow. In addition, care givers equip children with skills and values that help them grow up to be responsible members of the society. France was the first country to come up with day care services. This was in the mid 18th century. The United States quickly followed suit a few years later. This was during the era of the industrial revolution when industrializing countries required all the manpower they could get to meet their targets (Folbre 211). Therefore, both men and women were required to work. As the parents worked, someone had to be left to care for their children. In the U.S, child care services were initially provided by charitable organizations as parents went to work in factories Influence from France and the U.S spread far and wide with other nations like Britain Germany and Australia adopting the new service soon after (Folbre 213). The establishment of day care in Australia was due to a number of reasons. These included social, cultural and economic factors that influenced the growth of this service. Before the industrial revolution in the 18th century and the beginning of globalization in the 20th century, Australians lived simple lives in closely knit family units. The whole family worked mainly on farms and child care was the responsibility of the mother. As time went by, this changed. People turned away from farming and opted for jobs in cities (Folbre 217). As the economy of the nation changed, social life also began to change. Establishment of quality education for girls helped them to realize their potential and this elevated the place of women in society (Mouzos and Makkai 311). Laws passed by parliament advocated for gender equality and equal rights for all. Women realized that they could pursue their interests as men did instead of being the full time care givers (Mouzos and Makkai 345) People began to take a greater interest in recreational activities and self improvement. Focus was slowly shifted away from the family unit. Parents then began to look for a way to manage their jobs and social lives as well as to provide care for their children. These factors influenced the growth of child care. Child care initially started in the cities and then spread to smaller towns as people began to look for employment aside from working on their farms (Folbre 277). At first, child care was left to mothers who had no jobs, older siblings and relatives like grandmothers and aunts. They would care for the children until the parents returned from work. This arrangement was not of great benefit to the children themselves because not much constructive work was done and there was not much that they could learn from these caregivers since they were untrained. As parents began to realize the importance of quality education and care from a tender age, the need for child registered daycare services grew (Hertzman 108). These services now give parents and guardians the option of leaving their children in the able hands of a qualified care giver as they work. Moreover, the services include programs that provide education for children of different ages and instill positive qualities and values in them (Hertzman 112). There are different types of care services provided in Australia today. Of these services, the government sponsored program, also known as long day care, is the most common. The government plays an important role in providing day care because it recognizes the importance of making the lives of parents comfortable for the growth of the nation (Gammage 33). Currently, three different types of the long day care services exist. These are the nonprofit community services that offer child care free of charge, small private service providers who work for profit and service chains that are registered as corporations. The charges are subsidized by the government and most families are able to afford the charges. These services run for the better part of the year and offer their services mainly on weekdays. Weekends are reserved as resting days for the staff and this offers parents the opportunity to bond with their children (Gammage 33). Over 250,000 children aged between 1 to 6 years attend day care. There are also daycare service providers that do not work in collaboration with the government. These services cost from 300 dollars and above for full time services in one week per child (Folbre 379). In remote areas of the country like some isolated places in southern Australia, special child care services have been established. These provide care to families that cannot access the other available services. The trained care giver is required to live in the family’s home for up to six weeks in a year, with minimum intervals of two weeks (Folbre 301). Every individual state must come up with legislations that determine whether or not to register certain child care service providers. If the providers do not meet the requirements of these legislations, they are not permitted to operate (Hertzman 342). These legislations consider factors such as the number of children being cared for, if staff is qualified and if the environment is safe for children. Providers must be able to meet these requirements in order for them to obtain operational licenses. At national level, there is also a system of accreditation that has helped to improve the quality of services (Hertzman 366). Organizations providing child care should come up with a program that considers the children, parent and staff (Brooker and Woodhead 652). The program should highlight the work timetable and routines like meal times for the children. It should aim for the development of the children as individuals and should involve the parents (Brooker and Woodhead 652). Staff interests should also be considered. For one to become a certified care giver, there are certain requirements that one must meet. Apart from being trained and obtaining a Certificate III in Children’s Services’ or ‘Diploma in Children’s Services’ at selected Technical and Further Education ( TAFE) colleges around the country (Hertzman 505). Staff must encourage children and interact positively with them, they must supervise the children at all times, care provided should be individualized for every child, they must be of good behavior and use appropriate language and they must teach the children important values like cooperating with others and sharing (Brooker and Woodhead 712). The service should also ensure the comfort of the children (Gammage 79). They should be happy and active at all times, they should interact, respect and care for each other, express their creativity and show responsibility for their belongings. Once they are old enough, parents and staff should ensure that the children understand why they have been put in day care programs (Gammage 81). Although child care has made great strides in helping parents reach a balance between family and work, it faces many challenges (Hertzman 616). Because a sizable percentage of the Australian population consists of immigrants, language barrier and cultural diversity is a challenge for staff. Another problem is that the staff is sometimes overwhelmed and cannot meet each child’s individual needs fully (Hertzman 619). Remote parts of the country face great challenges in terms of inadequate service provision. However, the greatest challenge remains that most families simply cannot afford the high cost of child care (Hertzman 622). Unfortunately, nonprofit community based centers are not available all over the country and are therefore not accessible to everyone (Folbre 409). In conclusion, provision of child care services has not only been influenced by the factors discussed above but also by the fact that it is important to nurture positive values in children. Children who are not given adequate attention and are not encouraged from an early age are prone to developing negative social behavior patterns like rebellion and criminal activity (Gammage 211). Children need to grow up in positive environments and child care services play a major role in creating these environments. This service started as a convenience for parents and guardians but now is an important pillar and a great guide in the lives of our children. References Brooker, Liz & Woodhead, Martin. Developing positive identities. Milton Keynes: The Open University, 2008. Print. Folbre, Nancy. The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values. New York: New York, 2001. Print. Gammage, Phillip. The social agenda and early childhood care and education: Can we really help create a better world? Online Outreach Paper 4. The Hague: Bernard van Leer Foundation, 2008. Print. Hertzman, Clyde. Making early child development a priority: Lessons from Vancouver. Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2004. Print. Mouzos Jenny and Makkai Toni. Women’s Experiences of Male Violence: Findings from the Australian Component of the International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS). Australian Institute of Criminology, 2004. Print. Jacob, Margaret. Scientific Culture and the Making of the Industrial West. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print . Read More