Children's hearings training resource manual: volume 2

Section 2: Child, Family and Society

In the home for abandoned children they become sad and many die of sadness.
(1760, from the diary of a Spanish Bishop, cited in Spitz 1945)

No child is born a criminal; no child is born an angel he's just born
(Sir Sydney Smith, Professor of Forensic medicine, Edinburgh University 1928-53)

The level of civilization attained by any society will be determined by the attention it has paid to the welfare of its children.
(Billy F. Andrews, MD, 1968)

We cannot begin to improve the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable children unless we identify their needs and understand what is happening to them in order to take appropriate action.
(Hutton 2000)

To grow up knowing that the adult or adults who care for you have your concerns at the centre of their universe is to be given the psychological equivalent of a million pound jackpot. That certainty of being loved and valued is a security blanket which immeasurably increases your chances of a successful adulthood too. It makes it more likely that you will look at your own future relationships with optimism; that you will expect them to succeed, expect them to be fulfilling.
(Ruth Wishart, Glasgow Herald, March 2003)

Science is demonstrating that neglected and abused children do not have the brain chemistry to take appropriate pro-social decisions.
(Camila Batmanghelidjh, Shattered Lives, 2006)

Many parents suggested that they had established more networks and friendships in the local area through their children than by any other means - via antenatal classes, nursery and primary school, or through their children's friend's families.
(Weller and Bruegel, a British study of families and social capital, 2009)

CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE

If a child lives with criticism, she learns to condemn
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight
If a child lives with ridicule, she learns to be shy
If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilt
If a child lives with tolerance, she learns to be patient
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence
If a child lives with praise, she learns to appreciate
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice
If a child lives with security, she learns to have faith
If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he or she learns to find love in the world.

Health Education Board for Scotland, redesigned by permission of parents
Anonymous inc. USA

Section 2 - Contents

1 Introduction

2 Child development
Ages and Stages

3 Children's needs
Children's Needs
Attachment
Loss and Change: Effect on Children and Young People
Resilience
Children and Parents
Early Intervention

4 Children's rights
Ages / Rights and Responsibilities
Conventions and Children's Rights

5 Children and families
Changing milies
Trends in Marriage, Divorce and Cohabitation
Young People's Perspective on Family Change and reordered families
Children Living in Re-ordered Families

6 Children and society
Housing
Poverty
Poverty - How it affects Children's Health and Well Being
The Poverty Premium
The Benefits system
Religion, Race, Language and Culture
Racial Awareness

7 Children and education
Scottish Curriculum
Discipline and Exclusion

8 Children and additional support needs
Universal support
Additional support

9 Children's health
Mental health and well-being
Eating Disorders
Self Harm
Neo-natal abstinence syndrome
Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder

10 Offending behaviour
Causes
What does the system do about it?
Does anything work?
Whole System Approach
Supporting young people leaving care
Parenting and Offending

11 Drug and alcohol misuse
Children and young people and drugs, alcohol and tobacco
Smoking Prevalence and Trends
Drinking Prevalence and Trends
Drug Prevalence and Trends
Types of Drugs Used
Volatile Substances
Risks and hazards in drug misusing households

12 Child abuse and child protection
Child abuse and hearings
Physical Injury
Emotional / Psychological Abuse
Sexual Abuse
Multiple Abuse
Children as Abusers
Domestic Abuse
Child Protection: A Shared Responsibility
Child Protection Committees
Child Protection Case Conferences
Child Protection Register
Joint Investigations

13 Permanent placement away from home
Legislation
Attachment
Role of the Family
Contact

14 Assessment of children in need
What is an Assessment?
Integrated Framework for Assessment
Children's Developmental Needs
Parenting Capacity
Family and Environmental Factors
A Core Assessment
Observation
Assessment of Families from Ethnic Minorities

15 Summary

16 Further reading