Title: When is a Lack of Supervision Neglect?
Author: Kent P. Hymel and Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect
Date Released: 2006
Date Accessed: October 1st 2014 accessed
Synopsis of article (retell)
The article is
co-authored by a committee on Child Abuse and Neglect and outlines some
of the challenges surrounding how suspected neglect in children is
reported. This article specifically focuses on the issues pediatricians
face when they suspect neglect of one of their patients.
The purpose for the
article was that many pediatricians felt that some of the injuries or
traumas they were treating their patients for wouldn’t have happened if
the child had been adequately supervised. The article focused on the
facet of neglect which is referred to as “supervisory neglect”. The
article explains that our society expects that the parent(s) of
child(ren) or the person they designate to care for their child should
be responsible for providing care to keep the child free from situations
and people that could bring them harm. Despite the fact that it is a
cultural expectation that parents and caregivers supervise children,
many children are injured in their own homes. Inadequate supervision is
frequently cited as a contributing cause to injuries and harm in
children.
Supervisory neglect is
difficult to define as it is related to inadequate supervision as it
relates to injury risks. Inadequate supervision of a toddler would be
very different from inadequate supervision of a ten year-old child.
Despite the fact that supervisory neglect is difficult to define,
factors which experts have determined play a role inadequate supervision
are attention, proximity as well as continuity of adult supervision.
The article cites that
despite the fact that legislation exists in all 50 States mandating
that Pediatricians and other health care professionals report suspicion
of child abuse/neglect to the appropriate authorities, (typically Child
Protective Services) there are barriers which prevent Pediatricians from
following through on this practice. Barriers include a lack of
training, previous negative experiences with the Child Protective
Agencies, fear of damaging the relationship with the patient’s family
and fear of a responsibility to provide a courtroom testimony.
The authors of article suggest that physicians consider the following when reporting neglect of a patient:
· the age specific guidelines determined by the local community agencies
· the education available to parents regarding neglect
· if the laws of the area connect with the best practices
· the allegation individually
· if the child is able to judge their own behaviour
· if the child has physical, developmental, genetic, behaviour, emotional, cognitive or psychiatric disabilities
· the length of time and the time of day the child is inadequately supervised
· the caregiver’s reasoning of the situation
· any dangers the child could be exposed to in the unsupervised environment
· nature of the activities they are left unsupervised with
· the child’s knowledge of phone numbers, safety protocols and emergency procedures while the child is inadequately supervised
How
this article relates to our group’s specific inquiry focus, course
content, your own teaching/learning experience and course discussions
(relate)
This article pertains
to our group’s inquiry project that is investigating how new teachers
might address the challenging and sensitive topic of abuse and neglect
in the Family Studies classroom. These topics are sometimes difficult to
discuss in class because every person’s experience and view on abuse
and neglect varies. It could also be difficult for a student in the
class who has personally experienced abuse or neglect to talk openly
about this issue.
This article could
relate to Family Studies materials because the article helps both new
teachers and students to see some of the factors that pediatricians
(trained professionals) take into account when dealing with the
sensitive topic of neglect in children and educating “neglectful”
parents. The article also helps students to understand that each
geographical area has different rules and laws as well as varying
definitions of “neglect” in that specific region. Despite the fact the
article contains American statistics and vocabulary pertaining to
neglect, it is very similar to policies and expectations of Canadian
families.
I feel like the
article also does a really good job of explaining some of the
uncomfortable aspects in dealing with reporting neglect in families and
why it is not always a clear pathway to deal with a parent who is
believed to be neglecting their child (example: The reporting person
fears court trails as well as each case isconsidered individually and
all situational factors are analyzed before declaring if a parent is
neglectful or not. It might be helpful for students to debate some cases
considering when the child was left alone was there a good reason? What
time of day was it? What activities were they doing while left alone or
unsupervised?)
This article directly connects to many facets of the curriculum for HPC30.
Reflect
on the implications for teaching, i.e., explore alternatives, make
inferences, draw conclusions, pose further questions (reflect).
I think this article
would help both new teachers and HPC30 students to openly discuss and
examine the many factors that contribute to neglect in families.
Activities that could be connected to the use of this article in the classroom are:
* Investigating the reporting process for neglect or abuse in Ontario
* Investigating the
community resources available to parents for both education and support
for abuse or neglect in their family
*Debating adequate vs inadequate supervision of various parenting situations
*Society expectations
of parents and caregivers to care for children and keep them safe from
people and situations that could bring them harm
* Do cultural differences exist in what qualifies as neglect?
* Can overuse of technology used occupy their children be considered “supervisory neglect”?
* Do increased demands on families lead to inadvertent “supervisory neglect”?
* Can it be considered a form of
neglect if parents are educated about the dangers of overexposure to
technology or “screen time” and still choose this path for their
child(ren)
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