Incredible India Monthly Contest of May#2:The Importance of Child Protection!
Children are endowed by God and the future of all societies. They should be cared for in a love-filled, peaceful, safe and caring environment. Unfortunately, there are many dangers lurking around a child today that he or she may encounter, whether at home or off. Others face bullying, emotional abuse, neglect, violence, kidnapping, exploitation and negative influences from online activity. These kinds of experiences can wreck a child's mind, emotions, and spirit and can even have a physical impact. Hence, protecting your kids is one of the most critical duties in any family and community. I strongly believe that all children should be safe, valued, respected and protected at all times.
Communication between parents and children is one important means of protecting children. Children are afraid of being punished for the bad things that happen or no one is listening to them, and many children are silent. Some children are even threatened by those who are hurting them. Parents should thus develop good relationships with children and make their children feel at ease to express themselves. Children will feel more comfortable sharing their experiences and problems when they are able to hear their parents' regular communication, ask questions, and feel their parents' care. Sometimes listening to children can be helpful to rescuing them from life-threatening situations.
Practical education where children learn skills in life other than in an institutional environment is another important way of child protection. While school education is crucial, children must also be able to acquire a practical knowledge of the things they must know to live safely in the modern world. Children need to be educated about good and bad touch, personal boundaries, internet safety, stranger danger and how to get help in emergency situations. They should also have learned that it is OK to say “no” to people when they make them feel uncomfortable. Children become more confident and aware in practical lessons. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6) This Bible verse teaches us that good training and direction in childhood builds up a child in a positive way.
Social media and technology have also posed new challenges to child protection in today's world. Nowadays, many children have been left online for extended periods of time without supervision. Some fall into the cyber bullying trap, online predators or videos, or hurtful conversations. For this reason parents need to be vigilant when their child is online. They should be familiar with websites their children visit, the friends they have online, and what content they are looking at on a day to day basis. Technology can be a great learning tool, but if not used wisely, it can lead to serious harm for children.
There are several reasons why many children continue to remain unprotected both indoors and outdoors. One of the reasons is because of adults' negligence. Some parents are too busy at work, or in their business or personal activities and don't pay sufficient attention to their children. Consequently, children can live with the problem without being aware of it or having someone notice. Another is, it's poor. Some children are placed in difficult circumstances, such as unsafe homes, because of financial issues, and may become involved in child labor or abuse. Some are even left alone for long hours as parents are looking for the daily income.
Another serious reason is that the society is unaware. There is still a lack of awareness of the importance of child protection, and of the indicators that may suggest a child is emotionally or physically distressed. Sometimes, the abuse is from within the family or between trusted persons, so children find it hard to speak up. Children may not be able to tell because of fear, shame or threats. This is why it is important communities keep developing awareness programs to educate both parents and children on safety and protection.
Child protection is also an important role for schools. Teachers spend a lot of time with the children and might see changes in behaviour, fear, sadness or isolation. Children should feel safe, respected and protected in school. Children can feel safe and supported emotionally through anti-bullying policy, counselling and moral education. Teachers should promote children to speak out if they are being mistreated in any way.
Religious institutions and community leaders also have a duty to the child in relation to child protection. Moral values, love, kindness and respect for children should be taught in churches, mosques and community groups. Children should be raised in the place where they can feel emotionally protected and spiritually uplifted. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). This implies that children are priceless treasures that are not to be neglected or mistreated.
As an anecdote, one of my childhood neighbors was always quiet and reserved. Child was seldom playing with other children and was always fearful. Later in the year, the child was aware that older children around the school were bullying and threatening the child nearly every day. It's sad that the child had been suffering silently for a lot of time and many adults didn't notice the signs. From that experience I learned how important it is to observe and listen to the emotions and actions of children: sometimes children are silent and they have a lot of pain.
Finally, child protection is a responsibility of all. It is the responsibility of parents, teachers, communities, religious organizations and governments to make the world a safer place for children. All children are in need of love, protection, guidance, education and emotional support. There should never be fear or silence in a child's life. Protecting children today = Protecting the future tomorrow. A safe child becomes a confident, responsible and productive adult who can make a difference in the world. We need to persist in our advocacy, education and take child protection seriously for the benefit of future generations.
I invite @sduttaskitchen, @meraindia and @piya3 @sampabiswas to drop a very constructive comments on this post and also to participate in this contest.