Creating a Cure for Child Neglect
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Creating a cure for child neglect
With an unlimited amount of resources i would choose to focus on three areas to try and cure child neglect. The first is coming up with a widely accepted definition of everything that can constitute as neglecting a child.As of right now Most scientist’s and researchers have agreed upon the very broadest definition as to what qualifies as neglect. That being the neglect of a child is any act that fails to meet a childs welfare and wellbeing , be it emotional psychological or physical .The challenge with defining what it is that constitutes neglect is the lack of agreement by experts on what are a child’s needs. By creating a widely accepted and understood definition of what constitutes child neglect will help with an overall cultural change that can lead to a cure. The 2nd step in creating a cure for child neglect is proper education programs and incentives given to caregivers, outlining what it means to neglect a child. The final step to help cure child neglect is for children to understand what society sees as neglect, and for them to understand the roles and expectations of what a parent should provide. The leading factors that i would target to try and cure child neglect are creating a widely accepted definition and the education of parents and child.
So the first step in curing child neglect is to properly define what it is that constitutes neglect. Most scientist and researcher agree upon a broad definition of neglect as any act that creates deficit in meeting a childs basic needs.The challenge isn’t a broad definition with what is considered neglect rather it is the overall scope of what are a childs needs. There is the very little consensus between experts as to the operational definitions of neglect. First, they have to take into account the parents intentions and most definitions provided today are too narrow and fail to take into account the parents circumstances. The problem with this is that some parents of lower economic status and those of different cultures dont have a proper understanding of what is needed to properly take care of a child. So what is it that exactly constitutes neglect? is it a parent leaving for 5 minutes and leaving charge of their infant with their other child?. Is it simply failing to feed a child on a regular schedule or is it choosing to not provide proper medical care? Is it considered neglect to not vaccinate your child or give them access to modern medical care because it is against your religious beliefs ? can you consider a poor parent who is trying to meet all of their childs but fails at times to be neglect. This is the problem with trying to define what child neglect is. so by creating a true understanding of the underlying cause of neglect we can strive to define what is considered neglect. By creating a more refined understanding of what child neglect is and looks like we can strive to properly incentivize and educate parents and caregivers to raise children in a non neglectful manner.
The next step to curing child neglect is to properly educate and incentivize parents and child caregivers to give a child all the resources they need to live a safe and fulfilling childhood. The individuals who take care of children need to understand what it is to neglect a child and to know that in doing so there are consequences. The also need to know of programs and institutions that can help provide a safe environment for proper child rearing. By doing this we can help