Latchkey Children
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Latchkey Children
Latchkey Children are children who return from school to an empty house because their parents are away working or their just left alone at home with little or no parental supervision. In todays society this is becoming more and more common due to the fact that in most households, both parents carry a job or career to support the family. Other names for Latchkey Children are “children in self-care”, “children of working parents”, “unsupervised children” etc. Leaving a child unsupervised after school can pose both positive and negative effects.
According to the article “Ranks of latchkey kids approach 7 million” many children arent supervised by anybody. This is due to the fact that most households today have both parents working full time to support the family. This wasnt the case a generation ago when most households had only one parent working full time and the other parent staying at home to care for the child. Our society used to encourage woman to stay at home and care for their children, this is not the case no more. (Ranks of latchkey kids approach 7 million pg. 1)” the percentage of married mothers who worked outside the home nearly doubled between 1969 and 1996″. This statistic is concrete proof that the number of latchkey children is on the rise in our ever-changing society. According to the article, another reason for the rise in unsupervised children is the rising cost of child care. Simply put, most families and households cant afford these rising costs. (Ranks of latchkey kids approach 7 million pg.2) “In 1995, parents paid an average $85 a week for such care- about 50 percent more than they spent a decade earlier”. According to this article these rising child-care costs play a big part in the reason why many families choose to leave their children to care for themselves once the school day is over.
The Census Bureau reports that at least 7 million Latchkey Children return home from school to an empty house because their community does not offer sufficient and affordable after school programs. Children spend less than 20 percent of their time in school. What happens in the other 80 percent of their time is crucial to their development. According to the article (After-School Programs Alter Lives of At-Risk youth pg.1) “When left unsupervised, children are most at risk between 3 and 6 pm”. It is during these hours that children come home to an empty unsupervised home. According to the article, it is during these hours that children are more likely to “commit or be victimized by crime; to smoke, drink or use drugs; to engage in premature sexual activity; or to get involved in gang-related activities”. With the rising and unaffordable costs of after school day care, its obvious that the number of children being put at risk is on the rise, especially children who come from low socioeconomic households. Simply put, we need more funding for after school day care programs to ensure that the number of at risk children decreases. It is what these children do after school between the hours of 3 to 6 pm that affects their educational as well as their societal outcomes. According to this article “Children who participate in after school programs show improvement in standardized test scores and decreased absenteeism and tardiness”. We need to reach the children who come from low socioeconomic households and ensure them a fair chance in participating in after-school day care programs. From reading this article it is clear that children from low socioeconomic households are in need of these after-school day care programs the most. For most families, self care