The world is rapidly changing in terms of social dynamics, international relationships, lifestyles of common people, and technological advancements. Undoubtedly, technological advancements benefit the global population. People are now able to connect with each other globally and have easy access to all information through the internet and social media. Children and youth are immensely benefited by technological advancements in gathering knowledge related to their studies and scientific advancements. At the same time, easy internet facilities consume valuable time and sometimes people compulsively use the internet and/or stay engaged in social media for long periods, thus creating emotional and social distance among people psychologically. Further, circulation of wrong information on social networking sites causes a great deal of confusion. Children and youth also become dependent on the internet, which often diverts their mind in negative directions and affects their studies.
In this changing scenario, human rights-related issues are getting special attention of policymakers at the international and national levels because of the active role of both print and electronic media and the ever-growing research-based evidence related to violence against vulnerable populations, including children and youth. In the given situation, responsible journalism is important so that only relevant, authentic, and educative information is circulated through the media. Child rights and protection of children from adversities have also drawn the attention of the policymakers. The word âchild protectionâ sounds great. It manifests upon the notion of a healthy, prosperous, and peaceful society. Child protection and youth development have a close connection and there is a vertical relationship. Early childhood quality care during the formative stages (i.e., conception of birth to six years) is very crucial since it is the stage of a childâs rapid growth. Early childhood is a critical stage in the development of the human brain, which greatly influences the pathways of both physical and mental health as well as the behaviour of a child in later life. Any deficiency during this formative stage has an adverse effect on overall human development. Care during early childhood broadly includes safety, nutrition, medical care, play, etc. Orientation on the socialization process and congenial and happy family environments are crucial for healthy emotional development of children and in turn, they feel emotionally secure. Quality parental care ensures healthy emotional bonds between the parent and the child, which has a lifelong impact on a childâs emotional security.
If a child gets proper care, guidance, a happy family environment and safety during childhood, they will grow healthy, both in terms of mental and physical health and social relationships. A child will also have a positive outlook towards life. They will study sincerely and will become potential human resources and responsible citizens contributing towards social growth and development. The concept of child development has also gathered special attention from international policymakers of human resource development and management. It has been realized that without ensuring basic care and support facilities to every child, it would be very difficult to harvest the optimal potential of a child and make them professionally well equipped for taking an active role in the society.
Let us discuss the contributing factors for healthy child growth and development. It will not be an exaggeration to state that child protection issues should be taken care of by the parents prior to birth. Motherâs health status, lifestyle, food habits, and medical care have very important roles in delivering a healthy child. For example, before conceiving, potential parents should have a discussion, in order to remain mentally prepared to take the additional responsibility of a child and provide utmost care for their proper development. Proper upbringing of a child requires care from both the parents. In a number of cases, it has been observed that a child experiences neglect where parents beget a child without planning. Parents should also be prepared to accept the reality if they get a child with some disability.
During pregnancy, a mother should have a healthy diet, periodic health check-ups, avoiding drugs or alcohol and taking other remedial measures for delivering a healthy baby. Evidence demonstrates that drinking and/or smoking during pregnancy has adverse impacts on the health of a newborn (OlegÄrd et al., 1979a; OlegÄrd et al., 1979b; Powers, McDermott, Loxton, & Chojenta, 2013). For example, smoking during pregnancy may cause low birth weight of a newborn and altered cardiorespiratory responses, in addition to various cognitive and behavioural outcomes in children, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder, impaired learning and memory, and cognitive dysfunction (Knopik, 2009).
In India, there are numerous social myths and misconceptions about child-rearing practices, like colostrum should not be given to a child immediately after birth, a child should not be fed when the mother suffers from stomach upset, and so on. Parents should be very careful about misconceptions which harm the proper upbringing of a child.
In urban India, most of the deliveries take place in hospitals in the hands of a doctor or a trained health care provider. However, in the rural areas, it happens mostly at home and in a large number of cases, deliveries are done by untrained individuals or elderly women, which may cause negligence and risk. Delivery of a child at home by a trained medical or paramedical professional is important so that all appropriate measures are taken in delivering a healthy child. In this regard, an Indian study conducted in rural Karnataka tried to understand the factors influencing the place of delivery and reasons for preferring home deliveries in rural areas (Mutharayappa & Prabhuswamy, 2003). The study reported that trained dai is limited in the primary health care centres and sub-centres in rural areas. As a result, over half of the deliveries are unsafe. The factors which are playing important roles for home deliveries include time of delivery, illiteracy, economic conditions of women, customs of the natal home, transportation, and place of stay of the health workers. Moreover, most health centres do not have female medical officers in position, and the lack of staff and inadequate facilities at sub-centres and hospitals aggravate the issue. Nearly half the infants die due to maternal causes among women who arrange deliveries at home. The causes of infant deaths were premature delivery, infection in the umbilical cord, being accidentally hit on the head while delivery, breech presentation, severe anaemia of mother, etc. Based on the findings, the authors suggested that good antenatal services need to be provided to potential parents and women should take adequate rest and proper nutrition during pregnancy. Women should also be sensitized to prefer hospital delivery in the hand of a medical doctor or a trained dai.
Child mortality and morbidity could be reduced substantially by regular breastfeeding. At the same time, providing colostrum immediately after birth enhances the immune capacity of a child. However, misconceptions prevail in the rural belts of India and other developing countries about colostrum. Because of various social myths and misconceptions, colostrum is not given to a large number of newborn children in India and thus deprives the child of better immune capacity. In rural areas, myths and misconceptions about colostrum include affecting the stomach of the newborn, it is dirty as it was stored in the motherâs breast for a long period, it should be poured down the river with a belief that it would ensure sufficient milk in the motherâs breast, etc. Given these misconceptions, a large number of women in rural areas do not feed colostrum to their newborns (Madhu, Chowdary, & Masthi, 2009). One intervention study in Bangladesh observed that peer counselling significantly improved breastfeeding practices (Haider, Ashworth, Kabir, & Huttly, 2000). The authors recommend the introduction of peer counselling among mothers and child health care programmes in developing countries.
Mothersâ educational background, occupation, income, lifestyle, and mental health as well as outlook have a very significant role in quality upbringing of a child, which largely decides the motherâs child care behaviour (McLoyd, 1989; McLoyd, 1990). Support from extended family members in the upbringing of a child is essential when a mother is working and they require some care and guidance.
Providing timely immunization and periodic health check-ups for minor health problems of a child is very important in addition to a balanced diet as well as love and affection. One African study reported that âtimely initiation of vaccination could contribute to higher rates of immunization schedule completion and improving the reach and impact of vaccination programmes on child health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africaâ (Janusz et al., 2021). During childhood, children are vulnerable to fever, diarrhoea, and other health problems for which home-based remedial measures need to be followed, especially oral rehydration solution in case of diarrhoea. Diarrhoea is the third leading cause of childhood mortality in India and is responsible for 13% of all deaths every year among children under five years of age (Lakshminarayanan & Jayalakshmy, 2015). Every year, about 30,000 children die in India because of diarrhoea. Regarding persistent diarrhoea among children aged 0â71 months in northern rural India, Bhan et al. (1989) conducted a prospective follow-up study of 963 children for 12 months through weekly household visits. The incidence rate of persistent diarrhoea was found to be 6.3 per 100 children, irrespective of gender and seasonal variations. There were no significant sex-related differences in the incidence of the disease and the overall seasonal distribution of acute and persistent diarrhoea was similar.
So far as intervention for diarrhoea is concerned, homemade oral rehydration therapy (ORS) is found to be highly beneficial in keeping a child healthy and avoiding dehydration. A number of international studies carried out in countries like Nepal, Iran, Ethiopia, and Nigeria reported that the caregivers lacked knowledge about home management of diarrhoea (Abdinia, 2014; Ghasemi, Talebian, Masoudi Alavi, & Moosavi, 2013; Olakunle, Valentine, Kamaldeen, & Buhari, 2012). Similarly, the practice of providing home-based ORS was also poor in Nepal, Iran, Pakistan, and Kenya (Abdinia, 2014; Berisha, Hoxha-Gashi, Gashi, & Ramadani, 2009; Osonwa Kalu, Eko Jimmy, & Ema, 2016; Shah et al., 2012). Evidence demonstrates that lack of knowledge and understanding about remedial home-based measures for addressing diarrhoea of small children is the cause of deaths of thousands of children every year in developing countries like India (Million Death Study Collaborators, 2010). In this regard, health workers have a very significant role to sensitize parents with low levels of education about basic health care-related issues and minor health problems in the areas where medical facilities are not available.
Given this background, the role of the mother in early childhood care and child protection has got the special attention of national and international child care policymakers and almost every country has come out with a child care policy, in line with the United Nations policy related to child care.
Defining child protection
There are different definitions of child protection used by different national and international organizations. They are almost similar with little variations in terms of arrangement of words and terminologies. In simple words, child protection means safeguarding children from all adversities which cause harm to them and affect their normal growth and development. In other words, child protection means protecting the rights of the children as outlined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of their homes while the sustainable development goals emphasize on quality education. Child protection is also empowering children with education and engaging them in various decision-making processes related to their welfare and interests. The terms âChild Protectionâ and âSafeguarding of Children Interestsâ are used synonymously in different literatures.
A number of international organizations are working around the world for child protection and they have their own definitions. For example, according to the Save the Children (a UK-based international welfare organization),
Child Protection is any measure or initiative that addresses or prevents children from situations of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. It refers to protecting children from or against any perceived or real danger/risk. It helps to reduce their vulnerability in harmful situations. It also means protecting children against social, psychological and emotional insecurity and distress. Child Protection must ensure that no child falls out of the social security and safety net and those who do, receive necessary care and protection to be brought back into the safety net. While protection is a right of every child, some children like street children, children with disabilities, children of commercial sex workers, child labourers etc. are more vulnerable than others and need special attention. Child Protection is relevant for all settings-home, school, neighbourhood, community, and institutional/residential care.
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