Related Research Articles
A latchkey kid, or latchkey child, is a child who returns to an empty home after school or a child who is often left at home with no supervision because their parents are away at work. Such a child can be any age, alone or with siblings who are also under the age of maturity for their community.
Child abuse is physical, sexual, emotional and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to act by a parent or a caregiver that results in actual or potential wrongful harm to a child and can occur in a child's home, or in organizations, schools, or communities the child interacts with.
Stranger danger is the idea or warning that all strangers can potentially be dangerous. The phrase is intended to encapsulate the danger associated with adults whom children do not know. The phrase has found widespread usage and many children will hear it during their childhood. Many books, films and public service announcements have been devoted to helping children remember this advice.
Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. It involves identifying signs of potential harm. This includes responding to allegations or suspicions of abuse, providing support and services to protect children, and holding those who have harmed them accountable.
In the United States, a mandated reporter is a person who is legally required to report child abuse and neglect to Child Protective Services upon reasonable suspicion. Mandatory reporting laws generally apply to professionals who interact regularly with children while in some states, all adults are mandated to report regardless of employment. If a mandated reporter fails to report, they can be subject to civil penalty, criminal prosecution, or both.
Child protective services (CPS) is the name of an agency in many U.S. states responsible for providing child protection, which includes responding to reports of child abuse or neglect. Some states use other names, often attempting to reflect more family-centered practices, such as department of children and family services (DCFS). CPS is also sometimes known by the name of department of social services, though these terms more often have a broader meaning.
Lenore Skenazy is an American speaker, blogger, syndicated columnist, author, and reality show host, known for her activism in favor of free-range parenting. In 2008, she wrote a controversial column on her decision to let her then-9-year-old son take the New York City Subway home alone, which became a national story and prompted massive media attention, and dubbing as "America's Worst Mom." In response, Skenazy wrote the book "Free-Range Kids" and ran a blog of the same name. She is the president of Let Grow, co-founded in 2018 with Daniel Shuchman, Dr. Peter Gray and Prof. Jonathan Haidt, an organisation advocating free-range parenting.
Child and family services (CFS) is a government or non-profit organisation designed to better the well being of individuals who come from unfortunate situations, environmental or biological. People who seek or are sought after to participate in these homes have no other resource to turn to. Children might come from abusive or neglectful homes, or live in very poor and dangerous communities. There are also agencies that cater to people who have biological deficiencies. Families that are trying to live in stable lives come to non-profit organisations for hope of a better future. Child and family services cater to many different types of people who are all in different situations. These services might be mandated through the courts via a governmental child protection agency or they might be voluntary. Child and family services may be mandated if:
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is responsible for investigating charges of abuse, neglect or exploitation of children, the elderly, and adults with disabilities. Prior to its creation in 2004, the agency had been called the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (DPRS).
Sidney Charles Cooke is an English convicted child molester, murderer and suspected serial killer serving two life sentences. He was the leader of a paedophile ring suspected of up to twenty child murders of young boys in the 1970s and 1980s. Cooke and other members of the ring were convicted of three killings in total, although he was only convicted of one himself.
World's Worst Mom is a Cineflix produced series that aired on Slice TV and syndicated by TLC International. Based in Toronto, the show features extremely over-protective parents and their families. Jeanette Sharp, columnist and advocate for the Free Range Kids movement, works with parents to help them step outside their boundaries and conquer their fears. In the long run, host Lenore teaches parents how to loosen the reins and give their kids the freedom they need to grow up with independence while still keeping safety as a main priority. World's Worst Mom was originally known by the name Bubble Wrap Kids when it aired locally on Slice in Canada. The series was cancelled after one season.
Mark Anthony Tildesley was a seven-year-old English child who disappeared on 1 June 1984 whilst visiting a funfair in Wokingham, Berkshire. A widespread search of the Wokingham area, involving both police officers and British Army soldiers, did not locate him. Thames Valley Police initially suspected that his body was buried near Wellington Road in Wokingham, near the funfair from which he was abducted, but they now believe that he was probably buried in a shallow grave on abandoned farmland.
Free-range parenting is the concept of raising children in the spirit of encouraging them to function independently and with limited parental supervision, in accordance with their age of development and with a reasonable acceptance of realistic personal risks. It is seen as the opposite of helicopter parenting. A notable text of the movement is Lenore Skenazy's book Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry (2009).
In many parts of the world, mandated reporters are people who have regular contact with vulnerable people such as children, disabled persons, and senior citizens, and are therefore legally required to ensure a report is made when abuse is observed or suspected. Specific details vary across jurisdictions—the abuse that must be reported may include neglect, or financial, physical, sexual, or other types of abuse. Mandated reporters may include paid or unpaid people who have assumed full or intermittent responsibility for the care of a child, dependent adult, or elder.
Corporal punishment of minors in the United States, meaning the infliction of physical pain or discomfort by parents or other adult guardians, including in some cases school officials, for purposes of punishing unacceptable attitude, is subject to varying legal limits, depending on the state. Minor children in the United States commonly experience some form of corporal punishment, such as spanking or paddling. Despite opposition from medical and social-services professionals, as of 2024, the spanking of children is legal in all 50 states and, as of 2014, most people still believe it is acceptable provided it does not involve implements. Corporal punishment is in the United States usually considered distinct from illegal child abuse, although the distinction can often be vague.
The SafeCare programme in the United Kingdom works with parents of children under age six who are at risk of experiencing significant harm through neglect.
On the morning of November 6, 2011, Sky Elijah Metalwala disappeared in Bellevue, Washington, United States. His mother, Julia Biryukova, claimed that she put Sky, who was reportedly sick, and his older sister in her car to go to a nearby hospital. Along the way, Biryukova stated that she ran out of gas and left Sky in the car along a Bellevue street while she went to get help. She said that when she returned after being gone about an hour and a half, Sky was gone. He has not been seen since.
The Turpin case involved the abuse of children and dependent adults by their parents, David and Louise Turpin of Perris, California, U.S. The ages of the 13 victims ranged from 2 to 29 years-old. On January 14, 2018, one of the daughters, then-17-year-old Jordan Turpin, escaped and called local police, who then raided the residence and discovered disturbing evidence. Given the number of dependents involved, the degree of abuse, and the protracted nature occurring over decades, the story garnered significant national and international news. Experts in family abuse considered the case to be extraordinary for many reasons.
Davontae Marcel Williams was a nine-year-old boy who, in 2004, died of malnutrition at his apartment in Arlington, Texas. He weighed 35 pounds at the time of his death. Davontae's mother, Marcella L. Williams, and his mother's partner, Lisa Ann Coleman, were arrested, accused of depriving Davontae of food, and charged with capital murder. Marcella Williams entered a guilty plea in exchange for a sentence of life imprisonment, while Coleman refused a plea deal, was found guilty, and received a death sentence.
Christopher Kapessa was a Welsh boy who died at the age of 13 in the River Cynon on 1 July 2019. He was pushed from a height of 2.5 metres into the water and declared dead on the same day.
References
- ↑ St. George, Donna (January 14, 2015). "Parents investigated for neglect after letting kids walk home alone". The Washington Post .
- 1 2 3 Wallace, Kelly (April 24, 2015). "Maryland family under investigation again for letting kids play in park alone". CNN.
- ↑ St. George, Donna (June 11, 2015). "Md. officials: Letting 'free range' kids walk or play alone is not neglect". The Washington Post .
- ↑ Vota, Nicole (18 January 2017). "Keeping the Free-Range Parent Immune from Child Neglect: You Cannot Tell Me How to Raise My Children". Family Court Review. 55 (1): 152–167. doi:10.1111/fcre.12269. ISSN 1531-2445.
- ↑ Thomas, Ashley J.; Stanford, P. Kyle; Sarnecka, Barbara W. (2016). "No Child Left Alone: Moral Judgments about Parents Affect Estimates of Risk to Children". Collabra: Psychology. 2 (1). doi: 10.1525/collabra.33 .
- ↑ Pimentel, David (2016). "Protecting the Free-Range Kid: Recalibrating Parents' Rights and the Best Interest of the Child". Cardozo Law Review. 38 (1).
- ↑ Pimentel, David (2019). "Punishing Families for Being Poor: How Child Protection Interventions Threaten the Right to Parent while Impoverished". Oklahoma Law Review. 71 (3).
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