Quote:
Originally Posted by Madiha
I need help on a few questions for this unit.
3.2 Supporting children through relationship difficulties.
A family has recently moved into the area, the children attend the local school and soon display concerning behaviour.
You are aware that parents have recently separated and this is causing the children distress.
How would you support the children through this time?
3.3 How would you support this child to end this relationship?
Scenario "I don't want to be friends with Talisha anymore, she doesn't talk to me and doesn't want to be around me. I think it is best that we stay away from each other."
So far Ive written: I would praise the child as he came to ask for guidance, Talk to him honestly and openly. I would listen to him thoroughly.
3.4 What circumstances would result in a relationship causing concern and what actions would follow?
Please give 3.
and finally
3.5How would you support children and youn people to recognise and take action when they are involved in abusive or exploitative relationships?
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Hope this gives you some pointers :-)
3.2. Explain how to support a child or young person who is distressed by relationship difficulties.
During their life a child/young person may get distressed by relationship, whether its between friends, siblings, parents or when they are older, maybe colleagues.
If a child is distressed by relationship difficulties, I would support them by making sure that they knew they could come and talk to me whenever they needed to. I would listen to them and encourage them to talk to the other person to try and resolve any conflicts especially if it was a friend.
I would try to see things from their point of view and talk through any ideas/solutions with them to try and sort out the difficulty.
If it was a relationship difficulty with their parents then I would keep what they had told me confidential, (unless I was concerned about abuse or there was a danger of them being harmed) so the child knew that they could trust me. I would reassure them that I would not judge them in any way; I would be fair and make sure that their needs were taken into consideration.
If it was relationship difficulties with a colleague, I would encourage the young person to talk to the colleague involved, as most issues can be resolved by communication. I would also let them know that if they wanted me to accompany them for support, while they talked to their colleague, then I would be happy to do this.
3.3. Explain how to support a child or young person to end relationships that are making them unhappy
If a child had a relationship that was making them unhappy, I would support them to end the relationship by listening to what they had to say. I would praise them for coming to me for help. Support, advice and reassurance, which in turn, would help boost their self-esteem and self-confidence and hopefully help them feel stronger in communicating with the other person and making the other person aware of how they felt.
I would keep confidentiality, where appropriate so they felt they could trust me.
I would talk through with them, the good and bad points in the relationship, so they could look at it from both angles. I would then encourage them to try and leave the relationship in a respectful way, as further down the line; they may want to be friends again.
If the other person was making them unhappy because they were asking them to do things that were against the law or things that made them feel unsafe, then I would also talk about what sort of trouble they could get into and the consequences that could arise from this if they continued with the relationship.
I would also remind the child/young person that it was ok to end the relationship for a while if they were not happy with the direction in which it was going, in order to give themselves space to think about what they wanted to do about the relationship problem, however big or small.
3.4. Describe the circumstances that would result in a relationship causing concern and the actions that should follow
Circumstances that would result in a relationship causing concern would be any type of abuse. For example-
Physical abuse Signs and symptoms
If a child has unexplained recurring injuries or burns.
Bruising in unusual places. E.g. inner arms and thighs.
If a child wears long sleeved clothes for example, to cover injuries even in hot weather.
If the child refuses to get undressed for p.e at school
Patches of hair missing
If the child continues to run away from home, time after time.
Fear of being examined at the doctors.
If they are aggressive towards themselves and other people.
Have a fear of physical contact shrinking back if touched
Sexual abuse - Signs and symptoms
Knowledge or behaviour that is not appropriate to the childs age.
Medical problems. E.g. Severe itching or pain in the genitals.
The child may be depressed, attempt suicide, run away from home or self-harm.
Personality may change. E.g. become insecure or clingy.
May have difficulty in walking or sitting.
Change in behaviour. E.g. Regression
Loss of appetite or compulsive eating
Becoming isolated or withdrawn
Unable to concentrate
Have a fear of someone they know well.
Emotional abuse Signs and symptoms
Delayed development.
Sudden speech problems. E.g. stammering
Low self-esteem
Fear of new situations
Becoming withdrawn or aggressive.
Neurotic behaviour. E.g. Hair twisting or self-harm.
Neglect Signs and symptoms
Constantly hungry
Poor personal hygiene
Constantly tired
Poor state of clothing. E.g. dirty/smelly or wearing the same clothes for several days.
Unusual thinness or loss of weight.
Medical problems that are left untreated.
The child may have no social relationships.
As a setting, the actions we would take if we were concerned about a relationship would be:
The childs key person would make a dated record of the details of the concern and then discuss this with the designated safeguarding officer in the setting. The information would then be stored on the childs personal file.
If the child makes a disclosure then we would listen to the child and give reassurance that we will take action,
The member of staff would make a signed and dated record of the childs name, address, age of the child, date and time of the observation or disclosure, an objective record of the observation or disclosure, the exact word spoken by the child and the names of any other people present at the time.
Parents would be informed first, unless the allegation was made against them. The appropriate authorities would then be informed/contacted. E.g. Customer first.
3.5. Explain how to support children or young people to recognise and take action when they are involved in abusive or exploitative relationships.
I would support children to recognise and take action when they are involved in abusive or exploitative relationships, by trying to boost their self-esteem and self-confidence. I would ensure that the child/young person knew that they were not to blame for the situation and that by talking to someone, they could get the help needed. I would talk to them about what was right and what was wrong and assure them that they have a right to say No to anything that makes them feel uncomfortable. I would teach them to trust their own feelings.
I would try to work with the child/young person to enable them to make sense and understand the abusive nature of their situation, and together along with other agencies, come up with a plan to help them remove themselves from the situation taking into account the needs and wishes of the individual child/young person.
If the child didnt feel comfortable with talking to someone they knew, then I would make them aware of the child line number that they could call for advice.