Childhood Protection And Welfare In Australia Example

Childhood Protection And Welfare In Australia Example Childhood Protection And Welfare In Australia â€" Essay Example > AbstractAs the world continues to change and grow with each passing day, children’s interests continue to be given increasing priority. This is because over the years, people have realized how important it is to give a strong background to children’s lives from a very early age because they are seen as the future of the nation. IntroductionThe term childhood protection and welfare encompasses a number of services that are provided for children. This include care centers for children, kindergartens, baby sitting services, emergency child care services, early learning programs and many others. This paper focuses on the child care program in Australia. It highlights the history of child care, how it has grown over the years, the current influences of this service on the community and the country as a whole and the challenges faced in terms of providing quality services for children. Child care services were established help parents and guardians to care for their children as they go about their daily activities (Hertzman 56). Children are left with care givers as their parents work to provide for their families and help the national economy grow. In addition, care givers equip children with skills and values that help them grow up to be responsible members of the society. France was the first country to come up with day care services. This was in the mid 18th century. The United States quickly followed suit a few years later. This was during the era of the industrial revolution when industrializing countries required all the manpower they could get to meet their targets (Folbre 211). Therefore, both men and women were required to work. As the parents worked, someone had to be left to care for their children. In the U. S, child care services were initially provided by charitable organizations as parents went to work in factories Influence from France and the U. S spread far and wide with other nations like Britain Germany and Australia adopting the new ser vice soon after (Folbre 213). The establishment of day care in Australia was due to a number of reasons. These included social, cultural and economic factors that influenced the growth of this service. Before the industrial revolution in the 18th century and the beginning of globalization in the 20th century, Australians lived simple lives in closely knit family units. The whole family worked mainly on farms and child care was the responsibility of the mother. As time went by, this changed. People turned away from farming and opted for jobs in cities (Folbre 217). As the economy of the nation changed, social life also began to change. Establishment of quality education for girls helped them to realize their potential and this elevated the place of women in society (Mouzos and Makkai 311). Laws passed by parliament advocated for gender equality and equal rights for all. Women realized that they could pursue their interests as men did instead of being the full time care givers (Mouz os and Makkai 345) People began to take a greater interest in recreational activities and self improvement. Focus was slowly shifted away from the family unit. Parents then began to look for a way to manage their jobs and social lives as well as to provide care for their children. These factors influenced the growth of child care. Child care initially started in the cities and then spread to smaller towns as people began to look for employment aside from working on their farms (Folbre 277). At first, child care was left to mothers who had no jobs, older siblings and relatives like grandmothers and aunts. They would care for the children until the parents returned from work. This arrangement was not of great benefit to the children themselves because not much constructive work was done and there was not much that they could learn from these caregivers since they were untrained. As parents began to realize the importance of quality education and care from a tender age, the need for child registered daycare services grew (Hertzman 108). These services now give parents and guardians the option of leaving their children in the able hands of a qualified care giver as they work. Moreover, the services include programs that provide education for children of different ages and instill positive qualities and values in them (Hertzman 112).