Evaluate the Ways Adults Have Attempted to Intervene in Children’S Lives in Order to Alleviate Adversity. How Far Have Children Been Encouraged to Participate in Each of These Approaches?

Evaluate the ways adults have attempted to intervene in children’s lives in order to alleviate adversity. How far have children been encouraged to participate in each of these approaches?

Many children around the world suffer from a range of adversities which affect their lives, things such as poverty, ill health and violence; depending on where children are brought up will depend on the type of adversity or the severity.   Children have long been given special status and have been protected by society, many of the worlds major religions recognise this and their believers are encouraged to show kindness towards them; for example, the Islamic teachings have the ‘Zakat’, an obligatory tax designed to help the vulnerable, of which poor children, and those without fathers are more likely to be disadvantaged and need help. The Theravada Buddhism monks take in poor and vulnerable boys into their temples, where they are fed, clothed and educated to a high standard. The interventions of International agencies and charities are often based around Christian belief; European history is steeped with faith based intervention. It is deemed important by society as a whole to protect and intervene in children’s lives. Why we protect children and how we do this varies in the different arguments and approaches we take.

There are many reasons why we feel that children have to be protected; Three main reasons will be the focus for this discussion. Firstly children are seen as a particularly vulnerable group who cannot look after themselves often considered powerless, or as victims, therefore it is the adult’s responsibility to act for and on behalf of children in defending their best interests. A second argument is that children are tomorrows adults and as such are seen as an investment, with society reaping the rewards when these children become productive adults, investment is thought to be especially important in early childhood as this is when children grow and develop the...