If you think about it, much of what we do as child care professionals, is promote children’s rights.
Not that we’re quoting the UNCRC, but that we’re advocating for their interests and welfare. Getting their voices heard, if you like.
We often refer to this and related ideas as ‘being child-centred.’
What is it to be child-centred?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot this week, spurred on by our 6 recent posts about empathy.
So I want to write a mini-series of blogs exploring this notion of child-centredness, including:
– Language is power (narrative)
– Keeping our roles in perspective (serving)
– Fitting services to children’s needs (advocating)
– Empathy before action (sequencing)
– Diagnosis – who does this help? (schadenfreude?)
Meat on the bones
We all talk about being child-centred. If asked, we would all say that we think it’s a ‘good thing’ and something we strive to achieve in our practice.
But I want to try and unpick the meaning of ‘being child-centred’ and ask whether there are things we can actually DO, and ways we can BE, that will promote it.
Final word…
The children and young people we work with and for, need us to be child-centred – they need us to be working WITH them, speaking OF them and advocating FOR them in such a way as to push their interests forward and further their chances of success.
So yes, I reckon being child-centred is ‘a thing’; so let’s dive in and see what this kind of practice might look like…
Related previous posts…
– A Model to help troubled kids recover (TRM)…
– Empathy 2 – What Exactly Is it?…
– Empathy 3 – A Child’s Eye View…
– Empathy 4 – Being Non-Judgmental…
– Empathy 5 – Understanding Another’s Feelings…
– Empathy 6 – Communicating Our Understanding…
Pass it on…
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© Jonny Matthew 2018
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