Child Tips - Haiti Observer Blog

Haiti has a serious problem with child-care facilities, costing the government of Haiti (GOH) a tremendous sum of money. A study, conducted by UNICEF and Institute of Social Welfare and Research (IBESR), determined orphanages house 80% of children, who have parents or other living relatives.

With 70% of the Haitian population living in dire poverty, many of these families cannot afford to feed their children and abandon them. And it often takes place immediately after birth in maternity wards.

The GOH, due to budget concerns, has been forced to shutter 25 child-care facilities in the country. The 12,000 children from these facilities have been transferred to orphanages that meet green standards. IBESR inventoried 750-plus government-operated child-care facilities, assigning a rating system of "green, yellow, or red" to insure child safety.

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Children are vulnerable in situations in which they feel uncomfortable, insecure, or frightened. Taught to obey adult authority without question, they are unable to act on their instincts when confronted with strangers who intend them harm. Here are some guidelines to keep your children safe.

• Sit down with your children and talk to them. Tell them if any stranger gets too close for comfort to run away as quickly as possible. Instruct them to yell as loud as possible as they run to safety.

• Don't allow your children to go anywhere by themselves. If they are young, have someone you know well accompany them. If your children are older, ensure they always travel with a friend. Keep tabs on your children.

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Bullying happens in every social context to individuals, groups, classes, races, genders, and sexual orientations. Researchers claim certain characteristics are present in people who bully. They are often authoritarian, dominating, controlling, socially underdeveloped, and prejudiced towards others. They are also emotionally volatile, coercive, habitually aggressive, paranoid, insecure, and prone to acting in robotic ways.

Bullying or hazing--as it is called on college campuses--has a shameful tradition that secretly legitimizes itself.

Research in psychology implies bullying begins in childhood. If bullying behavior is not dealt with then, the risk increases it may turn into a chronic disorder. Bullying works through mind-games, name-calling, or character assassination. It finds fertile ground in gangs and groups, often occurring in school environments.

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Teen pregnancy rates have fallen over the last 20 years largely due to many teen pregnancy prevention-programs. Education about preventing an unwanted pregnancy comes from several sources. Planned Parenthood, teen mentoring, comprehensive sex education, and pregnancy prevention aids have been helping to reduce pregnancy and birth rates for teen girls.

Teen mentoring programs teach life skills to prepare them for adult responsibilities. They also emphasize relationship skills, using adult and older teen volunteers to teach healthy boundary-setting and how to say no.

Two schools of thought offer advice on how to prevent teen pregnancies. Christians argue the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancies is by abstaining from sex. They go by the teaching that the procreative act should only take place within a marriage. More realistic sex educators assert the use of pregnancy-prevention aids and knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) will lower teen pregnancy rates.

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Discipline child methods are of different types and between cultures there is a wide variation on this. In fact in the recent times there have been a lot of changes in the way a child could be disciplined. The traditional method is smacking or spanking the child on the buttocks.

Spanking is the term used in North American English and smacking is used in the Commonwealth and the British English. As of today child discipline of the non violent form is followed. For small families it suits best since it is time intensive. It is important to set good examples at home. A mother who spends a lot of time in front of the TV cannot expect the children to value their time.

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Getting child support from your abusive spouse after breaking up with him might be difficult. Not only you can be threatened or hurt physically, mentally, and emotionally, your child can also be put in danger. When you have an abusive partner, it is best to stay away from that person as much as possible.

However, this doesn't mean that the abusive parent can get away from the responsibility of providing child support. Here are some ways to collect child support from an abusive parent without fear for your and your children's safety.

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Parents expecting their first child generally get a baby shower gift like bath toys, crib toys, comforters, puppet washcloths, crib blanket, diaper bag, shoulder burp pad, nursery lamp, serving dish or other great choices or money at the baby shower party. This is generally done so that the expectant parents are able to arrange things necessary for the baby.

Some of the parents who find purchasing baby items as an unaffordable affair can make the most of gifts given at the baby shower. The function itself is a great occasion to welcome the new bundle of joy to the family which everyone is thrilled about. Generally a close friend arranges the baby shower party for the expecting parents since as per tradition it is improper for a family member to be involved due to the aspect of giving gifts.

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A list of child discipline strategies is best to refer to improve the habits of your child, whatever may be the age. When it comes to disciplining the child one of the most important things is being consistent at all times. If the child behaves in a desirable manner then a reward in the form of money, toy, praise, food etc in tangible or non tangible form can be awarded.

Ensure something that is fun filled is done on a regular basis with the child for which you will need to set aside time. Teaching them what exactly has to be done, instead of constantly telling them what does not have to be done, is more important. If there is a particular way you would like the child to behave in then demonstrate this.

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A United Nations report on human trafficking reveals the shocking scope and severity of the problem.

Figures state approximately 2.5 million of the world's population is recruited into forced labor in any given time frame. Of this number, 1.4 million are in South Asia. Overall, 80% of them are used in sexual slavery and 17% in forced labor. The industry of human trafficking yields $32 billion yearly.

Human traffickers claim jobs are available in a given field, often placing classifieds tempting young and desperate women. Once there, they will be forced into prostitution, or sold as sexual slaves to third parties. The age of most human trafficking victims ranges from late teens into mid-twenties.

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When disaster strikes, children are one of the most people prone to trauma. The pictures they see and the stories they hear can double the disaster's impact on their emotional and psychological state. They can become more afraid, sad and agitated. In order to avoid this, you have to help them deal with the disaster's effects by talking to them and letting them know that everything would be okay later on.

It would be better to prevent your child from seeing disturbing images of the disaster. Don't let them watch the news that show the disaster's effects but remember that you still have to inform them of what is happening around them. Just don't be too graphic about it because you might scare them. Asking them about their feelings and worries about the situation can also help. This way, you are allowing your children to express their emotions and addressing them.

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