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Dunia Finance LLC presents a unique business circumstance, being launched in the summer of 2008, a time when the recession was starting to kick into action. Dunia is one of the few business that operates in the gulf area as a financial institution (which is not the same as a bank) and is continually looking to expand its customer base within the United Arab Emirates before going international. The company was not aware that the ‘credit crunch’ would hurt the world economy, and thus they had been anticipating a successful launch in 2008 and had been preparing the business two years prior to the launch. Since Dunia was a new business in the finance market of the UAE it was interesting to see what separated them from banks and other financial institutions as they claimed they were not a bank. Furthermore it was extremely interesting to analyse a young business in its first strides into the market.

Areas of Syllabus to be covered:

1.5 External environment

1.6 Organizational planning tools4.3 Product

4.4 Price

4.5 Promotion

4.6 Place (distribution)Theoretical Framework:

I will be analyzing and assessing the future marketing strategies as the key of Dunia being a private sector company, would be to find potential customers in new and emerging markets. Thus I will need to look at the current market share, and possibly add a prediction towards the end of the research essay as to how Dunia would fare in five years time. The competitors which include any financial institution such as Emirates NBD (a local bank) or

Al-Futtaim HC Securities & Investment (local that are in the same market is Dunia, i.e private sector. I will be looking at target percentage for the market that Dunia wishes to increase their influences in, consumer profile and behaviour, and nature of the market. Also possible penetration areas within existing markets and new markets.

Methodology:

Primary Research: In the form of a formal interview with an employee in marketing, presenting specific questions on marketing only. This should prove effective in providing my main findings, also only one person is chosen as the data that would be shared with me would be the same if another marketing employee were asked.

Secondary Research: Secondary Research can be conducted through means of Dunia’s annual reports for both operating years 2008 and 2009 (which are accessible by the general public on http://dunia.ae/common/investor_relations/annual_report.htm); however the 2010 version is yet to be published. Also a corporate book is available (at http://dunia.ae/common/investor_relations/corporate_book.htm). Both these sources are anticipated to provide quite a lot of data.

Possible Analytical Tools: I will try to incorporate some of these analytical tools into my research essay: Boston matrix, SWOT analysis, product positioning map, accounts and break even analysis.

Anticipated Difficulties

I am anticipating that I may not be able to obtain data from rival companies. Also I am anticipating that the data I receive from one person and online will make up for the lack of data from other sources. I am also anticipating that my time line of action will be have to be adjusted due to the fact that the person I am interviewing is at a high position and is often busy or out of the country. Also I will probably not use all the stated analytical tools possibly only two. This is because Dunia Finance LLC is a private financial institution that is a young business and is unwilling to display many figures and financial data.

Possible Solutions:

The internet is my only medium to rival financial businesses’ information such as market share and market segmentation. The only possible way to get hold of the marketing interviewee is to schedule a time and date that is possible for both of us and make sure there is no cancelation in advance. Also the analytical tools that are applicable to this report seem quite slim, however throughout the research and development of the essay, it is likely that three or more analytical tools will be used.

Action Plan
Activity Conducted
Date (2010/2011)

Decide upon Topic and Create Research Proposal

May End

Feedback on Research Proposal

June Beginning

Came up with new business and Research Proposal

June End

Approach acquaintance and try to get in contact with Marketing Representative

July-August

Conducted Interview

September 22nd

Start Main body of essay

September 27th

Continue work and follow up with more information (from marketing slides)

October 16th

Proof Read and Final Editting

November 10th

Hand in First Draft

November 11th

Found New Annual Report 2009

January 25th

Receive First Draft back with feedback and ask questions

February 3rd

Improve First Draft

February 3rd-23rd

Hand in Final Copy

February 23rd

Executive Summary:

Dunia Finance LLC is a 1? year old business which is currently on its way to breaking even. The economic turmoil in which the UAE is in presents Dunia with challenges in breaking even and eventually producing profit. I have posed the question Research Question: How could Dunia Finance LLC increase its market share in the next 5 years? Because it allows me to interpret and understand how market share can be developed and I found this business very intriguing.

The investigation is carried out through one thorough interview, accompanied by company books (annual reports marketing slides, and secondary research through the company’s website. The limitation is the cost centre figures that I analysed that are not accurate.

The main findings show that although Dunia is a young developing business it is likely to be able to increase market share within the next 5 years by doing the following:

Reduce salaries by 10% till break even is reached

Focus on internet advertising

Focus on the two market segments of Dunia Gold and Dunia Money

Word Count: 177

Introduction:

Dunia Finance LLC is a business that was recently launched as a financial institution in the U.A.E. It is new in the financial market and was launched when the ‘credit crunch’ had begun its global toll on the world’s economies. The company is made up of 5 directors. In which 4 companies: Mubadala holds 31% ownership, Fullerton Financial Holding holds 40% ownership, Waha Capital PJSC holds 25% ownership, and the remaining 4% ownership is presumably taken by A.A. Al Moosa Enterprise. Marketing plans have matured from general introduction into the market, to acknowledgement and creating awareness. Here lies the main objective currently of Dunia Finance LLC, to raise awareness. A raise in awareness implies that there is likely to be higher revenue generated and therefore leading to growth and furthermore increased market share. As consumer awareness is increased with revenue, brand loyalty and many other factors come into play as the business begins to mature. The current market share is quoted approximately at ‘5%’ (Interview with Mariam El Samny). In 2007 there were “a total of 46 domestic and foreign banks” (http://www.cluteinstitute-onlinejournals.com/PDFs/200785.pdf).

A

Figure 1: If we look at this product life cycle stage, we can place Dunia Finance LLC, at Point A in-between introduction and growth, as they are still raising awareness. (Original image adapted from: http://212.85.13.29/podcast/wp-content/uploads/plc.png)http://212.85.13.29/podcast/wp-content/uploads/plc.png

Research Question:
How could Dunia Finance LLC increase its market share in the next 5 years?
Procedure or Method:

Primary Reasearch: I conducted an interview and have looked over the company books and slides I was given. The research is sufficient as it provided me with all the data the company had and which I could use.

Secondary Research: The website provided me with two annual reports and the corporate book; also a newspaper article provided me with adequate back up data. There were no limitations except the accuracy of the article.

Main Findings:

Target Market: When a company is trying to do anything with marketing at all they must ask the question, “For whom am I advertising the product?” Dunia Finance LLC has clearly stated to me that its target market has been defined as the Salaried Mass Market individuals, the Self Employed Mass Market individuals, Mass Affluent individuals, and Affluent individuals.

Figure 2: UAE’s population by nationality First a look is taken at the population distribution of nationalities in the UAE.

Figure 2 represents the potential target market. (Adapted from marketing slides #2)

Dunia has segmented their market to cater to the four groups. Which are: Self Employed Mass Market, Salaried Mass Market, Mass Affluent, and Affluent individuals.

Product Portfolio:

Dunia Gold (Affluent) offers a “customized and tailor-made solutions” through offering “a wide range of financial products and services while delivering these with exceptional service and convenience through a single point of contact” (Adapted from Marketing Slide #6).

Dunia Trade (Self Employed Mass Market) offers a “caring community-based financial services provider designed specifically to serve the un-banked or under-served lower income self-employed, through a superior relationship experience, empathy and respect, with convenient, fast and easy access to credit for their business or personal needs” (Adapted from Marketing Slide #6).

Dunia Money (Salaried Mass Market) offers a “community-based, superior service and relationship experience based on empathy and respect, while delivering customers with easy credit, simple savings and remittance products, to meet their simple financial needs, in order to help them provide a better future for self and for family back home” (Adapted from Marketing Slide #6).

Dunia (Mass Affluent) offers “a wide range of customized financial solutions through superior products, service and relationship experience based on respect, with easy access through an empowered Relationship Manager, alternative access channels for convenience and speed to provide for better life-style and future for self and for family back home / internationally ” (Adapted from Marketing Slide #6).

Figure 3: Target Market Research and branding

The business is fairly new and it will face constraints such as high costs, technology constraints, and market constraints. Market constrains caused the most damage in the 2008-2009. Combination branding has been used effectively for these four brands, where the brand name is always associated with Dunia.

Pricing:

Dunia uses a “risk reward based pricing for asset products” ( http://dunia.ae/common/pdf/dunia_AnnualReport2009.pdf, pg.12) Dunia sets its interest rates at “5.5%” (http://dunia.ae/common/pdf/dunia_annual_report_spread_page.pdf, page 116).

Advertising Strategies:

The next question is “how do I cater to and attract customers from this target market?”

Above the line promotion: Dunia employs both reassuring advertising and informative advertising.

Informative Advertising: Dunia has understood that in recent times its customer base can be reached more effectively through the advertising medium of the Internet. This stage of advertising is still in the trial process but it has yielded a high response. Internet marketing is the cheaper alternative and is far more effective.

Reassuring Advertising: Another marketing strategy was to ensure that old customers would generate even more faith in the company. We can see this in Figure 4, as in four days the average response has been quite high, showing that newspaper ads are still worthy of being incorporated into the marketing budget.

Figure 4: Here is a result of a survey conducted on the feedback of news paper advertisements.

(adapted from extra marketing slides )

Below the Line Advertising:

Dunia uses sales promotions such as the current one which stated “fly away free with your Dunia loan” (http://dunia.ae/common/pdf/21625_Dunia_Fly%20Away%2020x12_1(GN).pdf). This is a sales promotion in the form of a free offer. Merchandising is conducted from the point of sale of atm’s, Dunia centres, mobile banking, internet banking, and a 24 hour helpline. Personal selling happens primarily through the helpline, the centres, and via e-mail.

Distribution (Place)

Dunia uses the channel of distribution directly to the customer. Direct marketing occurs as customer can plan their finance online, via mobile banking, and through the helpline. Also direct response advertisements are used through the newspaper ads and internet ad campaigns. Furthermore the call centre ensures rapid response and feedback to the customer.

Analysis and Discussion:

For a small company such as Dunia Finance LLC, I personally feel that it is unadvisable to start with such a broadly defined target market and 4 product portfolios. It seems that expansion was too rapid. A SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, Boston Matrix, and Finance will be analysed.

SWOT ANALYSIS of INTERNET ADVERTISING VS. NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING

Strengths (Internal): 1) It is low cost. 2) Proves to be quite effective in producing results and responses are easily tracked.

Weaknesses (Internal): 1) Not able to reach as many potential and existing customers. 2) Ads on websites and emails are often ignored or found annoying by internet users. 3) Message can often be misinterpreted.

Opportunities (External): 1) the young entrepreneurial, business individuals are affluent in the UAE and Dunia is targeting these individuals through internet ads. 2) Easily accessible to those who have internet access even in other countries.

Threats (External): 1) Stronger more effective ad campaigns on the internet from established and well known companies. 2) Possible worsening economic status Dunia is already cutting costs and this would probably hurt investment in advertising.

Newspaper Advertising:

Strengths (Internal): 1) Older more traditional individual will see the ads.

Weaknesses (Internal): 1) Expensive to finance. 2) Response is not easily tracked. 3) Not being read as much as online sources.

Threats: 1) Changing consumer tastes to internet media is making newspaper companies bankrupt and they are less read. 2) Cannot be seen outside of the UAE.

In Depth Analysis:

It is clear from the above brief swot analysis that internet advertising is much more efficient. This is extremely important to help Dunia increase market share, as they haven’t broken even yet and cutting costs must be enforced to increase profit margins and overall efficiency. There is only one strength of newspaper advertising, as opposed to two strength’s for internet advertising, has greatly triumphed over newspaper advertising. Internet advertising (even though Dunia is not going international) can be accessed anywhere in the world thus is extremely efficient. However in both cases sometimes the message and aim of the advertisement is lost. This is because advertisements are generally considered a nuisance and are not looked at extensively. Conclusively it would definitely be wise for Dunia to switch most or all of their advertising to online.

PEST ANALYSIS:

Political – The political aspects haven’t affected Dunia and this factor should not hinder Dunia’s efforts to increase market share. Only if new political policies are put into place specifically aimed at finance companies then and then only will Dunia be affected.

Economical: The business faced an extremely hard start up due to the fact that its launch initiated around the same time as the ‘credit crunch.’ However Dunia has a bright future due to its hands on approach to providing service, and ensuring trust by offering loans even in times of economic despair.

Social: The UAE presents a working environment, which is good in terms of Dunia, as they want to serve those hard working individuals with credit cards, loans, and insurance. As a young prospecting ambitious individual I feel it is a great place for a finance company, however setbacks such as the above mentioned ‘economic recession’ have not helped.

Technological: Dunia has been nominated winner of best use of technology in the Middle East Banker category in 2009. This proves that Dunia is doing quite well in this category. However they are quite late in making the transition to internet campaigns.

Boston Matrix:

Here is the boston matrix that I have prepared for Dunia as a general business outlook. I am predicting that Dunia will become a cash cow although it is currently a dog. Which is demonstrated in the financial analysis. A star of course is the best position and a question mark may also happen if the market grows.Untitled9.png

Financial Analysis:

Dunia issued 17,311,000 AED worth of loans in the 2009-2010 year, however I was unable to get a quote for the interest rate on these loans, which range from auto loans, credit cards, and personal loans. The interest income, loans and advances, and deposit with banks, only generated 39,131,000 AED in this year. This emphasizes the ability that people lacked to pay back their loans. This is one of the main causes for Dunia’s reported loss of “116 million AED” in the 2009 year, and a “114 million AED” loss in the first period. The “general and administrative expenses” listed as “123,040,000” (http://dunia.ae/common/pdf/dunia_annual_report_spread_page.pdf, pg.92), seem to jump out as the reason for the 116 million loss. Furthermore, I received information on the cost centres which include rent for “19 offices 1,000 square feet and one headquarter 50,000 square feet” at roughly “800-1000 AED per a square foot”(Interview with Gnei Shahana Dole). It can be calculated as 62,100,000 AED. The average”700 employees salaries at 2.5% senior management, 35% middle management and the rest office level” (Interview with Mariam El Samny) based on Dubia faqs information the salaries range from 2,500 AED to 150,000 AED monthly. This adds up to 123,420,000 AED alone. The last cost centre is the marketing ad’s which adds up to 45000AED for 150 ads in one year.

Recommendations and Conclusion:

Recommendations: Dunia has clear cut targets currently which are in the awareness stage. The future targets to gain credibility and further acceptance into the market seem reachable although the extremely high 116 million AED losses must be corrected for the future. To achieve this goal Dunia must make some workers redundant or for a short period of time reduce the salaries. Making workers redundant however is not a viable option as these workers were trained by Dunia. Thus Dunia must incorporate a time of salary ‘tolerance,’ where every employees salary should be lowered by 10% changing the total to 2,370,000, once Dunia breaks even then the salaries can be put back to the previous level. Another recommendation is that Dunia focus their marketing energy on internet advertising mainly and leave a small portion to the newspaper advertising. This would help to ensure that the ‘young’ market will be well informed. Also the sales promotions should be continued as they will help increase awareness. Furthermore Dunia can focus more specifically on Dunia Gold and Dunia Money. As the two segments were most likely the least hurt by the recession. Also allowing the business to focus on two segments for a while will increase efficiency.

Conclusion: There are many approaches to increase market share for Dunia Finance LLC. The main concern involved was how will Dunia do it cost effectively within the next 5 years. A lack of internal sources of finances may present a problem, as I have stated before Dunia must break-even to consider further expansion. The PESTLE analysis revealed that Dunia’s external environment is only dangerous in the sense of the ‘economic recession,’ which is a global concern and cannot be dealt with as an individual company. Also as the Boston Matrix revealed, Dunia is currently a dog quoted at 5% market share. My recommendations if employed are likely to help Dunia increase their market share within the next 5 years. Also the world economy is expected to readjust itself in this time ridding Dunia of the economic problem it had.

Cognitive theory of Jean Piaget includes four stages of development that children move through during which the explanatory behaviors of infants transform into the abstract, logical intelligence of adulthood. There are three important specific characteristics of Piaget’s theory of which the first one is being a general theory, that is, cognition’s all aspects undergo a similar course of change. Another characteristic is that children move through the stages in an invariant sequence. Piaget believed that there is a same order that children follow. Third, the stages are universal. Stages in cognitive theory assume the theory to include all children everywhere (Berk, 2003). Biological concepts are used in a limited way in Piaget’s theory. However, he stated the importance of genetic and environmental factors on the way that children move through the stages (Crain, 2005). He emphasized that the speed of children while passing those stages is affected by differences in genetic and environmental factors.

Jean Piaget used the term scheme while explaining human beings’ organized way of making sense of experience (Mark, 1969). Traill (2008) explains that the term scheme used by Piaget is different from people’s everyday usage of scheme. The term can be any pattern for exploring and learning from the environment and it has three different intellectual structures. Piaget calls first intellectual structures to emerge as behavioral schemes, ones that appear after 2 years as symbolic schemes, and structures that appear after 7 years as operational schemes (Piaget, 1972, as cited in Traill 2008). For instance, dropping scheme of an 8 month old baby and a 25 months of will not be the same, as sooner it will become more deliberate and creative. Toddlers, different from infants, begin to think before acting and Piaget identifies that transition from sensorimotor to cognitive approach to the world which depends on mental representations. (Piaget, 1926, as cited in Berk 2003) Images and concepts are the two powerful mental representations.

Especially, the shift from sensorimotor to cognitive approach is accounted for two processes; adaptation, consisting assimilation and accommodation, and organization. Interpretation of new structures into already existing schemes is called as assimilation and modification of existing schemes into adaptation of new experiences is called as accommodation. Cognitive adaptation aims to adjust to the environment and is a result of the equilibrium between assimilation and accommodation (Block, 1982). While trying to grasp an object, a baby is experiencing the assimilation process, while removing an obstacle and grasping an object, a baby now accommodates the scheme (Crain, 2005). During the organization process more complex intellectual structures are combined with existing schemes by children. For instance, after the baby experienced and covered dropping movement, then he/she will relate it with throwing movement as well as understanding the concepts of near and far (Berk, 2003).

The Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to 2 Years)

Jean Piaget observed his children during their developmental period and constructs the stages based on his observations. His books mostly involve many examples from his dialogues and interactions with his children. The sensorimotor stage consists of six substages.

(Santrock, 2004)

That stage starts with the use of reflexes from birth to 1 month. Newborn reflexes take important place in sensorimotor stage. According to Piaget inborn reflexes are consisted from first schemes. He states that as children use inborn reflexes and experience assimilation, they desire to put them to active use (Crain, 2005).

After one month, children begin to repeat their chance behaviors and primary circular reactions period (one to four months) starts. A baby experiences the thumb sucking by bringing her hand to her mouth by a chance, when the hand falls she wants to get it back and experiences many failures until she gets it back (Crain, 2005). At that example the child organizes the hand movement and sucking which is a kind of circular reaction. Piaget also states that children at that period indicate the first efforts at imitation (Berk, 2003).

The next substage is secondary circular reactions and is observed between fourth and eighth months. Infants start to experience motor achievements that encourage them to play attention to their environment. Infants begin to get enjoyment from the response of the environment to their attempts and they repeat their movements that get reaction from their surrounding (Santrock, 2004).

Coordination of secondary schemes substage takes place during eight to twelve months. At this stage infants begin to coordinate tow or more actions to achieve simple objectives. In addition with an intentional purpose, babies try to imitate behaviors after watching a person. One may be able to observe a baby at this stage trying to stir with a spoon. In addition, a baby may begin to cry when she sees her mother wearing her coat in order to stop her mother leaving (Berk, 2003).

In substage 5, tertiary circular reactions (twelve to eighteen months), children are interested with different outcomes. Piaget had observed one of his children hitting on a table at different rates in order to listen different sounds that he creates (Crain, 2005). It should be noted that all experiences are results of children’s intrinsic curiosity about the environment around them that Piaget emphasizes within his cognitive development theory.

The last substage of the sensorimotor period is named as beginnings of thought or internalization of schemes lasting from eighteen to twenty months. During that substage children have the capacity to remember the behaviors that are not present (deferred imitation). Their efforts on imitation also indicate progress and they experiment with actions inside their heads. Besides, children can be observed to engage in make-believe play during that period (Santrock, 2004).

Object Permanence:

Piaget and many researchers concluded that infants appreciate concepts of permanence objects. Up to four months, children do not make any attempt to an object leaving in front of their eyes. During secondary circular reactions stage children are more able to explore their surrounding and they have a better sense of permanence of objects. At stage four children have the ability to find the hidden objects. If an adult takes a toy behind a box, the baby will look at the behind of the box and find the toy. During the stages five and six children are able to follow displacements and follow invisible shifts (Crain, 2005).

Beginnings of Categorization:

Before the capability of mental representation children are not able to categorize objects. During the first year of their life, children experience perceptual categorization. For example they can categorize the legs of an animal. Conceptual categorization begins with the end of first year; they are now able to categorize similar characteristics and behaviors. Active categorization period starts with the beginning of the second year. It is stated that sorting objects into two classes can be observed in eighteen months babies. In the second year babies can group two different kinds of objects without grasping them (Berk, 2003).

When the observed milestones of research and the description of substages of Piaget are compared from birth to two years, both similarities and differences are seen. There are points that seem to occur earlier than Piaget accepted such as categorization, deferred imitation, and analogical problem solving. Those differences are explained differently from many researchers. Some of the surveys indicate that some children born with different intellectual capacities and some of them with a set off limits which causes those differences. The latter argue the theory of Piaget in terms of biological considerations.

The Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 Years)

Preoperational stage is lasting from two to seven ages in which the child is more capable while dealing with the environment. Although the reasoning of child is still unsystematic and illogical, that is the period that children begin to use symbols and rapidly develop representation. One of the important symbols that indicate increase during that period is language (Santrock, 2004). Piaget believed that experience of internal images occurs before labeling words and he did not take language as an important tool in cognitive development of children. Berk (2003) argues that Piaget had misadjusted the role of language in early intellectual development. She proposes that conceptual abilities of children are highly affected from the dialogues of children with adults. Moreover, there are many psychologists that believe as children develop their language ability, they begin to think more logically.

Children experience transductive reasoning during that stage which means shifting from one particular to another. Children place two unrelated situations into the same case as if they have a relationship. One of Piaget’s children had concluded that she hadn’t had her nap yet so it wasn’t afternoon (Piaget, 1924). Piaget (1924) explains that statement as an example of transductive reasoning, because the child did not catch the understanding that afternoons include many different events and having nap is only one of them.

An important milestone of the increase in mental representation is make-believe play during preoperational stage. The differences in make-believe play between sensorimotor and preoperational stage can be clearly observed. By the middle of preoperational stage make-believe play of children indicate real life conditions. In addition, by preoperational stage children begin to engage in sociodramatic play, they coordinate variety of roles and story lines during their play.

One of the criticized points of cognitive theory of Piaget is based on the belief of Piaget that play reflects children’s cognitive and social skills, however there are many recent studies indicating the contribution of play on those skills. Especially during sociodramatic play, children interact with their peers longer and they are more cooperative. Many psychologists believed the role of strengthening of make believe play on a wide range of mental abilities and logical reasoning (Berk, 2003).

Egocentrism:

Piaget stated that children look at their surrounding from their own viewpoint and they ignore perspectives of others. Three-mountains study is one of the famous observations of Piaget explaining egocentric behavior of children at preoperational stage. He had used a model of three mountains and taken a child for a walk around the model in order to give opportunity for the child to look at the model from different view. Piaget had placed the child from one point of the model and placed a toy to another place. The child had been asked what he/she saw while looking at the model and what the toy would be seen while looking at it. All the children could correctly explain what they were seeing, however children at preoperational stage gave the same answer with their own view (Crain, 2005).

Studies emphasize on the relation between egocentrism and social communication. Children at preoperational stage, according to Piaget, fail to recognize the needs of their peers during verbal interaction (Rubin, 1973). As they look only from their own view, they are able to understand view of the person interacting with them. They think that they can be seen from everywhere, everybody see and hear them. An adult may observe a child at this period telling that nobody could see him/her while closing his/her eyes with hands.

Animism:

Piaget (1951) proposes that the child recognizes no limits between himself and the external world and it is expected that the child would see many nonliving and non acting things as living and conscious and he explains this phenomenon as animism. In his book “The Child’s Conception of World”, 1951, he identifies the reason for him to use the term “animisim”. He accepts that animism was term used for primitive human beings and responds the criticisms by telling that he had used that term as a generic term and emphasizing on the different types of animism in psychological origins (Piaget, 1951).

Children at preoperational stage have a belief that objects are alive because they move and grow. For example, a child may tell that “there are not any cars on the road, because they are sleeping”. Piaget described animism inside four stages. Initially children accepted useful things as living. At this first stage broken or damaged objects were not alive for them. At the second stage, moving objects, whether are moved by an external factor or by themselves, were considered as alive. In stage three, to be categorized as living, things should move by themselves. Lastly, at the fourth stage, adults know that plants and animals are living things only (Moriarty, 2005).

Irreversibility:

Going through a series of steps and after changing direction is difficult for children at preoperational stage. Another well known experiment of Piaget indicates that problem in a way that there are children shown 16 boxes, 6 of which are yellow and 10 of which are red. When children are asked whether red boxes are more or boxes, children at this stage responds as red boxes and fails to be aware of that both yellow and red boxes are boxes. In his book “The Child’s Conception of World”, 1951, Piaget gives examples about irreversibility. There are dialogues indicating their inability such as, asking a child about her sister, the child responds that she has a sister named A, then Piaget asks the child whether A has a sister or not, the child responds that A has not a sister. (Piaget, 1951)

Inability to Conserve:

Piaget propounds preoperational child’s lack of conservation by applying experiments of liquids and number. He shows two same size glasses to the children and fulls the glasses with water. He asks children which of the water was more. All the children respond that they were equal in amount. Then he puts the water in one of the glasses into a different size glass (wider or taller) and repeats his question. Children at preoperational stage tell that they are now different. They have not the capability to perceive that certain physical features of objects remain same, even their physical appearance changes.

Based on experiments of Piaget, at the beginning of seven children begin to give the correct answer to the conservation tests. Before that age children indicates at conservation but not totally achieve it. They give answers like one is more because it is taller and then change their answers the other one is more because it is wider.

Besides, irreversibility of the child can be concluded based on the conservation of liquid experiment. The child cannot understand the end result as a reverse of the original one.

Jean Piaget also had thought about the failures of children from the linguistic point. Terms such as “taller”, “more”, “wider” takes time to be understood. He suggests ways to overcome that problem and tells adults to apply experiments by using different sentences and establishing questions by using different words within a particular case.

Piaget experimented conservation of children also with using number.

There is an ongoing debate whether to prioritise the safety of children or the benefits of risky play in early years setting. More particularly, the contention is on the issue of making certain children are safe against allowing them to play in emotionally and physically motivating and challenging contexts. The emphasis is currently on the right of children to participate in risky play. Thus far, there are no investigations classifying risky play. This study will attempt to accomplish this.

In the present study, risky play is defined as stimulating or thrilling varieties of play that involve a possibility of physical harm. Children usually want to and participate in risky or challenging varieties of play although, and to a certain extent, it involves the risk of getting injured or hurt. Because of the safety concerns of the Western culture, the issue of risky play in early years and the degree such play should be monitored and regulated are crucial and continuous debates (Greenfield 2003). These debates on play safety have generated safety proceedings and legislation from concerned child care workers and parents. This has invoked further disputes on the balance between the benefits of risky play for child development on one hand, and safety proceedings and litigations on the other hand (New, Mardell & Robinson 2005).

Normally, play occurs under the supervision of adults, hence controlling what children are permitted to do and where they are permitted to go (Gill 2007). For this reason, adults are influencing the safety of children when playing, and, simultaneously, they embody the greatest limitation on the child’s capability of experiencing challenges and risks that are eventually favourable for development (Gill 2007). A persistent argument in the literature is the children gain developmentally from taking risk, and that too much protection from risk can hamper development.

Historical and Current Context of the Debate

In a continuously evolving world, environmental and social aspects have significantly affected children’s opportunities for emotionally and physically challenging play. Where previously youngsters may have played in the street, playing ball games, riding bicycles or playing other outdoor activities, increased road hazards has made the streets and play opportunities restricted to children as the risk or perils are extremely high. Children nowadays are confined to their houses or designated areas for relatively secured places to play. Still even these are transforming (Ball 2002). With increasing populations, the enlarged need for housing in several areas, specifically urban areas, is weakening the play spaces of children. High-density housing is increasingly becoming widespread and housing units are becoming smaller (Rivkin 1995). Coupled with diminished opportunities for parents to allocate time for the supervision and participation in their children’s play due to expanded work obligations, this condition has led to greatly decreased opportunities for children’s participation in risky play (Rivkin 1995).

In addition to this, diminished risky play experiences have been ascribed to the fears of parents for the safety of their children. A UK survey discovered that, although 91 percent of the grown-ups asked understood the benefit of risky play, 60 percent said they were worried about their children’s safety when playing in unsafe places (Valentine & McKendrick 1997). Consequently, parents place higher constraints on their children’s independent plays. Their worries have aided the development of overprotective or domineering parenting, by which the world is viewed as a naturally unsafe place from which children have to be protected (New et al. 2005). This concern for safety is present on several levels, involving concerns linked to safety stemming from ‘stranger danger’ (p. 49) and increased street hazards, as well as those linked to harm inflicted by the use of play equipment, such as skateboards, roller blades, etc., and playground.

In contrast, Ball (2002) emphasises that, because the advantages of risky play are not simply determined using recognised western scientific processes, they have a tendency not to be properly regarded in discussions about risk and play. He argues: “If the purpose of an activity is not directly considered, then a balance between risk and benefit cannot be struck and one is in danger of considering only one side of the equation” (p. 51). It is claimed risk taking can have favourable effects in terms of children’s emotional, social and developmental needs, as well as their general well-being (Ball 2002). Advocates of risky play tend to argue that removing risks deny children the opportunity to evaluate them competently, and hence they are unprepared to cope with any circumstances they may experience in later life (Children’s Play Council 2004). It is argued that, by giving chances to children to deal with their own risks in a regulated environment, they will become skilled at important life capabilities required for adulthood, and acquire the experience required to confront the changeable nature of the world (Children’s Play Council 2004).

Gill (2007) claims that depriving children this opportunity may generate a society of risk-disinclined population, or citizens incapable of dealing with daily situations, or in children easily locating more hazardous areas to perform their risk-taking behaviour; risk-taking is regarded to have additional advantages, which contribute to the cultivation of favourable personality attributes, such as creativity (Ball 2002). Through exposure to cautiously supervised risks children become skilled at sound judgment in evaluating risks themselves, thus developing self-esteem, resilience, and confidence, attributes that are crucial for their later independence (Ball 2002). Moreover, a developing culture of litigation has led to the elimination of playground paraphernalia from numerous public places and a growing anxiety amongst educators and child care workers that they will be held responsible for any harm sustained by a child while in their supervision (Children’s Play Council 2004).

Moreover, children who adopt and use more minor techniques to play may be open to the more threatening possibilities of chronic illness linked to diminished levels of activity. Experimental data with children in preschools (Smith & Hagan 1980) and early school years (Pellegrini & Davis 1993) shows that participants who have been denied of physical play for a given period of time will, when provided with the opportunity, participate in physical activities that are much more challenging and persistent. This effect of deprivation was discovered to be more intense for boys than for girls and indicates that risk reduction techniques that limit physical activities are prone to have a direct effect on the play’s quality (Mitchell et al. 2006). Hence, the benefit of risk-taking in facilitating children’s development and learning in the context of risky play will be explored in the present study.

Current Debate

Providing opportunities of risk-taking for children in physical play does not imply that safety is taken for granted. Instead it implies that parents and educators have to be highly aware of the dangers and carry out all the essential steps to make sure that the environment is safe, and to have sufficient number of staffs to supervise risky play (Mitchell et al. 2006). Even within the field of playground safety and harm prevention there is recognition of the benefit of risk-taking during play. As argued by Mitchell and colleagues (2006), “children should have opportunities to explore and experiment in an environment that provides a degree of managed risk” (p. 122), because eventually, regardless how secure the play environment is, it will fall short in meeting its goal if it is not thrilling and appealing for children.

Inopportunely, the concept risk-taking is generally understood with negative implications, with danger and risk usually viewed as synonymous (New et al. 2005). However, Greenfield (2003) thinks a differentiation should be made between these two concepts; risk links to the child’s doubt about being capable of attaining the desired result, involving a decision whether to take risk or not, whilst danger is something the child does not perceive. Grown-ups can mostly perceive the dangers and try to get rid of them. The way is in that case certain for children to confront the challenge and take the risk should they decide to do so (Greenfield 2003). This also requires giving sufficient assistance and supervision and being conscious of those features of the child’s activities that may contribute to severe injury, particularly as an outcome of improper use of playground tools (Ball 2002).

The concept of finding the symmetry is integral if children are to have the chance to encounter some risk in their lives. This symmetry can be realised when adults respond perceptively to individual behaviour patterns (Gill 2007); to recognise and develop children’s capability of evaluating and managing risk, as well as their need for stimulation and challenge in their play.

Conclusions

Risk is a crucial deliberation within the play field, but it remains a comparatively under-studied field. The studies that have been conducted appears to assume that play is both pleasurable and favourable to children, and there is a number of substantiation that children have a higher understanding of and capability of handling risk than they are credited for. It also proposes that chances for children to evaluate and encounter risk in play are constrained because of several attitudes and structural limitations. Several authors call this a ‘risk-averse society’ due to the carefulness of risk evaluation in children’s play opportunity, and the prevailing judgment adults adopt towards risky play.

There is substantiation to indicate that several of the measures that have been adopted to build safer play for children are not needed or efficient. Scholars appeal for acknowledgement of the potential impacts that thorough safety norms have for children, and propose using a new strategy of risk evaluation.

A good early childhood environment meets the child’s basic needs and supports and encourages children to engage in activities that implement the program’s curriculum. the environment is designed to enable staff to facilitate the optimum learning for their children. the environment makes parents and guardians feel welcome, involved, and empowered. Kids often trip or tumble so the play space should accommodate this with safety precautions. Local building codes for children’s indoor play areas are also important to ensure the area meets all standards during the construction phase. An early childhood environment is many things: It’s a safe place where children are protected from the elements and are easily supervised, and it’s where the important activities of the day take place, such as playing, eating, sleeping, washing hands, and going to the bathroom. The success of an early childhood environment is not dependent upon aesthetics and design alone. Places Children Can Call Their Own. A basic human need is the need to belong. Children need to feel they belong, too. They need to be close to people they know, have familiar and comfortable objects, and be in a setting that has a personal history for them. Early Childhood Environments Should Be Functional for Both Children and Teachers

Accidents- leading cause of death for children. Most deaths could easily be prevented, so it is important to keep your child’s safety in mind at all times. Children are most commonly exposed to lead by the ingestion of paint chips or dirt that is contaminated with lead-Those days lead was an ingredient of paint, so children living in older homes with chipping paint are most at risk for lead poisoning- Reviewing your home’s risk for causing lead poisoning- avoid purchasing older toys at yard/garage/rummage sales. Some may have been recalled for lead paint- eating foods that are cooked or stored in imported or glazed pottery. Make sure older buildings contain no lead, asbestos or other toxic materials. Your community health department or child care center licensing agency can put you in contact with experts who can take samples of paint and other materials for official findings.

Learning to use baby products correctly and according to age appropriate recommendations. Putting door knob covers on doors that you don’t want your child to open, including the bathroom, rooms that aren’t childproofed. Checking the floor regularly for small items and toys that younger children can choke on. includes marbles, balls, uninflected or broken balloons, small magnets, and small toy pieces. Keeping all of the top household poisons out of your child’s reach and in a childproofed cabinet. Ice pack-angin medicine-kids panadol-first aid-updated regularly. You can prevent falls and/or things falling on them; As with infants, be sure to secure chairs, tables, shelves, lamps. so they can’t pull them over on themselves. If you have windows that they can reach, be sure they are screened, open from the top, or keep them closed and locked. If you can’t- barricade them. Installing smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.- common sources of carbon monoxide exposure include:- Preventing Carbon Monoxide Poisoning:

Oil and gas furnaces

Motor vehicles

Stove/Gas range

Placing latches and locks on cabinets and drawers.

Installing a stove guard in front of the stove to keep your child’s hands off the burners.

Securing appliances, including the refrigerator, dishwasher, and oven, with an appliance locking strap.

Installing covers on electrical outlets- Take a look around your home at your electrical cords- move them out of reach.

Be sure your stairways (stairs, porches, decks, lofts, etc.) have railings- if possible one that a child can reach. If your steps are prone to being slippery, put tread mats on them or carpeting- something non-skid. If you are using a high chair for toddlers, be sure they have a wide base (so they can’t be tipped over) and always use the restraints. Never leave your baby unattended in the bath. Be sure your smoke alarms are working properly. SAFETY SCISSORS-dap equipments!

A baby gate should be an important part of every home with children. These items safely block off different parts of the house that are potentially dangerous to toddlers such as staircases. If there are any areas of the house that your toddler should not be going to yet, then you definitely need to find a gate to keep them safe. Ideally, they should be easy to install sturdy and be made of materials that are safe for your toddler. guidelines for buying the best one possible:

A frame that connects to a door frame and does not have any gaps for the heads or fingers of children. Be sure there are no sharp edges.

Do not use gates with potential foot holds.

Do you have toys or objects like marbles, legos, etc that have a diameter of less than 1 1/4 inch (about the size of a half dollar) or have detachable parts? If so they need to be thrown out or put away and NOT USED in your daycare for toddler safety/ Keep all plastic bags and Styrofoam packing out of their reach for toddler safety-Choking/suffocation and Poison hazards

Common sense tells us to keep all medications, cleaning supplies, insect poisons, bug spray, weeds killers out of reach or locked up. be sure that all sunscreen, perfumes, and cosmetics, alcoholic beverages, vitamins, and pet supplies are as well. Do not chemically treat your yard, use insect/rat poisons, or weed killer when the kids are present. Also, can the kids get behind your T.V.? If so, move it so they aren’t able to. If you have your computer, DVD players, cd players within their reach, move them up high so they can’t. Keep lighters and matches out of reach. Be sure your toilet lids are always closed. Always keep sharp objects out of a toddlers reach. Only takes a couple of seconds for those to become sharp! So are the edges of an aluminum foil/plastic wrapping box! There must be two exits out of each child activity room. One exit must lead directly to the outside. There must be a fire suppression system throughout the facility. Follow guidelines-health/fire departmnt. The building will need to have high ceilings to accommodate the main play structure. We recommend between 5 and 6 meters. Insurance?Equipment made of?-high quality. Matainance-carefully evaluated and assessed on an annual basis.

If you have a working fireplace, wood stove or space heater, is it safely screened and inaccessible to children? Are privacy locks on bathroom or bedroom doors inaccessible to children? Can the lock be opened quickly from the outside? Does the kitchen meet fire safety standards? Is fire protection available within a short distance of your center? Does the center have adequate hand washing and toileting areas in the rooms occupied by children?

The location for the preschool play area is one of the most important decisions- Choosing the location for each piece of play equipment takes some time and consideration. An open space with plenty of room for active preschoolers is essential. The room also needs some degree of security depending on the particular situation. In a child care setting, a room that is easy to monitor and keep secure is more important. Avoid areas with high air pollution/near gas stations where there are underground or above ground gas/oil storage tanks. Survey-surrounding-road-CAR parks. Once the location is established, the foundation of the room begins to take shape. Responsive/Stimulating-Not overwhelming(DAP)(colours). Because so many child care facilities have limited space, it can be challenging to respond to the uniqueness of each child within a collective environment. Young children have unique personalities and needs that require us to respond to them as individuals, not as members of a group. The environment must be responsive to this need. Ease of cleaning, maintenance, supervision, cost, and adult aesthetics should not detract from providing spaces children feel are designed for them. Children need to have private areas, secluded corners, lofts, and odd-shaped enclosures. Individual cubbies for each child’s clothes and belongings, photographs of home and family, and at least a couple of secluded areas where two or three children can gather allow children opportunities to maintain their individuality and break away from the group to avoid over stimulation.

Accurate measurements of the area help with the indoor play equipment selection. It also helps when choosing and purchasing the floor covering. A soft flooring option helps prevent injuries when children fall off of the soft play equipment. Preschool children often fall; soft surfaces such as mats underneath protect the kids. A rubber floor covering is a common option for a children’s indoor play area. It helps absorb the shock when a child falls from short play equipment. Gymnastic mats are another option for the area. These floor mats also help absorb the shock. Foam mats are also used for kids’ play areas. Local building codes governing children’s play areas might have specific requirements for the floor covering so it’s always a good idea to check first. A floor plan of the room helps determine the layout of the children’s indoor play area. It should provide a mixture of play equipment that is appropriate for preschool-aged children. The budget will influence the selection of the equipment. Soft play equipment is a popular option if the budget allows. These special pieces of equipment are designed to prevent injuries as the young children play on them. Evaluate the entire center, including the playground, hallways, and bathrooms.

Hire professional-know 1st aid/***- handle young ones-follow RATIO. knowledge and understanding of infant/toddler growth patterns and developmental needs are critical in providing appropriate care and experiences.

Creating play zones that separate the different types of play equipment increases the safety of the children’s indoor playground. Consider the amount of space each toy needs, including a buffer area to allow easy movement. The types of activities that go well together are also a factor. Once the arrangement is selected and the soft play equipment and other play areas are set up, a final walk through is needed. This test run checks for a good flow in the indoor play area to make sure the kids won’t constantly run into one another. Kids and adults should easily move around all of the play equipment. A clear line of vision for the adults from all vantage points in the room is another key factor to check during the test run.

Noise making area separate-quiet ones. Managing noise is important in a classroom. Placing carpet on the floor absorbs noise as absorbent tile on the ceiling. The reading center should be next to a quiet area like the art area. Blocks are loud, and should be located next to other loud areas such as the woodworking bench. Noisy activities can also be placed in transition areas or moved outside in good weather.

group size, the developmental stages and the infants’/toddlers’ needs shall determine the amount of space and spatial organization. The environmental needs of non-mobile infants are different from those of mobile infants, as space becomes a crucial consideration for young infants developing gross motor skills such as crawling and walking. The use of appropriate barriers is necessary for the safety and protection of younger infants. Dividers are any physical object that serves to delineate areas within a classroom, create interest areas, control traffic, and distribute children throughout the classroom. Almost anything can be used as a divider, so long as it is safe shelves, couches, fabric hung from a line, streamers attached to the ceiling, folding screens, puppet stages, etc. Safety is obviously a critical issue. Some dividers are easy to push over. The larger and heavier they are at the bottom, the safer. A divider can also be secured by fastening it to the floor or a wall. Several equipment companies have introduced dividers that attach directly to storage units and furniture. Ideally, dividers should be multi-functional for use as storage units, play furniture, and display boards. Keep in mind that solid dividers or walls of more than 30-40 inches high disrupt the circulation of air in the classroom and limit supervision of children. Less solid dividers, like fabric, avoid this problem. One teacher creatively used colorful fabric streamers attached to the ceiling as effective dividers.

Unlike traditional classrooms, early childhood environments need to support both basic functions and learning activities. Look around your classroom from a child’s perspective. Are toilets, sinks, windows, faucets, drinking fountains, mirrors, towel racks, chairs and tables, tooth brush containers, and bulletin boards at the child’s level and child-sized? Are classrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, and eating areas close together so that children can develop self-help skills and important autonomous behaviors?

Like children, teachers also need to have spaces that are functional. Teachers need to be able to arrange and rearrange their classrooms for various class activities and supervision purposes. Classrooms that include permanent, built-in features such as lofts, playhouses, tables, benches, alcoves, and cubbies can be problematic. These types of fixed features make it difficult for teachers to create areas for gross motor activities, can cause injury in active children, or prevent inclusion of physical activities altogether. Classrooms built as a basic shell work best. Adaptations must be made carefully for any child with special needs, be they physical challenges, learning disabilities, or emotional issues. Brail and large lettering can be used for children with visual impairments, and sign language can be incorporated into the curriculum for those children with hearing impairments. Reducing distractions, glare, and over stimulation helps accommodate children with ADD and ADHD. Visual images are an important part of developing a feeling of belonging in all children, so it is important to display pictures of single parent families, grandparent families, and homes of every race and ethnicity, including interracial, multiethnic, and adoptive families. The entire center should also reflect diversity throughout the world race, ethnicity, languages.

Storage areas are a little like entrance and exits-they receive lots of traffic and are noisy and congested. For these reasons, storage areas can sometimes foster disruptive behavior and noise. Provide easy access to materials, allowing children to get what they need quietly and easily. The closer materials are to where they will be used, the better. Storage must also be designed so that materials for independent child use are separate from those teachers control.

Activity Area Access. Activity areas need to be located next to supplies and be easy to clean up. The classic example is the art area. While providing easy access to paint, easels, paper, and brushes, the art area needs to be close to a water source and on a surface that can withstand a mess. Similarly, the reading area must be close to book shelves, magazine racks, and comfortable places to sit.

CHILD SAFETY

This is especially true once their children become mobile and start crawling their way into trouble. Child safety is a very sensitive issue and importance for it is rising in the recent times with the rising cases of child missing, child injuries, child labor and so on. As a social citizen; it is your duty to support child safety awareness and this could be best done by protecting your own child from the world. efforts which you put to save your child from any of the dangers. Saving your child is extremely easy as it mainly includes one precaution which if followed by you can surely make a change. This precaution is that you need to keep a constant eye on your child.

The areas for play, diapering, feeding and napping shall be set up to maximize contact between the caregiver and the infant. These areas shall allow the interaction to be unhurried and quiet. Areas (especially play areas) for non-mobile infants shall be separate from those for mobile infants. The napping area shall be physically separate from other activity areas. Partitions or other suitable barricades shall be used to separate the napping area from other areas. The outdoor activity area shall be suitably surfaced and well-drained. The outdoor activity area shall be equipped with a variety of age-and developmentally-appropriate toys and equipment. The outdoor activity area shall also have shaded areas. Cribs/cots shall be of sturdy construction with closely-spaced bars. Each crib/cot shall be occupied by only one infant. Each crib/cot shall have a firm mattress and it shall be covered with vinyl or similar moisture-resistant material. Cribs/cots shall be arranged so as to provide a walkway and work space between the cribs/cots sufficient to permit staff to reach each infant without having to step over or reach over another infant-observable. Separate facilities shall be provided for food preparation. Food preparation utensils and equipment shall not be used for other purposes. Sufficient and suitable facilities shall be provided for the sterilization of milk bottles. Sinks with running water shall be provided near the diaper change area at a ratio of one sink for every 10 infants /toddlers aged 18 months and below. Sufficient potty chairs shall be provided for the infants / toddlers- kept separate from the kitchen/food preparation areas. Sleeping infants shall be placed on their backs rather than on their fronts to ensure that their breathing is not interfered. Any other soft materials that may potentially block the airways such as pillows, blankets, comforters, and bean bag chairs shall be removed. Feeding equipment and all surfaces used for food preparation shall be sterilized after each use. Liquid soap shall be used and hands washed under running water

before and after diapering

before and after preparation of meals and feeding an infant

when in contact with bodily fluids such as mucus, urine, saliva or faecal matter

Disposable paper towels shall be used for drying hands. The diapering area shall be disinfected with each diaper change. Soiled diapers shall be placed in plastic bags and disposed of in a covered bin, preferably with a step pedal to reduce the risk of contamination. Log book RECORD-allergies/ diaper changing routines/ feeding times/ injuries/visitors

Children have the same rights as adults. As a vulnerable group, children have particular rights that recognize their special need for protection and also that help them develop their full potential. Children are not helpless objects of charity or a property of their parents. They are recognized as human beings and the subjects of their own rights. A child is an individual, a family and community member with rights and appropriate responsibilities for his or her age and development stage. Children should enjoy the basic qualities of life as rights rather than privileges accorded to them (CRC 2006)

Every child whether a boy or girl irrespective of age is unique and has important value as a human being with the right to respect for their human dignity. It has a right to be heard and to be considered in all matters and decisions that concern him or her, a right to be listened to and to be taken seriously (CRIN, 2002).

This increases mutual respect and understanding between children and adults. Children’s participation protects them more effectively from abuse and exploitation. When we understand and respect children’s own experiences, we are able to create better protection mechanisms and the children themselves can act as active agents in their own protection. This helps to develop and build recognition of children as independent bearers of rights with a sense of identity and a positive implication for their self esteem (CRIN, 2002).

Children’s rights are defined in a wide spectrum of economic, civil, political and social rights. These rights have been labeled as the right to protection and right to empowerment. Some of these rights are:

Right to provision: Children have a right to be provided with a good standard of living, education and services, health care and a right to play. These include access to schooling, a balanced diet and a warm bed to sleep in. They also have a right to be protected from neglect, abuse, discrimination and exploitation (CRC, 2006)

Children also have a right to participation. They have a right to their own programs and services and to take part in them. This includes decision making and involvement in libraries. Some rights allow children to grow up healthy and free. This include; Freedom of speech, Freedom of thought, Freedom from fear, Freedom of choice and to make decisions and Ownership over one’s body.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) provides a framework for addressing not only rights to child protection care and adequate provision, but also for participation. A child who is capable of making his or her own views shall be assured by the parties of the state a right to express them freely (CRC, 2006)

The views of the child are given weight according to the maturity and age of the child. A child can participate in the sense of taking part or being present or participate in the sense of knowing that one’s actions are taken note of and may be acted upon. The extent to children’s participation will vary between and within societies (CRC, 2006)

There has been a clash between the children’s protection and participation rights. Protection rights protect the children against exploitation and abuse for the best interest of the child while participation rights allow children to take part in decisions concerning their lives and a right to freedom of conscious and to hold an opinion. Adults and their children’s views may not always coincide. Many children’s wishes and views are ignored by the adults for the best interest of the child. For instance;

Every child is entitled to acquire a name and a nationality. All children registration should be upon birth. The child’s name, birth date and parents’ names are recorded. When a child is given a name at birth, he or she is not given an opportunity to choose a name for himself or herself. The parents do this for the best interests of the child.

The child may however, decide to change its name upon reaching the age of maturity. In this case the child is denied a right to participate in choosing its name at first but at later stages of development; the same child can participate in the same by changing to its desired name (CRC).

A child has a right to be protected from all forms of punishment or discrimination regardless of their age, race, sex, religion, status, their expressed opinions, activities and beliefs of the family members. As much as a child has a right to religion, to express their opinion, or equality regardless of their age, these are sometimes restricted by their parents or legal guardians. For instance, a child is not at liberty to join a religion cult without the parents’ interference. It is not because the child is denied its freedom to worship but it’s for the best interest of the child (CRC).

Children also have a right to get and share information and to express them. In exercising this right, they are supposed to be careful not to damage themselves or the freedoms, rights and reputations of others. They may share information through talking, writing or drawing.

A child’s wishes may be ignored if it is for the best of the child. For instance, a child may be denied the right to express dislike or hatred towards a particular person by hauling insults at the person. On the same, the child may be restricted on the manner of expression. For instance through shouting or screaming or demanding instead of asking politely (CRC).

Children have a right of association. They have a right to meet and to join groups and organizations. Not all groups joined by children are acceptable by their parents or guardians; this brings a clash between the children’s right of association and prevention of joining them. Children are also restricted from joining into these groups if they stop other people from enjoying their rights. For instance a rioting group which will probably cause peace disturbance to others, or an outlawed group will not be acceptable that the children join (CRC).

Children have a right to privacy. They are protected from attacks in their way of life, their name, families and homes. However, their way of life can be invaded by their parents or guardians if it’s for their best interests, for instance, when parents suspect that the child may be involved in drugs or other unlawful activities they may be forced to ransack the child’s room or personal effects (CRC).

It’s a right for the children to access information. This they get through the radio, newspapers, television, internet and children’s books. They have a right to choose what kind of information they would like to access and in which manner. However, not all information is suitable or helpful to them (CRC).

Most of the information provided by the mass media especially the radio, television and internet is unsuitable to children. It may contain violence, obscenity or strong language. Since these are harmful to the children they don’t have a right over them and so their parents or guardians have to protect the children from such by deciding on what is good or bad for them. The parents also have to protect on what their children browse on the internet since they can access pornography or sites with violence which are harmful to the child (CRC).

It is a child’s right to live with its parents. The child can however be separated from the parents when the conditions are not favorable for the child. Such conditions may be neglect or abuse by the parents or separation by the parents hence the state has to decide on which parent has to live with the child. If the child has no parents the state decides on a home or an institution for the child to live. In this case the child may not have much of a say in the choice of who to live with. Sometimes children run away from their birth homes to live with their relatives or even live on the streets. This may be as a result of poverty or rebellion. The best interests of the child are considered first before the child is taken back to its parents’ home (CRC).

Conclusion

Children have a right to participate in decisions that shape their life and therefore should be given a chance to express their own opinion. However, this right is only exercised considering the maturity and the best interest of the child. Not all decisions that a child makes will be supported by their parents or guardians. For instance, a child cannot make a decision not to go school. For the best interests of the child the child will be forced to attend school.

Bereavement – This can be a very traumatic time for a child or young person, bereavement can affect concentration, memory and learning.

New sibling – A challenging transition for young children, it may affect the child’s behavior as they may act out, wanting to gain attention.

Parental Separation – This can affect children and young people in many different ways and must be dealt with in accordingly in a sensitive manner.

Moving Home – Moving house can be a big upheaval, it can affect the child or young person because they are being taken out of their safe and familiar environment.

Illness or Injury – Whether it be the child/young person directly affected or a family member, either way the child may need help dealing with the change of circumstances.

Divorce – This is a difficult period for a child or young person, they may be affected in many different ways and must have endless emotional support.

Taken into the care system – This can be a difficult transition where the school and social services must work together to make the process run as smoothly as possible for a young child.

Abuse & Neglect – Abuse and neglect can affect all areas of development. Children and young people are affected by abuse in different ways, outcomes of abuse vary.

Moving countries – Moving countries can have a negative affect upon children and young people, socially, academically and emotionally.

These types of transitions are generally unplanned, or occur with little or no warning and in turn can be damaging if not responded and dealt with in the correct way. These unplanned transitions will also however affect children and young people in different ways.

Some children and young people may also experience transitions such as:

The introduction of Step Siblings

Changing schools

Change of carer

Pet dying

Parental change of partner

It is a known fact that all children and young people are faced with transitions, although some may be affected positively and some negatively. When children are faced with planned or unplanned transitions they may experience feelings such as anger, guilt, rejection and sadness. Other ways that children and young people may show the affects made by transition i.e. attention seeking behavior, friendship/peer problems, and becoming withdrawn and quiet or displaying uncharacteristic habits.

Children and young people moving from primary to secondary high school may find it hard to adjust to being taught more formally. They are suddenly expected to study a wider variety of subjects, to take on more responsibility and sometimes make a new circle of friendships. Involving changes like learning more and having less free time. For most children and young people going through a transition such as moving school can have an impact on their learning and achievements, sometimes affecting them academically. Suddenly a child is removed from their “comfort zone” and taken away from a familiar environment, from their friends and teachers etc. The child is completely thrown of track and put into a new environment which can be extremely difficult for a child or young person to adjust too. It can have affects on a child’s learning, self esteem and sometimes resulting in them no longer wanting to go to school, although some children and young people do adapt well to this type of transition. For example when I was attending secondary school a young girl moved from her original school due to her parents moving country, when she began attending my secondary school she settled in and adapted very well, proving to be quite popular with her peers. It appeared to have a positive affect on the young girl but then suddenly her peers turned against her, this then resulted in the young girl becoming a victim of torment and bullying. She became unhappy, quiet, withdrawn and reserved. Her parents decided it was in their child’s best interests to change schools once again, where she began to regain her self esteem and confidence which was extremely affected by the bullying, changing schools and moving countries. Fortunately the next change of school had a positive affect on the young girl’s education and learning which dramatically improved. She began making friends, displayed more confidence and began to enjoy attending school again. Moving school can have a negative and/or positive impact on a child or young person’s behavior and development. In the beginning a change of school proved to have a negative affect upon the young girl but fortunately the second period of moving school resulted in having a positive affect upon her, improving her behavior and development. Therefore I feel it is important that a child’s parents consider their child’s happiness before making this choice, due to the positive and negative affects it can have on a child and young person. Although changing schools unfortunately cannot always be prevented due to unforeseen circumstances in life.

Parental Change Of Partner – A parent introducing their new partner to their child can also be a challenging and difficult time. It can result in affecting a child or young person’s behavior and development. For example when I was a teenager my mother introduced me to her new long term partner which at the time felt like a stranger was trying to replace my father, I also felt that her new partner was taking away my mothers attention. Suddenly a new authoritative figure was brought into the family. From my personal experience it had a bad affect on my behavior and development as I began to misbehave, smoke, drink and act out because I was extremely angry inside and wanted to regain my mothers attention which I no longer felt I had. I became an angry, depressed, withdrawn and isolated teenager, clearly displaying signs that I was negatively affected, no longer being my usual bubbly, happy self. My education also began suffering because of this transition as I could no longer concentrate in school. However this does not always have a negative impact on children and young people but it does need to be handled cautiously and sensitively. It can be a very challenging time for the child and young person but also for the parents, family members and anybody else involved.

There are three prime areas of Learning and development, these prime areas begin to develop from a base of secure, loving relationships and children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs. Children have a different way of learning and develop their learning at different rates. The three prime areas of learning and development are as follows:

Communication and language development- this involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment, and to develop their confidence in speaking and listening.
Physical development-involves encouraging children to be active in their play and learning. Children should be given the opportunity to move around and develop their motor skills.
Personal, social and emotional development- this area of development helps children to develop an awareness of themselves, to form positive relationships, develop respect for others. It supports children in managing their feelings, and behaviour and to develop a sense of their self-esteem.
The specific areas of learning develop out of the prime areas of development and identify specific skills to be developed. The four specific areas of learning and development are as follows:
Literacy development-children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials to develop an interest in books and understanding of written print. This encourages children to begin to link sounds and letters and they begin to read and write.
Mathematics- is all about providing opportunities for children to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers through early rhymes and songs, calculating, simple addition and subtraction, and developing an understanding of shapes, spaces, through exploring and categorising objects.
Understanding the world-involve guiding children to make sense of their different communities; children will also be given the opportunity to learn about the world around them.
Expressions, arts and design- involves enabling children to explore and investigate a wide range of and media and materials and discover how they work, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, role play and design and technology. ((Open Study College Early Years Level 3 pgs. 75,76)
Planning to meet children’s development needs is important when planning activities, because all children develop at their own rate in their own time. According to (The Department for Education March 2012) “Practitioners must consider the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child in their care, and must use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all of the areas of learning and development.”
Each child is view as a unique person with their individual needs: a unique child will have their own personality, characteristics and interest. When a child is born they can sense love from their parent, and carers, this will make them feel safe and secure in their environment. when planning for an activity in your setting, practitioners should consider the age group that the activity is for an if it is suitable for all the children involved, you also need to take in consideration other needs such as disability or special needs, for example, if the setting that has a child with hearing problems, then the practitioner should consider planning visual activities for that child to be involved and take part. Practitioners should look at what skills and knowledge the children are demonstrating and build upon this. This will ensure that the individual needs of the child are being met. Practitioners must respond to each child’s emerging needs and interests, guiding their development through warm, and giving them a positive interaction.
Within the early years settings practitioners working with the youngest children especially need to focus on the three prime areas of development, which are the basis for successful learning in the other four specific areas. For children whose home language is not English, practitioners need to take reasonable steps to provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in play and learning; they must work in partnership with their parents in order to support their language development at home too. Each area of learning and development must be achieved through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity. Play is vital for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others.
It is important that practitioners plan effectively because every child is unique and has different abilities, learning skills, attention and education backgrounds, each child needs individual support and planning. It is recommended that the practitioners follow a cycle of planning, observation and assessment of each of their key children. Through observing, practitioners can gather a lot of information about a child’s knowledge, skills and abilities, through assessment a practitioner will look at findings from their observations and use them to plan further activities for that child. In my previous nursery (x) where I worked we had to plan daily activities, I had to support children’s learning experiences through play, we had to plan activities to suit the individual needs of the children, the indoor and outdoor environment was used as part of play, observation, discussions with parents on the interests of the child, we also carried out a one to one talk with children for their own ideas to help us with further planning.
Practitioners need to form a base of secure, loving relationship and a positive environment with young babies and children in order to support the learning and development of the seven areas of learning.
Communication and language development is divided into three aspects:
Listening and attention- Practitioners can build positive relationships thorough being physically close, maintaining eye contact, sing songs and rhymes during every day routines, practitioners can support children’s learning by listening to children and taking account of what they say in your responses to them, share rhymes, books and stories for many cultures. Play games which involve listening for a signal such as ‘Simon say’ and use ‘ready steady go’.
Understanding- Practitioners should look at the baby and say their name and wait for their response. Prompt children’s thinking and discussion through involvement in their play. Show children a photograph of an activity such as hand washing helps to reinforce understanding.
Speaking -Practitioners should model language to babies, speaking clearly to them and using appropriate body language and gestures. When babies try to say a word, repeat it back so they can hear the name of the object clearly. When children begin to talk, practitioners should be partners in conversation, modelling the correct use of language.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development is also divided into three aspects:
Making relationships- Practitioners can support children in making relationships by encouraging children to play with a variety of friends from all backgrounds so that everybody is being involved.
Self-confidence and self-awareness- Practitioners should organise the environment for children to access different resources and materials to promote their independent choice making.
Managing feelings and behaviour- Practitioners need to find out from the parents as much as they can about the individual children before they start the setting so that the routines they follow are familiar and comforting. Practitioners need to set clear rules and boundaries for children to follow in managing appropriate behaviour.
Physical development is divided into two aspects:
Moving and handling- practitioners should help babies to become aware of their own babies through touch and movement. Treat mealtimes as an opportunity to help children to use fingers, spoon and cup to feed themselves. Practitioners should plan activities where children can practise moving in different ways and at different speeds, balancing, target throwing, rolling, kicking and catching
Health and self-care- practitioners should Plan to take account of the individual cultural and feeding needs of young babies in your group. Respond to how child communicates need for food, drinks, toileting and when uncomfortable. Encourage children to be active and energetic by organising lively games, since physical activity is important in maintaining good health and in guarding
Against children becoming overweight or obese in later life.
Literacy- Practitioners should provide a variety of books for all children according to their age and stage of development, it is also important to sit down with the child and spend time in reading stories aloud to them in circle time. Practitioners should support early writing skills. Also support children in recognising and writing their own name.
Mathematics- practitioners can sing number rhymes s they dress or change babies e.g. ‘one, two buckle my show’. Sing counting songs and rhymes which help to develop understanding of number, such as ‘two little dickey birds’ Children count reliably with numbers from one to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. Practitioners can provide shape sorters and jigsaws puzzles for older babies and toddlers to enable them to fit the correct shapes into the hole.
Understanding the world- is divided into three aspects:
People and communities: Practitioners need to celebrate and value cultural, religious and community events and experiences. Encourage children to talk about their own home and community life, and to find out about other children’s experiences.
The world: Practitioners need to help children to find out about the environment by talking to people, examining photographs and simple maps and visiting local places.
Technology: babies and young children use technology from a young age with action toys. They will learn how to operate the toys. A children grow older they should be given more complex toys such as wind ups or mechanical toys. Children are curious about the technology around them such as computers, televisions, cd players; practitioners should provide them with the opportunity to use this technology.
Expressive Arts and Design-is divided into two aspects:
Exploring and using media and materials -practitioners should sing songs and nursery rhymes with babies and can provide different musical instruments. Older children enjoy dancing to music; practitioners should encourage movement to the music.
Being imaginative- Practitioners should provide a variety of role play materials and support children’s imaginative ideas. Help children communicate through their bodies by encouraging expressive movement linked to their imaginative ideas.
This source of information has been taken from (Open Study College-Early Year Level 3 Pg’s 81-90). (Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
There are 3 characteristics of effective learning which help us to focus on and understand how children learn. The characteristics of effective learning are as follows:
Playing and exploring – this characteristics observes how children engage with their learning.
aˆ? Finding out and exploring- through play children will find out about and explore the objects around them. Play is a key role for children to develop the understanding of different objects in the world around them, also the understanding of different cultures, and religions of others can be developed through play.
aˆ? Using what they know in their play- play is a key role to promoting children’s learning and development. Free play is important for children as it gives children the opportunity to explore their own feelings, views and ideas.
aˆ? Being willing to have a go- children will develop their self- confidence and will enjoy challenge and risk.
Active learning – this characteristic observes how children are motivated to learn.
aˆ? Being involved and concentrating- will develop children’s ability to hold concentration in activities for longer periods and will help children maintain focus and attention on their activities.
aˆ? Keeping trying-through trying out new experiences and activities, children will experience failure and disappointment.
aˆ? Enjoying and achieving what they set out to do- succeeding and achieving new skills will build children’s self-confidence and pride in their own abilities.
Creating and thinking critically – this characteristics observes how children are thinking.
aˆ? Having their own ideas- within play children will act out as role models and explore their own ideas.
aˆ? making links- once a child has discovered their own ideas and methods, they will be expected to try them out again.
aˆ? Choosing ways to do things and finding new ways- children will develop strategy in their own learning. Children will think about what went well and how to change the activity when they approach it again. Practitioners can support children’s thinking by asking them open ended questions.
According to (Tunja on September 9, 2012)
“Playing and Exploring is when Children can represent their experiences through play and rehearse what they will be able to do without adult help later on. Play brings together ideas, feelings, relationships and the physical life of a child. Children who are encouraged to express themselves freely through play are likely to be more able to adapt and learn new skills in a school environment.”
“Active Learning often occurs naturally during exploratory play. For example, where children are concentrating on something and keep trying until they succeed in their attempts. This might be something as simple as threading beads on a string or more complex such as assembling a construction toy with bolts and a spanner.
“Creativity and Critical Thinking is linked to active learning and can occur where children are able and have time to develop their own ideas. This helps them be able to make links between their different ideas. For example, this is often observed in schemas. Such as when children experiment with a theme like rotation. They might rotate themselves, whisk their milk with a straw and spin wheels linking how things move in circles or spirals.”
According to (Abbot and Moylett, 1999, Early Education Transformed )Educationalist ‘Susan Isaacs’ states “Children in their play can escape into real experiences or out of it and through doing this they learn about reflecting on life, getting a sense of control over their lives, developing self-esteem and feeling abhorred.”
“Piaget was a French speaking Swiss theorist who posited that children learn through actively constructing knowledge through hands-on experience. He suggested that the adult’s role in helping the child learn was to provide appropriate materials for the child to interact and construct” “Jean piaget believed “Children were often viewed simply as small versions of adults and little attention was paid to the many advances in intellectual abilities, language development, and physical growth.”
Conclusion
Supporting children’s learning and development is implemented through the seven areas of learning they have been split in to the prime areas and specific areas. The characteristics of learning identify how children learn; the ways in which a child engages with other people and their environments is through playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking carefully. It is important that practitioners plan effectively because every child is unique and has different abilities, learning skills, attention and education backgrounds, each child needs individual support and planning.

On the basis of your readings and reflection upon your own practices with young children or from observations of early childhood educators in action, to what extent are young children actively participating in their day-to-day activities in early years settings?

Children Participation has been one of the most debated and examined issues since the UN Convention on the Right of Children was adopted in 1989. Young children, like to be consulted on things that affect them, such as activities implemented in their daily routine (Smith & Thomas, 2010).Creating opportunities for them to discuss this issue can be fun for them and this also helps them make decisions and develop independence. So that children can participate in their day to day activities in the Early Years Settings, the school environment has to respect and give value to their views even tough they are young (Clark & Moss 2001).

Participation of young children in the early setting is the rapid involvement of these young people in decision-making process. A school which values children views, will enhance creative ideas. Adults understand children needs better if they listen to children as participation involves a lot of listening (The Integration of Refugee Children, 2006). Children can express what they want to learn and do in the setting regardless of their language level of development.

A particular teacher has a kindergarten class of twenty, four year old children. In the morning she tells them to sit on the carpet and give them toys to play with, after the break she does a simple activity with them such as colouring in or let them play with play dough, then they go out for free play and after the second break they have to stay sitting in front of the computer for about 1 hour. This routine is repeated everyday. Children have to do what they are told and one can observe that some of them get really bored; moving on the chair, playing with each others hair, jumping around the class. Children are not really active participants in their daily activities.

The adult should listen to the children but the information gathered from listening should be given value and should be open to differences and change (Clark, Kjorholt & Moss, 2005). But unfortunately from my experience I can tell that some educators are not ready to adapt according to what children think about their settings, such as where they like to play, and what tools they like in the setting and that’s why children have to do what they are told. A particular teacher told me that she only has four years left working for her pension, so she is not going to change anything and that she is now tired of children. This confirms that some educators are still not open to difference, so how can they provide opportunities for children participation?

Also children are not freely given choice to what activities they would like to participate. They have to participate in what the educator herself plan. If a child does not like painting, the educator has to make her best so that child will participate during painting activities. When others see that the educator has achieved this goal, everyone will be pleased except for the child himself as it could be that he still doesn’t like painting and get bored do painting activities. Some of the things adults do is not to please children, but to please themselves and other adults around them.

Listening also involves observing children and watching them, then what is observed can be discussed with children themselves, parents and work mates. A child who has not developed speech yet can still show what activities he likes and this could be seen through observation. If for example a child who has no speech yet, show a lot of interest in musical instruments, the educator should expand on it and include musical activities (Clark & Moss, 2001). I saw some educators doing observation while children are playing freely but then they ignore what they had observe. They don’t take their observation a step further and don’t reflect on their observations. If an educator watches a role-play where children shows many of their likes and then doesn’t reflect on that observation she cannot take a step further. She cannot plan activities on what was observed so that children participation in everyday activities will increase.

If we need to listen to children so that they participate more in early childhood settings, we need to give them time, value their opinions, and be ready for change. The multi-method approach is good to be implemented, as different children use different means to express themselves such as verbally, drawing, painting, singing and photographs and this will help them participate more in their day-to-day activities.

What are the barriers to children’s participation?

Anderson (2008) mentions several barriers to children participation such as time, lack of confidence and lack of skills in talking with children. From my experience, I really think that time is a barrier to children participation. Young children needs time to express themselves. If the multi-method approach is applied, the routine implemented in class should be more flexible. I’m all the time rushing thing up to do everything in time especially when I was a student as I was afraid about having a tutor coming in my class, and see me doing something different than that wrote on the daily routine. In the kindergarten where I work, we had a student in a kindergarten class. She wrote down that the activity will take about 20 minutes. When she saw the children really engaged in what they are doing, she left them enjoying themselves and the activity took about 35 minutes. The tutor assessing her told her that if she plans a 20 minutes activity, the activity should stop after 20 minutes. I do not agree with this. If for example children are really engaged in painting, should the educator stop the children, take their brushes and start cleaning up?

When I was a student kindergarten assistant, I was told that the main activity I do everyday should not take up more than 1 hour to do it with the whole class. I do not agree with this as I used to look all the time at the watch not to exceed 1 hour time. Also children are all different. For example a simple photograph activity can take 30 minutes to a child, and 1 hour to another child (Clark & Moss, 2001). If we are going to implement the multi-method approach, the educator needs time as it does not relay on one method of communication but on vast methods. We as educators cannot be directed to do the main activity in 1 hour time, as we will be rushing children up not to exceed this 1 hour; therefore time will really be a big barrier.

Educators should build the class environment on the children likes and dislikes, and consult them for opinions on decorating the class. This promotes more children participation but unfortunately in Malta financial difficulties hinders us from doing this. I was a student in a particular school, where the class teacher discussed what they like to have in class. A particular child was saying that her mother told her that she will have sand at school. She continued to explain that she came to school willingly to play with sand like she used to play at the beach with her mum. As they didn’t have sand in class, the teacher told the headmaster to buy some sand. He didn’t want to, and after all the talking the teacher decided to buy the sand herself. This particular child was really engaged in playing with sand together with other children. But if the teacher didn’t buy the sand herself, the sand could have been never bought.

Also lack of confidence can be a barrier for some children to participate in a school environment. Some children may be afraid of saying something wrong or doing something foolish and holds himself back from participation (Anderson, 2008 P.145). The educator should try to break up this barrier and give them opportunities where they can build a positive self image such as hanging up their work while praising them and their final product.

Educators can also have lack of skill in talking with children. Educators should be aware that talking with different is not so different and complicated although the educator should require some skills. If these skills are not acquires, communication could be a barrier to participation. Educators should not feel superior on children while talking to them. They should sit at eye level while talking with children, adapt the tone of voice and respect what is said. Also educators have to be good listeners and give time to the children to give answers (Anderson 2008 P. 145)

How can we move from tokenism to real participation?

To move from tokenism, educators should first reflect on their own practice and be open to make changes. The educators should ask themselves what kind of educators are they and if they allow children to give a voice.

In a particular school a year one children where drawing what they like to have in schools. The teacher then placed these papers neatly in the children files. The educator was letting the children have a voice but then ignoring what they had to say. Unfortunately tokenism in Maltese schools is seen a lot. Schools have to work more on moving from tokenism and give children a voice in early childhood settings. Education should not be built on the educator power and control over children.

Some teachers still think that if they give children a voice, they will be given too much power. This lack of awareness about the importance of children given a voice, will not help to move from tokenism. The adult should be able to listen to “the hundred languages of children” because children can express themselves through different means (Edwards and other, 1998 as stated in Clark & Moss, 2001). Educators should move away from non-participation education and implement more degrees of participation (Hart, 1992).Activities such as conferencing, photographs and mapping like the mosaic approach suggest (multi-method approach) should be implemented, so that the educator can understand better children likes and views. Then the adult should reflect, and what is understood should not be ignored.

Children have to be informed about things they are going to be involved in such as daily activities and concerts. Concerts are said to be done to show children talents but how can these talents be shown, if it will only be planned and organised by the teacher? The majority of the teachers choice what play the children are going to do and the track they are going to dance and sing. To move away from tokenism children have to be consulted and share decisions with them. (Hart, 1992 – Ladder of participation).When consulting young children, adults should plan how to do so. Play with young children is a very good tool for effective communication. Laughing and enjoying this time together, the adults and children may become more trusting and comfortable and the adult can consult the children better (Anderson 2008 P. 173). The educator herself can be impressed with their ideas as “The young child is a builder of theories” (Rinaldi, 2003 as stated in Clark, Kjotholt, & Moss, 2005 P. 111).

Awareness on the Convention of Children’s Rights

I’ve conducted a questionnaire for parents. I gave this questionnaire to twelve parents, whom their children are in my class, of which eight where given back to me. I wished that I could give it to all the kindergarten children’s parents, to have a better understanding of their awareness, but I was not given the permission.

The questionnaire was divided into four sections. The first section was brief information about the parent answering the questionnaire such as gender and age and the second section was about the convention on the rights of the child in general. The third part was about articles twelve and thirteen whiles the fourth part was on articles twenty two and twenty three.

Section 1

The parents answering this questionnaire are all woman except for one. They are between twenty two to thirty six years old. The ages of their children are between four months to six years old. Three parents have one child, four have two children and one has three children.

Section 2 – The Convention on the Rights of the Child

I started off this section by asking the parents if they have ever heard of the children’s rights. All the parents are aware of some of the children’s rights. They had to state where did they hear about these rights (they could have mention more than one aspect). Thanks to educative programs shown on the television and educational meetings, most of the parents are aware of some children’s rights (refer to Figure 1).

Figure 1

The parents where asked to mention three rights. All of them mentioned the right for education and four of them mentioned the right to express themselves. Unfortunately only one parent mentioned that children have the right to play. Other rights mentioned where the right for a safe and clean environment and protection from harm and abuse. This gave me the impression that these parents are only aware of some rights which are ‘common’.

But do they think that all the parents are aware of these rights? According to four of them, not all the adults are aware of these rights even tough they are really important. To enhance adults knowledge about these rights parents suggested more educational meetings, educational programs on the television together with competitions to encourage parents participation. As seen in figure 1, many of these parents heard about these rights on television programs, therefore it is a good source to transfer more knowledge to adults about these rights. In fact a parent suggested that there should be “short TV spots showing one item at a time.”

Section 3

Article 12 states that children have the right to participate in decision-making that effects their life.

Article 13 states that children should have freedom for expression.

Children can express themselves even from a young age through crying, drawing, writing and much more. But their views and values should be respected by adults. All the parents that participated in the questionnaire think that this is very important but it is necessary for adults to create opportunities for children to do so. Every parent said that she/he lets her child express him/her self at home. When I asked them how, they wrote that they do so by discussing things with them and let them say their opinions, giving them free choice during free time, and hear what are their needs. I think that the awareness among these parents regarding children’s expression is quite good. A particular parent wrote that he/she “ask open ended questions and allow freedom of expression, thoughts and opinions are frequently sought.” This is important and as he/she said this makes the child being more “independent”.

Also all of them, except for one agreed that even at school there should be a council made up of children who can discuss their views regarding school. This is a good idea which I some schools already embrace it. Children should have a say about things affecting them and school is one of them. Having this council, children can discuss their opinions about school things they like, they would like to change and thy don’t like. But this should not stop their, the adults discussing with them should reflect on their opinions and take a step further by implementing some of their suggestions.

Parents had to tick which elements help children express their views. The elements where drawing, painting, story telling and discussions and they could have also mentioned other elements. The most one ticked was drawing (figure 2). One also mentioned imaginative play such as role play. Self-expression together with participation and involvement in different creative activities is a lot of fun for children which helps them learn. Parents should let children playing, exploring, being imaginative and creative. But these elements require adults willing to listen and take what they say seriously. But do adults have time to listen to their children? All the parents said no except for two. A particular parent said “they have but it doesn’t mean it is used”.

Figure 2

I was also a little bit impressed that all the parents said that the children should choose hobbies themselves and adults should not get in their way. Parents can help children decide but this does not mean that the adults have to decide for children. As a particular parent said “parents are helpers not owners.”

Section 4

Articles 22 and 23 – Refugee children and children with disabilities must have same rights as other children.

I choose this two articles to see if parents will encourage their children to play with children with disabilities or refugee children. I was in a particular school where once I heard a lot of complaining regarding these particular children and that these children should not be in the same class with other children. They did know that these children have same rights as any other children.

One particular parent said that refugee children should not be given education together with any other children but at the same time she said that if there is a refugee child in her son/daughter class she will encourage him/her to play with this child (figure 3).

Should children with disabilities be given education together with any other children?

Figure 3

Also children with disabilities should have same rights as any other children. Again one parent said that children with disabilities should not be educated together with any other children. But is the school environment giving children with disabilities a chance to learn with other children? Four parents think that the schools environment needs to be more adequate to include children with disabilities such as ramps and wide doors.

These 8 parents know about children’s rights but are not aware of all the rights. There should be educational meetings and leaflets about other rights. Parents should be more aware that other rights are also important such as children have the right to benefit from social security and the importance of the right to play. This information could also be transmitted trough media especially television programs as mentioned by the parents. There should also be activities for Children in schools about their rights also to get aware that children like them, have the same rights as themselves. Children should be aware that they have should respect other children rights such as refugees and children with disabilities.

In my opinion children should also be given a voice especially at school, as there are still some schools who don’t value children views and expression. They see them as our future citizens and not today’s citizens. Some adults think that young children should only be given knowledge as much as possible to have a better future society, but this is not so. Society will be better if we open up to children’s views and expression, value them, and include every child regardless of his race, gender etc.

In today’s ever-changing world, the rampant use of various technology and robots have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Since the Industrial Revolution, robots have been used in manufacturing and automotive industries. With the rapid advancement in technology, the use of robots is increasing at an exponential rate.

From the graph above, it is evident that the world robot population has increased by almost 2 folds from 4.49million in 2006 to 8.37million in 2010. Domestic service, educational and leisure robots have contributed to the large increase in the use of robots in the 21st century. International Federation of Robotics (IFR) has forecasted a USD$17 billion in sales for the robot market worldwide by 2013. (http://www.ifr.org/) Hence, with the multi-faceted use of robots currently existing in our daily lives, one can expect robots specialising in childcare to be a part of reality in the near future.

Children have always been fascinated by robots. This is reflected in the increasing number of students taking part in robotics competitions. Moreover, when a bomb disposal robot was deployed in a village of Iraq, it caught the attention of the village children who surrounded it with great interest. Studies have also shown that the interaction between robots and children have yielded positive effects. As a result, robots have also been used as tools for educational purposes.

Advantages

With the current population trend moving from single-income to dual-income families, there is an increasing need for parents to provide the necessary childcare services for their children while they are both busy at work. This trend coupled with the evolving use of robots has sparked the research on childcare robots as a means to resolving the issue of juggling with raising a child concurrently with providing for the family. The potential of childcare robots is immense and has thus generated a lot of hype. Not only can it have a huge impact on society but it also has the potential to bring about radical changes in our everyday lives.

The concept of childcare robots has existed for decades. Proto-types of childcare robots are already available in the world today due to technological advancements which have minimised the cost of building and assembling a robot. Currently, there are 14 companies in Japan and Korea that have developed childcare robots.

The PaPeRo is an example of a childcare robot which has been developed by NEC, a leading Japanese electronics company who is a pioneer in the development of childcare robots.

It has been designed to live and interact with people through its autonomous and communication functions. One of its primary functions is to protect a child and prevent him from harm’s way. This can be done through mobile monitoring whereby the robot has cameras installed in its eyes which allow working parents to monitor their child’s movement at home through their laptops while they are at work. The parent will have full control of the robot and can navigate it around the house to ensure that his or her child is under constant supervision even if he or she is not physically there. The PaPeRo can also be programmed to look out for potential hazardous situations and consequently prevent the child at home from becoming a victim of it. Its autonomous function and obstacle avoidance capability thereby allow working parents to focus on their work due to its nature of independent mobility.

Disadvantages

Although childcare robots may solve the woes of modern working parents, one cannot help but ask how credible is the robot in ensuring the safety of the child at home? Who should be responsible in the case whereby the child still gets hurt under the care of the robot?

Childcare robots may have dire consequences on the child if they are not employed with caution. Previously, parents had to juggle between their family and work. As the concept of childcare robot surfaced, it liberated parents as the primary caregivers from choosing between their work commitments and looking after their child. This would result in less time spent together and the mutual bonding between parent and child will be lost in the process. The primary upbringing of a child thence no longer rests upon the shoulders of the parents but in the hands of a childcare robot instead.

From a societal perspective, a parent’s primary responsibility is to provide for their offspring and protect them from harms’ way. Parents should also impart the necessary knowledge and skills to survive in their later years during the developmental stages of their children in their adolescence. Parents may thus be shirking their primary responsibilities by passing on their role as caregivers to childcare robots. Instead of breastfeeding, which is natural and healthy for a child and also aids in psychological bonding, a robot is created to “breastfeed” with powdered milk. This is physically not healthy for a baby and would be a worrying trend to society. The role of caregivers is no longer clearly defined between humans and robots. One can only wonder what kind of psychological impact this may potentially have on a child when he is brought up by an autonomous robot made of steel instead of his own warm-blooded biological parents.

“As robots become increasingly popular and available, should we devise international ethics guidelines for their use?”

-Manfred Werner

The issue of formalised guidelines also arises with the extensive use of childcare robots in the future. To protect a child from negligence and abuse, there will be a need for governmental and international bodies to regulate and lay down ethical guidelines ensuring the fair and just use of childcare robots. By regulating its use, it could reiterate the fact that parents are still the primary caregivers of their child and childcare robots should only be a tool to assist them and not replace them. One should not hold the robots totally liable to the care of one’s child.

Children playing with robots –

Studies have shown that leaving a child with minimal human contact would retard the mental and intellectual development of the child. (http://www.education.umd.edu/EDHD/faculty/Fox/publications/94.pdf)

Although the child may develop an emotional attachment to the robot, his cognitive development may be impaired as he may be spending most of his childhood with a childcare robot. Furthermore, the bonding between a child and robot may mislead the child into thinking that such a relationship is real and identical to that with human beings. The impairing of his cognitive abilities coupled with the inability to distinguish between human and robotic relationships may thus lead the child to face problems interacting with other children. Consequently, the child may alienate himself from the rest of society in response to the ostracising he potentially faces from his peers.

Ultimately, robots are machines that face the usual technical problems of malfunctioning and may become obsolete over time. The child may “outgrow” the robot as his needs change at such a rapid rate. The childcare robot may only be programmed to handle toddlers and infants instead of school going children and hence it may become inadequate in looking after a child as they grow older. A child raised by machines may be detrimental to society and contribute to the degradation of healthy human relationships in the generations to come.

Nonetheless, it is undeniable that childcare robots are largely beneficial to enhancing childcare. Even without the existence of robots, there are still cases of child abuse and negligence by parents who have shirked their responsibility in caring for their child. In such cases, a robot may actually do an even better job in ensuring that the child is well taken care of. As research on childcare robots intensifies, the robot can be programmed to perform more sophisticated tasks, inter alia, expressing emotions and reacting differently to a wide vocabulary of words and range of feelings. However, in spite of the hype and benefits of childcare robots, I personally feel that it would be of best interest to society that they should only be used as a tool to assist in childcare and not replace the quintessential role of parents.

Conclusion

In conclusion, although the potential and benefits of childcare robots are limitless in the future, it is critical for us human beings to take a step back and ponder over the underlying ethical and legal issues that arise from their use. There should be a concerted effort by governments and a regulatory body to create a set of common and concrete guidelines to regulate the use of childcare robots. However, I feel that these are but mere infant steps to a realm of human co-existing with artificial intelligence.

“I care about our young people, and I wish them great success, because they are our Hope for the Futureaˆ¦” – Dave Barry

Youths are the key to our future. It is imperative then that children ought to be moulded in the footsteps of a human being than that of a cold piece of metal work.

Imagine every night when your children go to bed, sitting at the kitchen table crying, because of bills piling up. You have so many questions going through you head. How am I going to put food on the table? How will I be able to pay the bills this month? If I skip this bill what will happen? These are just a few questions that families who are faced with economic hardships ask themselves. Some families experience it for a brief period however a portion experience chronic poverty throughout their lifetime. In many cases the greatest challenge is the lack of financial resources, but whatever the case may be the stakes get higher when it come to the effects on children. How does poverty and poor healthcare affect children mentally, emotionally, and physically

Poverty can be defined in various ways. Primarily poverty is broken down into four categories: Absolute and relative poverty, and, generational and situational poverty (NPC). The number of people living below a certain income level unable to afford basic goods and services are defined as absolute poverty while, relative poverty are people placed in poverty because they do not meet the standards. These people have the necessities of living a healthy lifestyle; however, they still nonetheless classified as living in poverty because they live below the federal poverty level. On the other hand, poverty can be generational or situational. Generational poverty is defined as being in poverty for two or more generations. Situational poverty is due to different circumstances such as death in family, loss of job and is usually for a shorter period.

So what does it mean to experience poverty? According to the national center for children in poverty, 37 million children are living in poverty in the United States. Todayaˆ™s necessities has changed significantly from the past, having access to electricity, indoor plumbing, telephone service, a car, heating and air, and etc are essential to live in the world today. More than 10 million children are deprived of one or more of their rights, which include the right of nutrition, water, sanitation, access to basic health care, shelter, education, and protection (Aratani). 6 million children under six years old are homeless, never has received medical care and suffer from malnutrition. Children who live in poverty are 48 percent more likely so suffer from depression, domestic violence and substance abuse (Payne).

The causes of poverty are very broad. Generally, you cannot identify one problem as the cause of poverty for families. Some of the leading causes of poverty are imprisonment, divorce, natural disasters, substance abuse, overpopulation, lack of education, health, housing, geographic factors, economy, disease, and mental illness. There are many more causes of poverty and there will always be considering the constant changes in the world. Single parents are two to three times higher to be affected by poverty, about 40 percent of instanced parents contribute nothing to their children up keeping those who do are paying an average of 2,100 a year which everyone know that amount will not supply the child with everything they need(Payne). Economic stress can be a factor for breaking families up. The struggling economy has been the cause of the individuals who once had secure jobs, to now being among the poor.

2.6 million Jobs were lost alone this year. Job loss is at an all time high, losing more than 500,000 job a month (Caroline and Bernstwin). Death in the family along with job lose in these economic times are inevitable. The fact that many families cannot afford nor save enough money to be able to have life insurance. Which causes families to makes there life a waiting game, hoping that nothing happens since they canaˆ™t afford life insurance. So ultimately when a death in the family occurs, the expenses along with the instant change in income makes a household fall apart; following the depression and lack of will power, many are in a fog on how to recover and rise there families to the standards they were accustom to. Families dealing with poverty worry about so many things, they try to continue to pay all there bills on time, stretch their money tying to camouflage the issue so their children will not know how bad it is (Meltzer). Nevertheless, poverty brought on by death changes everything, situations that are already hard to deal with when you combine that with being put on a fast track to poverty makes things more unbearable.

The government programs such as food stamps, free or reduced lunch, medicad, government checks are the safety net for children living in poverty. These programs help children cope with the changes by giving them a way where they can still maintain some normal see to their lives. School breakfasts and lunches are the only meals some children get and over a million children according to Joan Flores do not receive the adequate breakfast needed because the school does not offer the program (children advocate). Eighty percent of children in the United States qualify for either free or reduced lunch (Joliffe and Filiak), In Richmond County, NC seventy-five percent of the children in the county qualify for this program (Barbee, Personal interview). Government supplementary checks are a way for the parents to get the items needed for the child however supplementary payments usually only allow for eight to fourteen benefits payments leaving the family to fend for themselves when that time period runs out . Medicad and food stamps give children the opportunity to have the two vital things they need for their existence. Although food stamps help at need children, food stamps are not easy for some families to obtain. Obstacles such as language barriers, thirteen-page application, interview process, etc prevent eligible families from receiving the benefits (Meltzer). Along with these obstacles, countless others stand in the way of children benefiting from the system. In certain counties or certain states, if you are homeless or cannot provide an address you are automatically be denied for government assistance; not to mention if the government finds out you are homeless your children you are running a risk of them taking your children. In addition, some families that are receiving these benefits should not, where as some families cheat the system taking viable resources that could be life or death for a child in need. Even though these programs are intended to help these children and families at need, tying to obtain this help is not only stressful for the family but also the child or children involved (Burnett, Personal Interview).

Children in poverty are affected mentally, emotionally, and physically not to mention these children are prone to a shorter life span. Poverty affects children before they are even born, parents already in poverty do not receive the adequate prenatal care need for the child to develop properly. In addition, the child is at risk of being born prematurely and often they will suffer from birth defects and developmental delays (Meltzer). The stressful situations these children encounter on a daily bases can led the child to have low self-esteem and difficulties forming relationships with other even before they enter school. Not only are the children education impacted by poverty their choice of schooling is also impacted. Many underprivileged children are forced to attend under funded schools; statistics show that these children will ultimately drop out of high school and give birth during the teenage years. These children will often fall behind when entering school. A child who attends a under funded school or fall behind could be the start of the child not learning to read and write proficiently, they are also likely to continue to struggle as a high school student. Having poor grades in high school, his/her future for attending college is seriously limited. Since most careers are often tied to higher education. The lack of a high school or even a college degree sets the poor child up for a lifetime of struggle never making it out of the struggle they already know (Payne).

Emotionally these children are traumatized, even from birth the emotional problem are clear/ children that experience poverty are more likely to experience depression, posttraumatic stress disorders, they are also more likely to become a victim of the court system. Suicide rates are high among children living in poverty. Approximately, thirty thousand children living in poverty take there lives each year. Although traumatic for all children, the NPC conducted a research showing how children react to poverty. When some children grow up in it they learn to slowly over come the situation they are in and turn out better, while other are constantly in a downward spiral . If you look out into your community, you would see numerous cases of emotional behavior based on poverty (Joliffe and Filiak). Ruby Payne identified the behavior related to children in poverty which included: physically fighting, easily angered, unaffected when being disciplined, cheating, stealing, argue loudly (Payne). Emotionally attachment and a sense of security are hard to achieve thus making the child hierarchy of need for children incomplete, leaving one of more of the following out: esteem, belonging, physiological, safety, or self-actualization (Ettinger, R.H P.437.) .

Countless children in poverty go on day in and day out hungry not having the proper nutrition to function nor keep a healthy body. Five million children are deprived of appropriate nutrition and housing conditions of those five million, One point five million children under the age of five suffer from health in food deprivations which stunt there bodies from growing properly (Nicely). Low birth weights and increased risks of infant mortality are high even before the child is born. Poverty affects every organ and every aspect of a child existence. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that people living in extreme poverty tend to have more chronic illnesses, more frequent and severe diseases and more complications also. Obesity, heart disease and asthma are also big in children living in poverty; these illnesses can continue to affect them later in adulthood. Along with the items listed above there are countless other health issues these children suffer at the hands of poverty.

Think about your children would you want them to experience these things because of poverty. How can we end this epidemic that takes over numerous lives. Today’s children that are in poverty are all too often tomorrow’s parent raising a child in poverty. Poverty is often generational passing from one generation to the next generation affecting the long-term health, wellbeing and productivity of families, which affects the society as a whole. Therefore, I challenge you, as well as myself, to extend a helping hand to help the ones who cannot help themselves and break the revolving door of poverty.