Children Matter!

Don't be a bystander to bullying

Link: EducationGuardian.co.uk.

According to one study, published in the Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 85% of bullying takes place with bystanders present. The same study found that nearly 60% of the time bullying will stop in less than 10 seconds when peers intervene.

There is a consistent body of evidence to suggest that bullying may be fuelled by the behaviour of onlookers: not only children and young people who actively encourage bullying incidents, but those whose silence implies approval, or at least tolerance. There is also evidence to indicate that it may be easier to change the behaviour of bystanders than the behaviour of children who bully.

More athe link above

Supporting Parents, Strengthening communities

Link: Home Office

Parents across the country whose families are showing signs of anti-social behaviour will be given a helping hand after the Government today announced it will set up a network of parenting experts as part of a wider drive to promote respect in all our communities.

Dedicated parenting experts will be established in 77 areas across England, through a £4 million boost in Government funding, to ensure that those parents who are worried about their children’s behaviour can get the help they need to put an end to the bad behaviour and bring up happier, better behaved children.

Frontline staff tackling anti-social behaviour will call on these parenting experts to provide help to families in evidence based parenting classes or sometimes on a one to one basis.

This new package of support comes on the same day as research shows that the public think that parents not bringing up their children properly is one of the main causes of anti-social behaviour. The key findings of the survey are:

* 53 per cent say poor parenting is one of the key causes of anti-social behaviour;

* 55 per cent say better parenting would do most to reduce crime;

* four out of five people agree that parents should be held responsible for the bad behaviour of their children;

* 92 per cent would like to see all ten year olds indoors and off the streets at 8:30pm on school nights;

    * 95 per cent support police taking children under 16 home if they are being anti-social after 9pm; and

* one third of parents would look for help from their friends and family when dealing with difficult or troublesome behaviour and two thirds would find help from outside these useful.

More at the link above

Children - the promise of hope

Children Matter is part of the Viva Network, a worldwide coalition working on behalf of children in need. Their 2005 conference sought to examine the connection between our compassion and Christian beliefs and discover key biblical strands that might inform our thinking. This article is taken from the transcript of one of the plenary sessions.

If we take seriously that “Children are the Promise of Hope for Every Generation” and wish to move beyond any sense of cliché or sentimentality, then our task is inter-generational. It is to ensure all children know the fullness of the hope Christ gives and calls them to. There is the need to grasp fresh ways of seeing children and youth, recognising their dignity, capacity and potential for partnership and participation while providing them with guidance and nurture. We need to assure them space, security and opportunity to explore, express and enjoy hope. That will require real and meaningful support for caregivers and their communities and taking seriously policies in the light of their potential impact on children. Finally, if we are serious about children as the promise of hope for the future it is our responsibility to listen, hear and act on that hope.

Click here for the full article

Church Project for Bereaved Children to Run Out of Funds

Link: Christian

A pioneering project to help bereaved children overcome the loss of a loved one is facing an uncertain future as its funds are expected to run dry by April 2006. Richmond’s Hope at Craigmillar Church in Edinburgh, has provided hundreds of children with support after suffering a traumatic bereavement since it was set up three years ago with grant funding, reports The Scotsman.

The only purpose-built facility of its kind in Scotland was set up with grants from organisations including Children in Need and the National Lottery which will run dry by March 2006.

Liz Henderson, minister of Richmond Craigmillar Church and the brainchild behind the project said the centre urgently needs investment of around �150,000 per year for the next three years in order for it to keep up its work with the bereaved children.

Children, Great Need, Great Potential

By Jim and Carol Pluddemann

In recent years many have awakened to the horrible realties of suffering
children around the world. WE weep for the abuse and exploitation millions
of children face in today’s sick world of slavery, child labor, child
soldiers, street children, and prostitution rings.

In this reality, the story of Naaman and the young slave girl in 2 Kings 5
takes on a new meaning. Imagine the horror this child survived when bands
from Aram raided Israel and took children as slaves. She ended up in the
house of Naaman, commander of the Aram’s army. Who knows what life was like
for this young girl snatched away from her family and living in a strange
country? No doubt she was treated as a piece of property, abused and
dehumanized.

But look what God did in this dark situation: the child slave pointed
Commander Naaman to God Almighty! “Now I know that there is no God in all
the world except Israel,” Naaman confessed. The slave girl became one of the
most influential missionaries in the Old Testament.

One compassionate heart nurtures 2,000

Link: Children's Ministry Magazine.
All over the world Christian people, groups and churches are making a difference on behalf of children. This snapshot from a longer story captures what is possible when people are touched by compassion.

Staggering poverty as she had never seen before and children abandoned to the polluted streets made her reel in disgust. Binh saw children who were beggars, street peddlers, and prostitutes. In Vietnamese society these children are known as children of the dust, having no value whatsoever. Binh came home and never forgot what she had seen.

That same year, she founded Children of Peace International (COPI). It began as one orphanage with 27 Vietnamese children. Her own salary fed, clothed, and educated the children. Now her nonprofit Christian organization depends upon donations to support 2,000 children in five orphanages in Vietnam. In addition to the orphanages, COPI helps provide medical equipment to children’s hospitals, funds English classes, and supports Operation Bootstrap for small business development in Vietnam.

At least twice a year, Binh travels to Vietnam to check in on the orphans she loves so deeply. Her trips are packed full of meetings and delivering donated supplies and gifts for the children. On her most recent trip, I was fortunate to tag along to capture the images that would tell the story of one small woman who is making a huge difference in a forgotten corner of the world. We traveled with a team of doctors and dentists who worked with not only kids in the orphanage but also with the village children who had probably never seen a doctor or dentist before.

New research needed to reduce suicide in our young people

HDA:
Youth suicide is a major global public health issue and consistently ranks as one of the leading cause of death for adolescents aged 15 -19. Suicide accounts for 30% of deaths in the 15-24 year age group. Studies have shown that many young people that die by suicide or who make a serious attempt have a recognisable psychiatric disorder such as depression, anxiety, conduct disorder and substance abuse at the time of their attempt.

This is a detailed briefing and can be found at the link above

Understanding God's Heart for Children

Our friends at the Viva Network have spent some time working on a biblical framework document with respect to God's attitude to children. More concise than a book, this type of summary will often give us both the language to communicate our vision and remind us of the scope of what we are called to. The document below is 'a work in progress'. Any insights you might have can be added via the Comment facility at the end of the article and will be passed onto the authors.

UNDERSTANDING GOD’S HEART - BIBLICAL FRAMEWORK

Childswickham, September 8th, 2004

1. God creates every unique person as a child with dignity.

We all begin life as children, created in the image of God. Children are born fully human, with identity and purpose. The journey of childhood is part of God’s plan. All people reflect God’s image through living in loving community with him and one another. Children most fully express their God-given dignity in glorifying Him.

God intends that no one prevent a child’s life from fulfilling His purpose. Respecting the image of God in every child demands a Christ-like response to nurture them throughout childhood.

Some biblical references:

Are you close to burnout?

Children's Ministry Magazine
Here's some thought provoking questions. Click the link above for the whole feature

Do you have a boundary problem? Check off the questions below that you’ve actually asked yourself. • Will I ever get a day off? • Do these expenses come out of my pocket or the church’s budget? • Why am I waking up in the night worrying about my job? • Why do I always bring work home with me? • Why do I have so much vacation time left at the end of the year? • When was the last time I enjoyed my hobby? • Do I really look as tired as people say? • Am I eating so much because I’m hungry or because I’m trying to take my mind off my work? • Does everyone have the recurring nightmare of a cell phone chasing them? • How in the world am I going to write curriculum and recruit volunteers at the same time?

If you’ve ever asked yourself any of these questions, you probably have a boundary problem. You need to re-establish your boundaries.

Responding to Bullying - especially among Girls

Beliefnet.com

Rachel Simmons, 29, author of two books on girl bullying, has been on both sides of the playground fence: “I was both a bully and someone who was bullied. In particular my experience being bullied really stuck with me and hurt me. It was something that remained unresolved for me." Years later, while researching her book, Odd Girl Out, she got in touch with the girl she had bullied--and apologized. Simmons speaks to student groups and works with the Empower Program, which gives workshops around the country on preventing school violence. She spoke with Beliefnet about "expanding people’s understanding of adolescent aggression—it's not just the stocky boy in the schoolyard who is going to kick your butt for your lunch money.”

This is a detailed interview and can be reached via the link above