Coronavirus pandemic complicates child commuting

For many children, September marks a return to school after months of absence. Now, commuting is resumed. In North America, Increased distance between home and school, Change of work style and commuting time And Child safety concerns Contribute to “Rear Seat Generation”—Significant increase in children arriving at school by car at the expense of activities such as walking and cycling..

This trend in increasingly escorted or watched children is also seen in other areas Unattended outdoor play (Replaced by structured sports and activities) and Latch key kids (Replaced by after-school care program).

The COVID-19 pandemic causes comprehensible anxiety about many aspects of everyday life, and the return of children to school and the way they get there is no exception. In addition to this anxiety, the continued flexibility of many parental work arrangements may have increased the number of backseats and attendants in September this year, making it even more standard.

External judgment

Families who do not provide face-to-face supervision for their children become increasingly aware of external judgment. In British Columbia, parent Adrian Crook has filed a lawsuit with the Department of Children and Family Development in a recent notable case. Could not use unsupervised transit to go to school..

I was a researcher involved in the research when this incident became news Interviewed parents about their child’s unsupervised time outdoors.. Many parents referred to the case and expressed fear of being “reported.” As Social worker, I found my parents confused and was worried about the policy of the social work organization.

British Columbia belongs to most of Canada’s states and territories where children do not have an unsupervised age. Manitoba And New Brunswick Specify 12 years, Ontario Set the age to 16.

Rational care

The most recent case reported in Manitoba is This age-based standard is supported.. However, in each of these jurisdictions, minor, unsupervised children are a child protection issue only if the responsible adult does not make reasonable provisions for supervision or care.

What makes sense depends on many factors, including: Children’s abilities, feelings of being unsupervised, ability to respond to emergencies, certain risks in their environment.. The same concept of rationality also supports decision making in jurisdictions where age thresholds are not set.

BC Court of Appeal Ruled in favor of Crook in July.. However, this was not a change in BC law or policy regarding unsupervised children, What may not be clear at first glance at some media headlines.. Instead, the final judgment repeatedly stated that social work authorities cannot make decisions regarding children unless the child is caring for them or the authorities have no legal order regarding the children.

Whether BC’s Department of Child and Family Development had the power to direct the care and decision-making of fathers was the focus of the appeal, not the content of the decision itself. This is in contrast to the US case Prompted policy change And Amendment Emphasize that the focus of the child protection system is to identify harms to children or quantifiable risks of harm.

Supervision criteria

Social workers need to talk and gather information with their families to assess the situation of unsupervised children and to determine if there are concerns regarding the protection of their children. However, the supervisory standards that apply vary and must also be reflected.

In recent studies, The average ages allowed for children to play outside in five European countries ranged from 5.8 in Norway to 11.8 in Greece.. Other studies have identified Association of higher rates of outdoor play with unstructured activity and lower socioeconomic status.. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the standards established by law or policies established through policies do not reflect cultural or class-based norms for only one group.

Unfortunately, applying rationality criteria does not provide parents with a clear and unequivocal answer to the question. When can a child go to school? However, you have the flexibility to meet the diverse needs of different families. The best way is to discuss your plans with your child in advance and follow the guidance on how to prepare them.

While this helps reduce the risk of having a child alone, it does not eliminate all the risks of childhood. Ah Risk avoidance society This can lead to a risk-averse child protection system. instead, Children To be “Safe as needed”, not “as safe as possible”.

Pandemic commuting

COVID-19 means that this new semester has new challenges. Children walking with others or going to school need to know guidance and social bubbles to maintain their physical distance requirements.

In areas where the capacity of the bus is limited and the use of masks is mandatory, add to determine if your child is ready to attend school alone or with friends Includes considerations. If they do not follow the guidelines or if challenged, how will they deal with them? How do I react if multiple full capacity buses do not allow boarding?

Due to the variable number of cases of COVID-19, the plan may need to be modified accordingly. However, while it is difficult to comply with these public health requirements, failure of children who do not follow these rules is not in itself a matter of child protection.

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This article is reissued from conversation Under Creative Commons license. Read Original work..