Introduction
There is no need to stress the significance of high-quality care for children. Without the proper resistance to most of the harmful outside effects, which most adults develop by the time that they adapt towards the impact of their environment, children are extremely susceptible to potential threats to their well-being. Hence, efficient childcare services must be provided for children. However, efficient child care services are not available to the representatives of all social classes. According to the data provided by Shore (Larett, 2003), a child can be exposed to many threats in a high-risk neighborhood, which means that childcare services are crucial for the well-being of a child.
Apart from suffering from the inability to be properly cared for, children in low-income families also have to deal with a number of challenges, the key one being the lack of finances.
It should be mentioned, though, that communities address the given problem. Single mothers with lower income can get financial assistance from the corresponding childcare services, as well as have childcare specialists make sure that children are able to report on the instances of abuse that may possibly occur to them in high-risk neighborhoods (Friedlander, Larney, Skau, Hotaling, Cutling & Schwan, 2003).
Situations differ depending on the neighborhood, however. For example, in my school district, children from poor family backgrounds are offered a number of advantages, such as free lunches in the school cafeteria, the ability to talk with the school counselor without making an appointment beforehand, financial assistance, etc. Personally, I would try at the very least to raise awareness regarding the risks that children from low-income families or poor family backgrounds have to face on a regular basis. The more people know about the issues in question, the better; perhaps, a charity fund for providing children from a poor family background with decent care can be established.
Analysis
Promoting moral development in children is another crucial element of upbringing that every parent should keep in mind. As long as a child is capable of defining the difference between what is good and what is bad, (s)he has the chance of integrating into society successfully. Therefore, it is imperative that a child should have at least a basic idea about morals and what they are intended for. While it must be admitted that the concept of morals is not easy to define, one still has to agree that morals perform a very important function in society. In fact, morals can be defined as a set of values that defines the boundaries of people’s social behavioral patterns (Larett, 2003). It should also be mentioned that not only parents but also educators are supposed to help children learn the basic concept of morals. Even in families where parents are able to provide their children with enough care, love, and understanding, parents may be unable to teach their children specific moral values efficiently. Children from families with lower income and less stellar background, in their turn, have even fewer chances for learning the definition of moral and immoral.
Another peculiar question concerns the children from bicultural families. Although it is quite hard to help children learn the principles and values of both cultures, it is desirable that they should. The given experience will help children not only adapt to a particular environment but also shape it. For example, out of two children, one with diverse family background, and the other one from a traditional one, the latter is more likely to ostracize a new student together with the rest of the class, being afraid to lose his/her authority. A student from a diverse background, on the contrary, will be able to voice his/her objection, win the battle against ethnic/racial prejudice, and, perhaps, even become a new leader.
Reference List
Friedlander, M. L., Larney, L. C., Skau, M., Hotaling, M., Cutling, M. L., & Schwan, M. (2003). Bicultural identification: Experiences of internationally adopted children and their parents. In M. Shore (Ed.), The many faces of childhood: Diversity in development (pp. 237–240). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson College Division.
Larett, R. L. (2003). Successful parenting in high-risk neighborhoods. In M. Shore (Ed.), The many faces of childhood: Diversity in development (pp. 122–126). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson College Division.