Addressing child protection

Why do professionals treat these children differently?

So, why do we deal with a child’s distress over a parental alcohol problem in a different way to the way that we deal with other problems?

The reason is generally that when we realise that there are parental alcohol problems involved, we feel unsure of what to do and that this lies outside of our competence. We also feel that, even if we found out more from the child, we still would not know what to do, so further assessment is not a useful next step. These feelings are usually not based on fact; very often just having an adult there and listening supportively is enough for a child (see below where this is looked at in more depth).

It is likely that these feelings on our part, as generic professionals, arise because of two related chains of reasons. The first chain of reasons relates to the fact that most of us as professionals focus on the parental problem, not the child’s distress.

This is not just in relation to distress caused by parental alcohol problems; we tend to do this in relation to distress in a child no matter what the parental problems are that has caused it.

When we do this, we see if we can ‘understand’ this parental problem, because if we can, then we think that we will be more likely to help the child.

When we try to understand the parental problem, we find that there are some problems that we think that we can understand. These will include such issues as parental arguments, parental separation and divorce, and even a parent having a major physical illness.

With these parental problems, we will commonly feel that (for example) we understand that couples argue, and that divorce is now a normative experience, and hence we feel that we can empathise with the parental problem. This then allows us to think that we understand and empathise with how the child might be feeling as well, and this empowers us to feel that we can help the child cope with it too. We might say something along the lines of: ‘Is it a bit difficult at home at the moment then? Are Mum and Dad arguing a lot? Does it ever make you feel a bit uncertain about what’s going to happen to the family, and to you? Would you like to talk about that a bit with me?’

Similarly, if a child is upset because they have learnt that a parent has a major illness, again, most of us as professionals will feel that we can understand what ‘having a major illness’ might mean, and therefore understand and empathise with how the child might be feeling, and hence feel that we can offer support and help to the child. We might say something along the lines of: ‘I can see that it must be difficult for you, worrying about your Mum (or your Dad) and how ill they are at the moment. Would you like to talk about that a bit with me?’

However, with other parental problems, many of us feel that we do not understand the problem, and therefore cannot empathise with it, and hence we feel disempowered to help the child cope with it. Problems of this type that seem to be less understandable include parental alcohol problems, but are likely also to include parental mental illness, and parental drug problems.

The second chain of reasons also relates to our focus on, and understanding of, the parent’s problem (and not the child’s distressed response).

If we ‘understand’ (or think that we understand) the nature of the parent’s problem, then we will usually feel that we can make an assessment of the risk to which the child is being exposed.

So, with parental divorce, we might ask a few questions to assess how dangerous the situation is. Then, alongside our own knowledge of the range of what inter-couple arguments can look like, we would make an assessment as to whether the child is at serious risk or not.

But with problems where we feel a lack of competence and knowledge, both as a professional and as a member of society, then we are more likely to feel that we cannot make such an assessment adequately or competently, and hence we are more likely to feel that we must refer the child on for a specialist child protection assessment with social services.

The net result is that children in these circumstances are not helped by the very people who are best placed to help them.

Bibliography

Barber, J.G. (1994) Alcohol addiction: private trouble or social issue? Social Service Review, no. 68(4), pp521-35.

Fisher, G.L., Jenkins, S.J. and Held, N. (1989) Pre-service teachers’ use of and attitudes toward alcohol and other drugs, Journal of Drug Education, no. 19(4), pp373-84.

Lightfoot, P.J.C. and Orford, J. (1986) Helping agents’ attitudes towards alcohol-related problems: Situations vacant? A test and elaboration of a model, British Journal of Addiction, no. 81, pp149-75.