Reader with guidelines for raising happy children released by WCD Ministry

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has released a reader titled ‘Raising Happy Children and Providing Safe Childhoods’.

Divided into three parts, the reader aims to serve as a guide for parents, teachers and community members on how to prevent crime and violence by children and give suggestions to help them create a more protective and caring environment for their children.

Key Points highlighted in the Reader

• In the fast-changing world, it has been observed that children have limited interaction with those around them and have become more withdrawn due to the impact of technology.

• Children in collectivist cultures were brought up with the confidence that they could approach any member of their community when in need of help but this reliance on the community is diminishing with time.

• Violence experienced by children in their lives makes them react in a negative manner.

• Children coming from different class, caste and religion face different kind and levels of deprivation in this changing politico-economic structure.

• The six major deprivations that affect majority of children in India include education, immunization, nutrition, shelter, sanitation and water.

• An inadequate home life is a major contributor to delinquency, increasing the chances of a child committing criminal offences.

Following are the three divisions of the reader:

Part I: for Parents

Part II: for Teachers

Part III: for Community members

Each part briefly discusses few major problems that can push children on the wrong side of the law, the early signs of risk and what each of them can do to strengthen the protection or intervene to reduce risks surrounding their children.

Overall, the reader draws upon good practices across the world that have proven to be successful in keeping children safe and away from delinquent behaviour and suggests a broad framework for imbibing positive skills such as conflict resolution and violence prevention to keep them protected and help them achieve their full potential.