SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Social and Family Development’s ( MSF ) guidelines on parental caregiving practices are intended for professionals in the child protection system.
According to MSF, the professionals are those who work directly with at-risk families, which include children who have experienced or are putting themselves in danger of harm, neglect, or abuse, according to a CNA question on Friday ( Dec 27 ).
The professionals include those who work in the social support and education sectors as well as those who work in the family and education sectors.
The recommendations help professionals with addressing crucial concerns with families they work with, such as maintaining good parent-child limitations and finding appropriate solutions to their individual circumstances, according to a government spokesman.
The Straits Times published an article about MSF’s rules earlier this month that included suggestions for protection and bathing kids.
The department stated that the guidelines are made available to professionals to “ensure a consistent and focused approach to supporting kids.”
” While additional professionals may take these suggestions into account when supporting mainstream people, they are not intended to be prescriptive or enforced in any way.” Rather, they are intended to serve as an additional parenting source for professionals”, MSF said.
MSF added that the rules took about one month to create, in discussion with experts such as medical paediatricians, religious leaders, social workers and the Ministry of Education’s Guidance Branch, to ensure that they were “feasible and functional for families in the child safety system”.
Issues ON APPROPRIATE PARENTING Techniques
MSF reported or questioned questions about some parenting techniques from experts and parents involved in child safety function.
When an eight-year-old child of the opposite sex did not have problems taking a bath separately and had expressed unease as a result, a parent frequently bathed the child.
In another instance, a family often slept alone in the same pillow as a 13-year-old baby of the opposite gender, despite the boy’s pain with the practice.
” MSF or the pros involved had to recommend the parent concerned to maintain healthy restrictions with their child,” the department said, “while preliminary questions did not reveal any untoward intention or illegal do.”
It continued,” MSF believes that all parents want their kids to have good and nurturing relationships with them, and that all children should develop into adults with positive and nurturing relationships with others.”
The examples provide evidence that occasionally parents ‘ actions may unintentionally make their child more prone to harm in other settings like schools and other social settings, such as avoiding the clear boundaries of their families.
If a child is repeatedly pressured by their parents or other caregivers to show affection, such as by hugging or kissing someone they don’t feel well or afraid of, it may” condition the child to suppress their feelings and lessen their ability to report other people who make them feel uncomfortable,” according to MSF.
Professionals will work with families with special circumstances, such as those with older children with disabilities or developmental delays, to make sure that the children’s daily needs are met and that healthy family boundaries are maintained, MSF added.
The ministry urged parents to be aware that the guidelines are not intended to be guidelines for strict enforcement or an exhaustive list of what they can and cannot do.
Instead, they serve as general guidelines to assist professionals in determining what works best for each family and supporting parents in developing strong, healthy relationships with their children, while acknowledging each family’s unique circumstances, it said.