What is the first thing that comes to our mind when we say “welfare of the child”? Does it have something to do with children’s rights? Does development communication also play a role in promoting the welfare of children? Well, we invited Dr. Heidi Baraan Gonzales, the BS Development Communication Program Chairperson, to be our interviewee to answer and further expand the information regarding this matter.
So, the conversation started with the question, “What is th welfare of the child?” For everyone’s information, in every November, the Philippines celebrates National Children’s Month. Children’s rights as individuals—to have access to healthcare, education, and a healthy environment—are something that this celebration is mean’t to promote for Filipino children. For her, it has to do with child protection and care; we must ensure that the children are safe and that their families can receive the necessary support they need to care for them successfully. She added that it is important that we are supported and that we take action to prevent child abuse and child neglect. Based on her concept of child welfare, It is seen that we need to be aware and conscious of the welfare of our children so that they do not experience what a child should not experienced.
When it comes to the first line of response to child welfare, Dr. Gonzales believed that the support should come from our own family and from the community where the child lives or belongs. In addition to this, she mentioned that every country has child welfare protection services—e.g., DSWD—the main government agency where their child welfare initiatives and projects are based. It cannot be denied that the family, as well as the community should be the first source of support when it comes to the welfare of children, as they are the ones who are most responsible for them. On the other hand, there’s a limit. There’s a limit to how much you can adjust, grow, or understand a child’s well-being. Let’s first define the terms “child” or “youth”. Based on her statement, we have this Presidential Decree 603, an existing child and youth welfare code in the Philippines. It was a signed into law or it was a decree approved and implemented during the time of President Ferdinand Marcos. It’s included in this law that when we say child or youth, they are those who are 21 years of age or below. In the Philippines, that’s how we define a child, minor, or youth. It means, that if you’re over 21, you won’t be consider a child or youth anymore. Although this is only up to 21 and below, it doesn’t mean that those over 21 will not be able to receive support, especially if they have a condition or disability that still requires support, adequate care, and assistance. Because, psychologically speaking, not all human abilities and minds are the same. Some are fine, and some are not. So, if necessary, they should be given what they deserve.
Furthermore, let’s season it with communication, particularly development communication. As she’s a DEVCOM practitioner, we asked her if developmental communication can be considered a good tool for promoting child welfare. “Definitely,” she agreed. According to her, it’s an ideal tool to promote it. We also need to understand that child welfare is a continuing service, and that each country and each locality has its public child welfare agency. Our child welfare system is not a single entity, and this public child welfare agency often collaborates with other groups, other constitutions, and with other organizations for supportive child care initiatives. To sum this statement up, we DEVCOM practitioners and educators can be part of this child welfare system as we are one of the groups who can largely contribute to initiatives to support and advocate child welfare and protection. Of course, as DEVCOM practitioners/educators, we have ways how we can help in promoting the welfare of children. According to her, development communicators are in a unique position because: they can communicate well with children and with families; they can be able to support at-risk children and families to play a role in preventing child abuse and child neglect; they can identify and report suspected abuse or cases of neglect; they can act as liaisons between children’s homes, schools, community; and most especially, they can be an important resource for children who need care and support. And these helpful ways can be done successfully if we educate ourselves. Children’s rights and laws that concern them as well as why they become at-risk—e.g., child abuse/neglect, etc.—to utilize communication properly with the right authorities so that children and families in need of care and support can be reached. Since the rights of the child have been discussed, let’s talk about the importance of protecting the rights of the child. Inequality and injustice are still there because the rates of children at risk nowadays are continuously rising. As she stated, “Every effort should be made to promote the welfare and improve the chances of a child for a useful and happy life, because the welfare of the child is also a matter of social justice, so it needs to be addressed.”, you can tell that the world is very unfair to a child if he/she ends up in an undeserved or undesirable experience. This can be seen when she compared the differences between a child born into—and a child who got sick in—a family with high socioeconomic status to a child born into a low or lower class. We can see the reality, and it’s one of the challenges for children as well as for their parents. That is a concern in our child welfare system, which must be addressed. With the rise of those issues, she still believes “the youth is the hope of our country” and that all the opportunities are there to develop them. But then, on the other hand, she also sees, especially nowadays, that some of the youth themselves have no direction, do not recognize their potential, and do not know how to use their strengths for the greater good, which causes them to lose their way. However, she still maintains that they are the most important asset in nation-building because they will be inherited by the next generation. She does have a point. Because we will not last long in this world. The Lord will take us at the appointed time for us. We grow older whether we want to or not. As the BTS song says, “Life goes on,” so we need to pass it on from one generation to another because the rotation of the world never stops. To support the saying, “The youth is the hope of our country,” it is important to shape a child into good actions for their growth as well as for society. For her, it becomes important by ensuring and making possible the fullest development of a child physically, mentally, emotionally, morally, spiritually, and, of course, socially, to achieve a healthy and normal manner of life and in conditions where they enjoy freedom, appropriate to their corresponding developmental stages (starting from infancy until they grow into adolescence). She added that they need to achieve their fullest development in all aspects of their lives so that they can be productive citizens in the future. Because their future has a tendency to be ruined if there is an aspect that they cannot fully satisfy. They need to be satisfied. It’s their right as a child to grow up well in their childhood and survive in life. As the conversation went on, she pressed into our minds that we, DEVCOM students, can contribute to promoting children’s welfare. We just need to educate ourselves, as advised by her, to acquire knowledge about child welfare, services, and how they work for us to conceive the appropriate projects and interventions for the children and their families. We need to connect with the right people, with the right agency, and with the right group to carry out this advocacy related to child welfare and protection. We need to learn new things related to our advocacies, have initiatives, and be resourceful as catalysts of change. Of course, we should consider our DEVCOM skills to effectively use them in advocating for children’s welfare. The first one she mentioned is communication skills. Aside from our traditional communications skills (reading, speaking, and writing), we need to add social media communication skills because we are really into social media nowadays. These will enable us to learn independently. Another skill she mentioned is thinking skills. These skills involve critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, and creativity. Finally, the abilities that can assist us in working with the team include teamwork, flexibility, ethics, and responsibility. These three skills she mentioned are the skills we need to cultivate as development communication practitioners very soon. These can help to further advocacy such as shaping and promoting a child’s welfare and rights. Here, we see the importance of effective communication and information sharing. She stated that we can achieve effective communication if we are, for example, good listeners and can engage in dialogue within and across the agency. She added that “accuracy” is the key to communication and without it, effective decisions cannot be made because inaccuracy can lead to children remaining at risk and the possibility of doing the wrong action. And even worse, it might affect the children even more if we do incorrect communication. For effective communication sharing, we need to share information when we are in this line of work. We must share information among practitioners, local organizations, and agencies to identify the need, assess the situation, and plan services to keep children safe. We need to be able to communicate effectively and share information effectively to keep children safe from harm. Speaking of keeping the children safe from harm, she added that it requires information to be shared about child health development—e.g., the information about exposure to possible harm, the parents who may need help or may not be able to care for the children adequately.
For the final word of advice/thoughts of Dr. Gonzales, it has something to do with her conclusion to ordinary citizens, especially to parents who lack the knowledge to shape their children into a healthy lifestyle (that includes those affected by the situation and those brought by the system). According to her, “The family and community are the ones that have a big responsibility in enabling children’s protection and well-being as they are with the child 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” But, sadly, there are times when families, parents, and the community themselves experience bad treatment, neglect, harm, and abuse of children. Ordinary citizens and parents who care should keep an eye out for children. All we need here is you just need to know what to look for, what their options are, so you can help them, and where you can get them that help, whenever or wherever possible. Be vigilant, Be observant. Maybe later your neighbor will not know that there is already a child being abused. Look at the physical signs. But you need evidence. Maybe we can be persuasive and perceptive in the environment so that we can identify who needs help. Simply raising awareness in your small ways is a huge help. ” As a parent or guardian, it is our right to protect and care for our children, not only because it is our responsibility but because it is their right.” For ordinary citizens and development communicators/practitioners who encounter any kind of child abuse, don’t be a bystander, but be an upstander.
