UAE | General
What makes a parent negligent?
The unsupervised child: parental neglect or necessity?
- As told to Malavika Kamaraju, Associate Editor
- Published: 20:23 November 28, 2011
- Image Credit: Gulf News archive
- Dr Onita Nakra, Educational Psychologist, Counsellor, American School of Dubai.
Dubai: Parenting responsibility includes taking care of a child’s physical, emotional and educational well-being, says Dr Onita Nakra, Educational Psychologist, Counsellor, American School of Dubai.
According to her, “Parental neglect is said to occur when a parent fails to attend to the child’s needs in any of these areas. For example, not taking the child to the doctor when medical attention is needed; or neglecting to provide adequate food, clothing, education and shelter.
“The recent series of accidents that have been highlighted in the media focus on an important question – what psychological factors would lead a parent to create a dangerous environment for their child? After all, no parent would knowingly put their child in a dangerous situation such as enabling a child to fall out of a balcony in their high-rise apartment.
“Is there a greater need to educate parents about safety issues and if so whose responsibility is this?” asks Dr Nakra.
She outlines the primary reasons that lead to parental negligence.
Stressed and overwhelmed by parental responsibilities
“Parents who have to juggle home and careers may often be so busy and tired that they could overlook safety issues around their home. Often the thinking could be, ‘I’ll be back in just a minute’ and all that it takes is really just a minute for an accident to occur. A family relocating from a villa to a high rise building may be ignorant of certain aspects that they need to look out for – does the balcony have high railings? Should the windows have grills or bars? Parents may need to make certain lifestyle changes to accommodate the different developmental stages of their children. The simplest rule to follow is: never leave a child alone, not even when they are asleep.”
Multiple work demands
“This often leave parents exhausted which results in them spending less time preparing their children how to manage their independence. Safety skills should be on ongoing conversation within a family. One has to only look at how parents in the UAE permit their children to drive around in cars without fastening the seat belt; run around unsupervised in shopping malls and on escalators; or around swimming pools to recognise that parents need specific skill training in managing their child’s safety across all areas of daily life. Awareness of child safety needs to operate at all levels before it can enter meaningfully into the home environment.”
Parents may be ignorant about the developmental needs of their children
“They may over-estimate the understanding of their four year old – a parent may assume that he or she would be able to recognise danger and stay away from it. Young children have a poor sense of judgment and are unable to gauge that a jump from a second floor balcony could end in a fatality or broken bones. Or, parents may assume that an older brother or sister is capable of taking care of a younger sibling. This is particularly true where the family size is large. Safety features around the house must be discussed with all children in the family, especially easy to do if the children are older.”
Lack of knowledge
“Parents often do not look inside their homes for potentially dangerous situations. They are quick to warn their child about how to cross the road but are less sensitive to dangers within the home such as open windows, bath tubs filled with water, food cooking on the fire and so on. Parents need to be better trained to recognise potential areas of dangers whether they are living in a villa or in a high rise apartment. This aspect of parent education is usually absent in the UAE. A step in the right direction would be for property owners or dealers to alert all new tenants who have young children to the various safety aspects of an apartment.”
Timeline
November 24, 2011
A 3-year-old blind boy died after falling from the balcony of his apartment on 14th floor Al Yarmouk tower, near Sahara centre, Sharjah
November 19, 2011
A 4-year-old girl died after falling from the window of their 15th floor apartment building in Al Qasimi area, Sharjah
October 19, 2011
A three-and-a-half year-old Emirati girl was crushed to death by the school bus carrying her elder sister in front of the girl's house in Murabah area, Fujairah.
September 27, 2011
A five-year-old boy and his mother have died after separately falling off the balcony of their flat in the Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai.
April 20, 2011
A three-year-old child died when his uncle accidentally ran him over in Al Ain.
March 09, 2011
British father accidentally run over his child while reversing his car in Dubai.
November 14, 2010
An African three-year-old toddler fell from a fifth-floor balcony in Sharjah was at home with his sick grandmother before he fell to his death.
June 27, 2010
A seven-year-old Arab girl died after she fell off a balcony in a residential apartment located on King Abdul Aziz Road, Sharjah.
January 19, 2010
A three-year-old Emirati national fell to his death from the 13th floor of a high-rise building in Khalidiya, Abu Dhabi.
July 14, 2009
A five-year-old Syrian boy died by drowning in the swimming pool of his villa in Al Ghusais, Dubai.
September 01, 2008
Omar Salem, a four-year-old Emirati boy, drowned in the swimming pool at his house in the Suhailah area in Ras Al Khaimah.
August 27, 2008
A five-year-old Arab girl plunges to her death from the second floor of apartment in Al Ain.
July 07, 2008
A 4-year-old boy drowned after falling into his swimming pool at his home in Dubai.
July 01, 2008
A young Arab girl died when she fell out of the window of her 11th floor apartment in Sharjah.
June 28, 2008
A five-year-old Pakistani boy was killed when he fell from the 5th floor apartment in Sharjah.
May 1, 2008
A two-year-old Pakistani girl N.H.M. died after she was run over by a truck while playing outside her home in Al Sarooj district, Al Ain.
April 01, 2008
A five-year-old Egyptian boy plunged to his death after reaching out and opening a window from atop a sofa from his home on the tenth floor of a building in Abu Dhabi.
March 07, 2008
A three-year-old Egyptian boy died after falling from the seventh floor balcony of his apartment in Fujairah.
June 17, 2007
A seven-year-old boy, Khattaab Saleh, drowned in the pool at a public park in Fujairah.
January 26, 2007
A nine-year-old Indian boy drowned in a swimming pool at a farmhouse in Al Dhaid.
April 09, 2007
A three-and-a-half years old Pakistani boy died when he was dropped from the eighth floor by his mother to save him from a fire.
July 02, 2006
A five-year-old Iranian girl with her three-year-old sister drowned in the swimming pool of her residence in Sharjah
June 18, 2006
A 12-year-old girl drowned and her younger sister was rescued when they were swimming in a hotel pool in Sharjah. The sisters, both UAE nationals, went swimming after 9pm when there were no lifeguards.
Compiled by Gulf News Archives
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