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03-26-2004, 02:57 AM
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Too many kids at risk: expert
26 March 2004 http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/images/null.gifBy JANINE RANKIN
New Zealand should be pouring more money into supporting young families to stem the costs of children's school failure, mental illness, and criminal behaviour later on, says MidCentral Health paediatrician Giles Bates.
Dr Bates was speaking at a Learning and Behaviour Charitable Trust seminar in Palmerston North yesterday on the links between specific learning disabilities and offending.
He said too many New Zealand children grew up with chronic adversity, at risk of failing to read, of abusing drugs and alcohol, having poor self esteem and likely to get into trouble.
Three out of 10 New Zealand children grew up in poverty. Others faced challenges such as watching their parents fight, being abused themselves, the death of a parent, or they lived with violence, chronic illness, or mental illness.
"It's a cumulative risk. The more of these factors you have, the more likely you are to have adverse outcomes.
"The outcomes are no surprise. You can read about them almost every day in the newspaper."
As many as four out of 10 children who grew up in harsh home environments, where parenting was inconsistent and they heard little positive language, were likely to have some level of difficulty for the rest of their lives.
For those children who were of normal intelligence, learning to read well gave them a huge advantage and a resilience to do well despite other adversities.
"Early intervention is the key. I don't think there is any doubt we should be putting more money into it. There are some wonderful programmes around, but just not enough.
"We should be pouring money into at-risk families from the moment Mum is pregnant, or as soon as the baby is born."
Dr Bates said every dollar spent on intervention would save $6 in future in the costs of dealing with the consequences of inaction.
And specific learning difficulties, which occurred for more than one in 10 children, were detectable in preschoolers, and could be addressed early.
Although New Zealand was a world leader in reading recovery, Dr Bates said most programmes only targeted those with the most complex needs.
If similar attention was paid to the needs of the next group down, there were potentially huge benefits to be gained in ensuring their success and reducing the risks of offending, and teenage pregnancy.
"The thing that upsets me almost the most is the eight to 10-year-old neat kid with a sparkle, and you see them losing that and starting to rebel against the school system that is not meeting their needs."
Dr Bates said he was appalled whenever nine or 10 year olds were actually expelled from school.
He said the children with learning and behaviour problems who had at least one adult to stick up for them, who would go to school and stand up for them, had some protection.
"But the families who worry us most are those who will not engage with support agencies.
"They keep moving, and changing schools, and it is very difficult to help those children."
Where families were prepared to get help, early intervention that encouraged parents to use positive language and read to their children could have huge benefits, he said.
"There are young people who want to do the best for their children, but just don't know how."
Helping them to improve the way they interacted with their children could produce a raft of benefits, from better language and social skills, to less abuse, improved immunisation rates, fewer unplanned pregnancies and healthier lifestyle habits.
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http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/images/null.gifhttp://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/images/null.gif
Too many kids at risk: expert
26 March 2004 http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/images/null.gifBy JANINE RANKIN
New Zealand should be pouring more money into supporting young families to stem the costs of children's school failure, mental illness, and criminal behaviour later on, says MidCentral Health paediatrician Giles Bates.
Dr Bates was speaking at a Learning and Behaviour Charitable Trust seminar in Palmerston North yesterday on the links between specific learning disabilities and offending.
He said too many New Zealand children grew up with chronic adversity, at risk of failing to read, of abusing drugs and alcohol, having poor self esteem and likely to get into trouble.
Three out of 10 New Zealand children grew up in poverty. Others faced challenges such as watching their parents fight, being abused themselves, the death of a parent, or they lived with violence, chronic illness, or mental illness.
"It's a cumulative risk. The more of these factors you have, the more likely you are to have adverse outcomes.
"The outcomes are no surprise. You can read about them almost every day in the newspaper."
As many as four out of 10 children who grew up in harsh home environments, where parenting was inconsistent and they heard little positive language, were likely to have some level of difficulty for the rest of their lives.
For those children who were of normal intelligence, learning to read well gave them a huge advantage and a resilience to do well despite other adversities.
"Early intervention is the key. I don't think there is any doubt we should be putting more money into it. There are some wonderful programmes around, but just not enough.
"We should be pouring money into at-risk families from the moment Mum is pregnant, or as soon as the baby is born."
Dr Bates said every dollar spent on intervention would save $6 in future in the costs of dealing with the consequences of inaction.
And specific learning difficulties, which occurred for more than one in 10 children, were detectable in preschoolers, and could be addressed early.
Although New Zealand was a world leader in reading recovery, Dr Bates said most programmes only targeted those with the most complex needs.
If similar attention was paid to the needs of the next group down, there were potentially huge benefits to be gained in ensuring their success and reducing the risks of offending, and teenage pregnancy.
"The thing that upsets me almost the most is the eight to 10-year-old neat kid with a sparkle, and you see them losing that and starting to rebel against the school system that is not meeting their needs."
Dr Bates said he was appalled whenever nine or 10 year olds were actually expelled from school.
He said the children with learning and behaviour problems who had at least one adult to stick up for them, who would go to school and stand up for them, had some protection.
"But the families who worry us most are those who will not engage with support agencies.
"They keep moving, and changing schools, and it is very difficult to help those children."
Where families were prepared to get help, early intervention that encouraged parents to use positive language and read to their children could have huge benefits, he said.
"There are young people who want to do the best for their children, but just don't know how."
Helping them to improve the way they interacted with their children could produce a raft of benefits, from better language and social skills, to less abuse, improved immunisation rates, fewer unplanned pregnancies and healthier lifestyle habits.