What is the difference between children’s ‘needs’ and children’s ‘wants’? How should parents respond to the changing demands of their children? Do different children need the same things? Kids Need…, an attractively illustrated set of cards and instruction booklet, is an innovative tool for practitioners involved in the assessment of children in need.
Designed to fit the British government’s ‘common assessment framework’ for the assessment of children in need, these cards present a creative and distinctive approach to assessing parenting and working with families and carers to explore perceptions of what children really need. The cards are divided into ‘children need’, ‘children sometimes need’ and ‘children don’t need’ with a range of circumstances such as ‘a room of their own’, ‘to be believed’, ‘to make mistakes’ and ‘to visit family and friends’. These scenarios help parents reflect on their parenting style and methods.
Contents:
- Introduction.
- Why use Cards?
- Who can use them?
- A Therapeutic Tool.
- An Assessment Tool.
- Working with Individuals and Groups.
- Using the Cards.
- Further Ideas.
- Recording.
- References.
Author Bio:
Mark Hamer is a social worker in child protection who works on the Option 2 programme in Cardiff – an intensive intervention programme to assist families in which parents have a problem with substance misuse – which was awarded a national Community Care award for its innovative work. He has written a number of books on social work and child care.
