Welcome, Shielded Space Readers!
I apologise for my inconsistent posts. However, I can assure you that I have been busy, and I will share details of what I have been up to very soon.
In the meantime, today, I am shining the spotlight on Affluent neglect (Sounds like an oxymoron) and its profound impact on children’s well-being. This blogpost will explain what affluent neglect entails and its effect on children.
Image credit: giving compass
Firstly, Child Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, and this affects children across all socioeconomic backgrounds. While poverty-related neglect is more commonly recognised, affluent neglect can be just as damaging, albeit less visible.
Affluent neglect encompasses emotional distance, lack of supervision, and pressure for achievement, despite material abundance. This neglect is challenging to spot due to societal perceptions and biases. Signs include social withdrawal, academic struggles, substance abuse, and difficulty forming attachments. Affluent neglect can lead to long-term mental and physical health issues and risky behaviours in adulthood.
Contributing factors to Affluent Neglect include parental pressure, lack of time, and societal expectations. Affluent neglect often intersects with other forms of abuse and neglect, exacerbating its impact on children.
The emotional neglect experienced by children in Affluent homes, coupled with their exposure to the toxic trio (domestic abuse, parental substance misuse, and parental mental illness) constitute an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE). ACEs are known to have lasting effects on children’s development and well-being, affecting them well into adulthood.
Our next blogpost would be focused on how Affluent Neglect can be handled by school staff.
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