Family Matters 48

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Part 6

Family problems and support services in Hong Kong


Child care

Source 1: News report

Home alone children called for help

A nine-year-old boy telephoned the police for help four days after his father left him, his sister and his brother home alone and went to the mainland. Their mother, who is divorced from their father, could not be found.
The child told the police on Wednesday that he, his 10-year-old sister and 12-year-old brother had only biscuits left to eat. They had no money to buy food or to go to school.
A social worker said parents should keep a close eye on their children at all times. If they have problems they should seek help from the Social Welfare Department or community organizations for child-care services.
“Leaving children alone at home is very dangerous. They could be injured or fall out of a window. In some cases the result could be loss of lives,” she said. “Children of 12 are not old enough to take care of themselves.”
The social worker said the present child care services run by the SAR Government were insufficient and inflexible and she urged the Government to allocate more resources.
A recent survey showed that one out of five working mothers who were new arrivals from the mainland left their children unattended because they could not afford child care service.
(Adapted from a newspaper, 15 September 2000)


Source 2: FAQ


: I have difficulties in taking care of my child. What residential child care services are available?
Residential child care services provide care and supervision for children and young persons under the age of 21 who cannot be cared for by their families because of various reasons such as behaviour, emotional or relationship problem, or family crisis arising from illness, death and desertion.
What should I do if I want to apply for residential child care services?
To separate children from their families should be considered only when there is no better alternative. If residential child care service is considered necessary, parents may contact welfare service units in the community.
Both my husband and I have to work in the daytime and we have a small child to take care of. What kind of services can help us?
You can make use of Government aided day child care services for children under 6 years. Most child care centres open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday and 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Besides, there are centres which provide extended hours service to meet the special needs of parents who require longer hours of child care services.
(Adapted from the web page of the Social Welfare Department)

For your information

Child care service

It aims to support the family and take care of children under 6.

Here are some Non-governmental Organizations (NGO) providing child care service:

NGO / Web sites
Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service / http://www.bokss.org.hk/
Christian Family Service Centre / http://www.cfsc.org.hk/
Tung Wah Group of Hospitals / http://www.tungwah.org.hk/
Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service / http://www.lutheran.org.hk/
Po Leung Kuk / http://www.poleungkuk.org.hk/
St. James' Settlement / http://www.sjs.org.hk/
Residential child care services

They are provided for children and young persons under the age of 21 who cannot be adequately cared for by their families.

Here is a Non-governmental Organization (NGO) providing residential child care service:

NGO / Web site
Po Leung Kuk / http://www.poleungkuk.org.hk/

After reading sources 1 and 2, please answer the following questions.

a. Why did the child call the police for help?

b. Where had their father gone?

c. Why didn’t their mother stay home?

d. What are the possible dangers when parents leave their children alone at home?

e. Can the family mentioned in source 1 apply for residential child care services? Why?

f. Do you think it is easy for families to be given residential child care services? Why?

g. Can the family mentioned in source 1 apply for day child care services? Why?

Child abuse

Child abuse occurs when an adult or adults treat a child badly or hurt the child. The abuse can be physical, emotional, sexual, or a combination of all three.

Group discussion


With reference to the picture above, fill in the following table during your discussion.

What would you do?
if you discover that the child living next door to you has been abused
if you have been abused

What have you learned?

You are able to

1.  contact the child care services available to needy families;

2.  do your part in preventing child abuse.