Guidelines on parental care practices for child protection professionals: Doctors Without Borders

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSF) guidelines on parental care practices are aimed at professionals in the child protection system.

In response to a query from CNA on Friday (December 27), Médecins Sans Frontières said the professionals are those who work directly with vulnerable families, which include children who have suffered or suffered abuse, neglect or harm are exposed to risk.

The professionals include social service providers in family service centers and child protection specialist centers as well as some professionals in the health and education sectors.

“The guidelines support professionals to address important areas with the families they work with, such as maintaining healthy parent-child boundaries and finding appropriate solutions to their particular circumstances to support the child’s wellbeing,” said a spokesman for the ministry.

Doctors Without Borders’ guidelines sparked controversy after The Straits Times published an article about it earlier this month, which mentioned recommendations on privacy and bathing for children.

The ministry said the guidelines would be shared with professionals “to ensure a consistent and targeted approach to protecting children”.

“While other professionals may consider these guidelines when supporting mainstream families, they are not intended to be enforced or mandated in all parenting contexts. Instead, they are intended to serve as an additional educational resource for practitioners,” MSF said.

Médecins Sans Frontières added that the guidelines took about a year to develop in consultation with experts such as hospital pediatricians, religious leaders, social workers and the Education Ministry’s advisory department to ensure they were “workable and practical for families in the child protection system.”

QUESTIONS ABOUT APPROPRIATE EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES

MSF said it had received reports or inquiries from professionals and parents involved in child protection work about whether certain parenting practices were appropriate.

In one example of such practices, a parent regularly bathed an eight-year-old child of the opposite sex when the child had no difficulty bathing independently and was uncomfortable with the arrangement.

In another example, a parent regularly slept alone in the same bed as a 13-year-old child of the opposite sex, even though the child was uncomfortable with the practice.

“While preliminary investigations did not reveal any untoward intentions or unlawful behavior, MSF or the professionals involved had to advise the affected parents to maintain healthy boundaries with their child,” the ministry said.

It continues: “MSF believes that all parents want a healthy and respectful relationship with their children and that their children grow into adults with positive and healthy relationships with others.”

“However, the examples show that parents’ practices can sometimes inadvertently result in their child becoming more vulnerable to harm in other contexts, such as schools and other social settings, due to a lack of awareness of clear family boundaries.”

If a child is repeatedly pressured by their parents or carers to show affection, such as hugging or kissing someone they feel uncomfortable or anxious around, this could “cause the child to suppress their feelings and reduce the likelihood that it will flag other people who make them feel uncomfortable,” said Doctors Without Borders.

In cases involving families with special circumstances, such as those with older children with disabilities or developmental delays, professionals will work with them to ensure the children’s daily needs are met and healthy family boundaries are maintained, Doctors Without Add boundaries.

The ministry warned that “the guidelines are not intended to be enforceable rules or an exhaustive list of what parents can and cannot do.”

“Instead, they serve as general principles to help professionals determine what works best for each family and to support parents in building healthy and strong relationships with their children while taking into account each family’s unique circumstances.” , it said.