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Children in Self-Care: A New Perspective

NCJ Number
126530
Journal
Child Welfare Volume: 69 Issue: 6 Dated: (November/December 1990) Pages: 571-587
Author(s)
S Kraizer; S Wette; G E Fryer; T Miyoshi
Date Published
1990
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This paper describes a needs assessment survey and a risk measurement pilot study of children in kindergarten through the third grade in self-care settings.
Abstract
Rural, urban, and suburban parents of 447 children were surveyed by telephone to determine patterns of self-care. The pilot study employed a behavioral simulation with 16 children which measured risk in a self-care situation while answering the telephone or opening the door to a stranger delivering a package. The results show that 42 percent of the total sample of the children were left in self-care occasionally or regularly. Urban children were left more frequently without supervision than rural and suburban children. However, suburban parents were prone to leave children unattended for occasional trips to the grocery store. In the simulations, only 2 of the 16 children handled the telephone calls properly, whereas none of the children handled the package delivery effectively. These results suggest a need for further study of the consequences of unsupervised child care and the development of prevention programs. 17 references