What Is A Day In The Life?
Improving outcomes for neglected children means we need to know how, when, where and why neglect is occurring for each child in the household. The Horwath ‘Day in the Life of the child’ model aims to help practitioners gain a better understanding of what is happening in families where neglect is an issue and what actions may lead to improved outcomes for children. You should carry out the exercise with the parent/carer separately to the child. Go through each stage of the day to try to gain an understanding of what the daily lived experience of each child is. Include anything that is different for weekends and school holidays.
When Would You Use It?
Improving outcomes for neglected children means we need to know how, when, where and why neglect is occurring for each child in the household. The Horwath ‘Day in the Life’ model aims to:
– Gain a solid understanding of a child or young person’s daily routine; this will help you focus on the child’s lived experience
– Identify positives or strengths as well as highlighting areas of concern or risk in respect of neglect
– Look at parenting capacity in relation to daily life, especially thinking about expectations of the child from a developmental perspective
The model requires practitioners to develop an understanding of what a full day is like in the life of each and every child and carer in the family. By comparing and contrasting the information from each family member, practitioners can begin to understand why neglect is taking place, what is likely to happen if things do not change within the home, and what actions are required and appropriate to improve outcomes for the children.
How Would You Use It?
The model requires practitioners to talk to children and parents about what a regular day is like in their life across a 24 hour cycle. By talking to each family member and cross-referencing their experiences of the same day, practitioners are able to make the experiences of each neglected children visible and begin to understand their daily lived experience.
– When using the model with families, consider the following guidance:
– Children should only be asked to describe their lived experience periodically (no more than every 3 months). This will allow you to develop a picture of how things may have changed for the child but prevents family members feeling fatigued by the process
– Family life for neglected children can be chaotic. When trying to understand their lived experience, aim to ask open questions, do not take anything for granted and do not presume any degree of routine occurs in the household.
Closed Question = When do you eat dinner?
Alternative Open Question = What happens in the evenings in your house?
Closed Question = How do you get to school?
Alternative Open Question = Can you tell me what the mornings are like? What happens when you wake up?
– The process of talking about the daily lived experience can take a long time. Try not to let children get bored and disengaged. If you have particular areas of concern, focus on asking what is happening for the child at a particular time of the day. (I.e. if you are worried that the child isn’t going to school, you could ask, “Can you tell me what happens in the mornings when you wake up?”).
– The concept of time can be abstract and easily misunderstood by younger children. When asking younger children to recall their daily lived experience, rather than asking “can you tell me about a morning last week?” you could ask “can you tell me about what happened this morning?”
– Children may be guarded about talking about their experiences. Make sure to let them tell their story at their own pace. If they are uncomfortable talking about their life at home, start by asking questions about what happens elsewhere (i.e. “can you tell me what it is like for you at school?”)
– For young, pre-verbal children you will need to rely upon your observations and the details of other family members’ lived experiences, including asking specific questions of parents or other children about their interactions with their infant or toddler.
Use a range of age appropriate tools and techniques to prompt details about the child’s lived experience. You can use the picture cards and timeline sheets if these are age appropriate for the child or young person.
When talking to and thinking about neglect, consider a range of domains and be attuned to cumulative harm. What is their daily experience?
– How are children spending their time? Are they playing and interacting? Going to school or child care? Spending extended periods without interaction in their pram or in front of TV?
– Are the child’s basic daily needs being met: sleeping, eating, hygiene?
– Are the children properly supervised? Are there clear boundaries and limits? Is there warmth and constancy?
– Are parents spending time with children, providing them with the nurturance, attention, love and affection they need for positive emotional development?
– Do children have a regular routine? Having a routine is important for children because it provides them with consistency, and makes the world more predictable for them. However, having a routine is not the same as having a rigid or inflexible daily schedule.
– What do you think the child might name as the good and bad things about their daily experience?
Bromfield, L. & Miller, R. (2012), p. 23
How To Do This Work With Children
We have created a range of sheets you can use for a variety of scenarios. This includes:
– Unborn Baby
– Baby
– Preschool Child
– Child
– Child With Disabilities
– Adolescent
