Social protection is significant for minimizing poverty for families and children, also recognizing children's rights. In the present world, many children live in poverty and starving. They are also in the demand of elementary needs and rights. In many parts of the world, families with children are relied at the risk of poverty than other groups of the population with respect to the monetary terms. If a child falls into poverty, he/she will be poor for the lifetime. Only in rare cases, they get education or healthy life. Food poverty can be an obstacle to children's long-term development. Generally, many poor children do not get sufficient nutrition and they lack of intellectual capacity and affected by life threatening disease.
It is important to note that child poverty does not only influence the individual and likely to be passed to future generations that lead to inequality in the society. According to the recent report by UNICEF, many children die every day due to inadequate nutrition and poverty that can be predicted through the social protection (Gibson, 2012). The social protection helps children to have a decent standard of living, quality health care and their future are sustained. While children are pushed to involve in child labor, such incident makes affect their cognitive and physical development.
Child poverty paves more impact on the aspirations and well-being of the individual children and it affects the societies, communities and economies in which they live. Family and Child benefits with cash and kind brings more significance to their lives in which they can address their needs and realizing children's rights. Now, social protection requires enhancement in the nutritious status of the children. However, several cash transfer programs have contributed to the essential increase in the reduction of home based births and improving child health. This helps to contribute in the development of children's health.
Not only programs, also through many channels, the social protection contribute to improving children's well-being. By having the social protection benefits, they can seize the economic opportunities in future life. In reality, both child and families participate more in the welfare of child development. They are protesting against child violence and abuse, orphans and vulnerable children and children with disabilities.
Social protection is highly appreciated for the prevention of child labor. Economic vulnerabilities are the important cause of child labor. This social protection instruments play a major role in minimizing child labor and reducing the vulnerabilities. The association between child labor and social protection pay more attention to the existence of cash transfer programs. These programs have conducted in school and colleges. Due to the low-income effect on families, children pushed to engage in child labor. The cash benefits have more influence on school attendance and do not extremely reduce child labor in greater extent. In Brazil, cash benefits are incorporated with the additional program elements such as after school programs, which reduce the child labor.
Even economic vulnerability might be cause for the child poverty where social protection acts as pillars for the broader policy. Efforts taken against child labor are found to be successful in the absence of social protection. This provides safeguards to the vulnerable households and helps them to seize opportunities to conflict the intergenerational transmission of poverty. Social security systems have some elements which does not directly assessed in terms of reducing child labor and poverty (Social protection policy, 2015).
Social security system addresses the risk of poverty and vulnerability of poor households or else promoting child labor. In case of social health protection, the health plays a major poverty risk for poor households. It helps to determine the employment guarantee schemes, income security, social pensions, and contribute to preventing child labor. Recently, "save the children" institution paid more attention to the child development in terms of poverty and inadequate nutrition’s. However, in reality, many institutions and programs are organized against the welfare of child development. The decision making process affects the child protection by taking inappropriate decisions in their children's lives. This may lead the children to leave from home.
According to the World health organization, family, friends, nutrition and media can influence the child development. Several child welfare reforms are increased widely among various countries to reduce poverty and economic vulnerabilities. Ghana is the comprehensive developing country who suffers severely with the higher risk of poverty and economic vulnerabilities. However, several reforms have taken for child welfare and protection system, but still the death rate of poverty children has become increasing.
There are some factors that influence the policy making process in social protection for child development and well-being. They are political, societal, institutional and global politics (Gillingham, 2013). The political and socio cultural factors should be strong to promote social protection policy by intending to render financial investment. There may be explicit factors which dominate the decision making process in providing schemes such as legal and political objectives. In some countries, global politics affect the policy making process on the debate role of social assistance. If these factors were restricted in the world, the social protection for child development would be enhanced.
References
Gibson, M. (2012). Child Development for Child Care and Protection Workers. Social Work Education, 31(8), 1106-1108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2012.689494
Gillingham, P. (2013). Child Development for Child Care and Protection Workers (2 nd ed.). Australian Social Work, 66(3), 423-424. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0312407x.2013.809679
Social protection policy. (2015). Social-protection.org. Retrieved 31 August 2016, from http://www.social-protection.org/gimi/gess/RessourcePDF.action?ressource.ressourceId=51578
