Poverty

A very good friend of mine grew up in poverty. Her father abandoned her family when she was quite young. She remembers living in a milk house along with her mother and three sisters because they couldn’t afford to rent an apartment. The family received assistance from the local Children and Youth program such as teaching her mother about good nutrition. My friend became pregnant at the age of 15. Today she understands that getting pregnant was a way out of her situation. She was a very good mother considering that she had two children before she was 17. (I tease her that she and her oldest daughter are the same age.) Her children are both very successful college graduates with families of their own. While raising her children, my friend put herself through nursing school. I’m always impressed that my friend is very disciplined and goal oriented. She has traveled around the world. She enjoys a good life and is someone I can count on in any situation.
I have a special affinity to Italy because it is part of my heritage. It was very interesting to discover Italy is one of the top-ranking nations for early childhood education services (babyzone). The Italians have had a profound influence on early childhood education from Montessori to the more recent Reggio Emilia approach (Early Learning in Italy, 2008). I was not familiar with the Reggio approach and learned that it is named for a small city in Northern Italy. The theme of the Reggio schools is letting children lead. In 1991, Newsweek named the Reggio schools among the best preschools in the world (Early Learning in Italy, 2008).
Although Italy is noted for excellence in early childhood education, the country is not without problems. With Italy’s free, intensive education system, essentially free child healthcare, and paid family leave that enables a parent to stay at home during a child’s first year of life, a number of Italian children experience their share of problems, including poverty, unpleasant divorces, and child abuse (Italy Social Problems). The southern region of Italy has the biggest poverty risk, especially amongst families with children and additional adults. The most vulnerable of all children are those residing with single mothers, where unemployment is particularly high and the risk of poverty is approximately 64 - 66% (Italy Social Problems). A major obstacle in combating child poverty within Italy is its inadequate social welfare system. In 2000, (only) 3.4% of national expenditures were used toward social protection for children and families (Italy Social Problems).
Child abuse is a worldwide problem and exists in Italy. Efforts have been made to combat it. A national commission was established in 1997, which aimed to prevent inadequacies in reporting abuse, and thus control this visible problem . The inadequacy in reporting was the numbers of abused were not reported, only the offender (Italy Social Problems). A program called Neutral Space was set up by Milan council in 1993 with the intent to create a safe place where children and parents can reunite with the aid of social workers (Italy Social Problems).

References:

Italy Social Problems. Retrieved from: http://www.tulane.edu/~rouxbee/kids04/italy/_jfarhoum/SocialProblems.html

Early Learning in Italy, (June 4, 2008). Child development news and resources for professionals and parents. Retrieved from: http://www.childdevelopmentmedia.com/blog/?p=16

Early Childhood Education Around the World. babyzone. Retrieved from: http://www.babyzone.com/toddler/toddler_development/early_education/article/internatio…