LIVES IN YOUR HANDS
Teaching young and vulnerable men and
women to care for the next generation
a child protection resource from
Good News Family Care
BACKGROUND
Lives in Your Hands was developed by chartered psychologist Ruth Hanson, as a result of her findings while on the research staffs of the Universities of Cambridge (Institute of Criminology), Birmingham and Leeds. Working with multi-disciplinary teams, Ruth was able to carry out wide-ranging explorations into juvenile delinquency, 'baby battering', and the assessment of pre-school and infant children's mental development. She became a tutor in this kind of assessment to Clinical Medical Officers and Clinical and Educational Psychologists working in a variety of cultures.
As Ruth spent time with the parents of abused children she became convinced of the need to communicate to these young men and women, the privileges and responsibilities they have in dealing with children. Lives in Your Hands was piloted for several years at Caring For Life, a Christian charity for homeless young men. Further years have been devoted by Good News Family Care to teaching those who are already parents.
Maureen Durdle, author of the Parenting Notes, is a retired pædiatric audiologist and Head of Service for hearing impaired children. She leads Parenting Classes and supports resident parents and children at Charis House.
THE COURSE
As many professionals recognise, the cycle of abuse and dysfunction seen in many famlies today is responsible not only for human misery within those families, but is also damaging to our society. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the area of crime. It has been found that parents of abused infants are much more likely to participate in various other types of crime - both before and after their children have been harmed - than is the case in families where children have not been abused (reported by Smith, Hanson and Noble in the British Medical Journal in 1973).
Clearly, preventive education is vital, but the education system is not designed to reach young people with major, on-going problems. Most of them avoid school anyway and when they do attend they are often in no fit state to learn.
The Lives in Your Hands course is designed to intervene in this tragic cycle - beginning with a session in which participants are helped to step back into their own childhood and are encouraged to think of themselves as 'the experts'-since they have experienced a childhood they would not like other children to have!
Lives in Your Hands is suitable for young men and women, and for a wide variety of settings - including Social Care organisations, Family Centres, Antenatal Classes, Schools, Young Offenders' Institutions and Prisons. The teaching can be carried out by experienced individuals or professionals from local churches.
The course is designed to run over a period of 8 weekly sessions.
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Week 1
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Me and My Childhood |
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Week 2
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Helping Children Grow Strong |
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Week 3
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Being In Charge |
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Week 4
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A Child's Day |
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Week 5
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Afternoon With a Family |
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Week 6
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Difficult Questions Children Ask |
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Week 7
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Children Need Happy Parents |
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Week 8
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Presentation of Certificates |
Additional Parenting Notes
Additional practical teaching notes by Maureen Durdle are included. They are designed to help develop skills in practical aspects of child care and build on the foundations laid in the weekly Lives In Your Hands sessions, they cover:
- Bonding
- Feeding
- Establishing Routines
- Physical Handling
- Understanding Needs
- Play Skills
- Health and Hygiene
The Lives In Your Hands course includes leaders notes, course material and visual aids. It is available in two different formats: Photocopy Master - for use with your photocopier; and .PDF* which allows you to print directly from your PC.
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Lives In Your Hands
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Format
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Ref. No.
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Delivery method
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Price
incl. delivery
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Photocopy Master
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LIYHPM
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Paper/Post
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£50
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.PDF
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LIYHEM
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email
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£30
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.PDF
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LIYHCD
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CD/Post
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£40
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Note: the .PDF version is compatible with all PCs - including Windows and Apple Macs. Acrobat Reader* required.
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Copyright Notice: The course is copyright © Good News Family Care. Under the terms of sale you are permitted to make and distribute copies of the course for use within your organisation or church, so long as it is not altered or modified in any way. Please send a donation for each copy made. (amount at your discretion)
To discuss the course in more detail - please call Hazel Guest or Sue Allez on 01298 24761
To order: send an email to
stating which course/s you require, preferred format (Photocopy Master or CD ROM) and delivery method (Post or email). We will send you an order form to return with your payment. Cheques should be made payable to Good News Family Care
*Acrobat Reader may be downloaded free of charge by clicking the link below:
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