12 - Forced into Adulthood: An Exploration of Psycho-Social Dynamics in Child-headed Households
Corresponding Author(s) : Bernadette Muyomi
Africa Development,
Vol. 37 No. 3 (2012): Africa Development: Special Issue on Parents’ Involvement in Children’s Lives in Africa
Abstract
Child-headed households are a common family arrangement in the coastal region of Kenya and beyond. These households are mainly precipitated by situations in the lives of parents that force children to take up social roles that are usually reserved for adults. While children have rights just like adults, their well-being is compromised without parents’ involvement in their lives because of missing parental obligations. Children in child-headed households are forced to handle responsibilities that are not appropriate for their developmental age, often denying them a sense of childhood comfort and burdening them emotionally, socially and psychologically. Such children end up with numerous psycho- social challenges, including low self esteem, early marriages, exposure to child labour, prostitution, trafficking and social exclusion, among others. The situation is a vicious cycle, bound to recur since such children also become parents at an early age. This paper uses data from coastal Kenya to show the inevitability of child-headed households and the need to treat such households as part of the larger repertoire of nuclear family set ups in the society.
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- African Union, ‘Africa Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children’, Available online at http://www.acerwc.org/the-african-charter-on-the-rights-and- welfare-of-the-child-acrwc/. 7 February 2012.
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- Maxwell, C.I., 1996, Breakthrough Parenting, Colorado Springs: Focus on the family Publishing.
- Muyomi, B., 2009, Academic counseling: Handbook for School and College Counselors, Eldoret, Kenya: Champion Publications.
- Ochiewo, Jacob, 2004, ‘Changing Fisheries Practices and their Socioeconomic Implications in South Coast Kenya’, Ocean & Coastal Management, Vol. 47, no. 7-8, pp. 389-408.
- Ondimu, K.N., 2005, Risky Sexual Behavior Among Migrant Tea Workers in Kenya, Addis Ababa: Organization for Social Sciences Research in Eastern and Southern Africa.
- Oucho, John, 2007, ‘Migration and Regional Development in Kenya’, Development, Vol. 50, pp. 88-93.
- Sindiga, Isaac, 1999, ‘International Tourism in Kenya and the Marginalization of the Waswahili’, Tourism Management, Vol. 17, No. 6, pp. 425-432.
- UNICEF, 2005, Early Marriage: A Harmful Traditional Practice, (http:// www.unicef.org/publications/index_26024.html). 28 January 2012.
- UNICEF, United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child, (http:// www.unicef.org/crc/). 21 January 2012.
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References
African Union, ‘Africa Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children’, Available online at http://www.acerwc.org/the-african-charter-on-the-rights-and- welfare-of-the-child-acrwc/. 7 February 2012.
Akama, John S., 1999, ‘The Evolution of Tourism in Kenya’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 6-25.
Children’s Act of Kenya 2001, (https://groups.google.com/group/crdmkenya/attach/b663bdcbbfb3e00c/Kenya+Childrens+Act+2001.pdf?hl=en&part=4). 12 February 2012.
Corey, G., 2005, Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, Toronto: Brooks Cole Thomson Learning.
Crosson-Tower, C., 2005, Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect, 6th ed., Allyn and Bacon New York: Pearson Education, Inc.
Dattilio, F.M., & Freeman, A., eds., 2000, Cognitive Behavioural Strategies in Crisis Intervention, 2nd ed., London: The Guilford Press.
Dieke, Peter, 1991, ‘Policies for Tourism Development in Kenya’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 269-294.
Barnes, G.G., 1998, Family Therapy in Changing times, Hampshire: Palgrave.
Jones, Sarah C., 2006, ‘The Extent and Effect of Sex Tourism and Sexual Exploitation of Children on the Kenyan Coast’, (http://www.scribd.com/doc/46652365/ The-Extent-and-Effect-of-Sex-Tourism-and-Sexual-Exploitation-of-Children-
on-the-Kenyan-Coast-2007). 12 February 2012.
Langinger, N., 2011, ‘School Feeding Programs in Kenya: Transitioning to a Homegrown Approach’, Stanford Journal of International Relations, Vol. Xiii No. 1, pp. 30-37. Available online at http://www.stanford.edu/group/sjir/13-1/ kenya.pdf.
Maxwell, C.I., 1996, Breakthrough Parenting, Colorado Springs: Focus on the family Publishing.
Muyomi, B., 2009, Academic counseling: Handbook for School and College Counselors, Eldoret, Kenya: Champion Publications.
Ochiewo, Jacob, 2004, ‘Changing Fisheries Practices and their Socioeconomic Implications in South Coast Kenya’, Ocean & Coastal Management, Vol. 47, no. 7-8, pp. 389-408.
Ondimu, K.N., 2005, Risky Sexual Behavior Among Migrant Tea Workers in Kenya, Addis Ababa: Organization for Social Sciences Research in Eastern and Southern Africa.
Oucho, John, 2007, ‘Migration and Regional Development in Kenya’, Development, Vol. 50, pp. 88-93.
Sindiga, Isaac, 1999, ‘International Tourism in Kenya and the Marginalization of the Waswahili’, Tourism Management, Vol. 17, No. 6, pp. 425-432.
UNICEF, 2005, Early Marriage: A Harmful Traditional Practice, (http:// www.unicef.org/publications/index_26024.html). 28 January 2012.
UNICEF, United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child, (http:// www.unicef.org/crc/). 21 January 2012.
Wanda, P., 2007, Bringing up Children in a Permissive Society, Nairobi: Paulines Publications Africa.