Children's perspectives on child well-being : a pathway to sustainable futures

Abstract

Many decisions that are related to children’s well-being are made based on social policies and on the conceptions of adults. However, adult conceptions of child well-being may not be relevant to children. Therefore, children’s views on matters that affect them can provide meaningful insight in order to develop social work interventions that will contribute to the well-being of children. It is through children’s active participation in decision making regarding their well-being that policies and services become child responsive, which leads to positive lifelong outcomes for the children. The goal of the study was to explore children’s perspectives on their well-being as a pathway to a sustainable future within the South African context. The study adopted an exploratory qualitative research approach and utilised an instrumental case study design. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit ten participants for the study. Data was collected by means of semi-structured one-on-one interviews which made use of an interview schedule and visual cards. The findings from the study show that children are responsible beings who know exactly what well-being means to them. However, children do not fully participate in matters that concern their well-being and everyday lives. In instances where they are consulted, their opinions are not taken seriously or considered in the final decision-making process. The study concludes that children’s agency must be recognised, and their views taken into consideration in order to develop pathways for sustainable futures. Recommendations include considering the different meanings that children attach to their well-being in developing responsive intervention programmes that promote and enhance child well-being. Furthermore, the study recommends the development of protective factors, mitigating risk factors of child well-being, and recognising children’s agency by consulting children and considering their opinions when making decisions that affect their well-being.