Child Development

Baroness Uddin Excerpts

Thursday 11th October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Uddin]

My Lords, I, too, thank the right reverend Prelate for bringing this important debate to the House and for the way that he described child development issues and the encompassing issues of marriage. However, time does not permit me to elaborate on that.

I should like to make some general points today. As has been said, one way of judging a civilisation is the manner in which it invests in the nurturing and development of its children. The moral responsibility involved in ensuring that the well-being of our children is maximally catered for is very much related to how we envision our future. If our aspiration is to grow old in a society that is compassionate to the elderly, brimming with harmony and at ease with itself, then investing in the well-being of our children becomes a utilitarian task. We must ensure that our children are not only properly fed, clothed and housed, but that they are also properly and adequately trained to be well integrated human beings who are sensitive to others, able to cope with changes and eager to be of service to family, community and the nation. In a world dominated by inequality and social and economic injustice, the danger of alienation and marginalisation of children who become problematic adults are all too well known to us, as has been mentioned.

When it comes to parenting, our society has moved dangerously close to making one of life’s greatest pleasures an unnecessary burden financially, psychologically, physically and environmentally. Sadly, we exist at a time when the project of bringing up children is not so much a collective effort that is rewarded but a burden that depends on your socioeconomic conditioning and the postcode lotteries for education and prejudice, and where the struggles facing parents, teachers and community organisations are all-pervasive. Hard-pushed parents, to whom reference has been made across the House, are trying to make ends meet in difficult economic conditions, and they find themselves with little time and few emotional resources and skills. My noble friend Lady King and I have both noted occasions when we were on the phone while our children—in my case grandchildren—are struggling to get our attention. A real concern is that needy young people are left to be influenced by the dominant street culture of “I want” and “I want it now”. They lack opportunities and are influenced by the “increased privilege” that seems on offer on the streets. It is a real concern which was referred to earlier this week.

As other noble Lords have said, our television screens have been dominated by deeply depressing news of children who have been abducted, impacted by domestic violence or raped. Social networking throws up a complex set of values the impact of which the Government must consider and deal with. Among the Muslim communities, the twin evil forces of Islamophobia and racism continue to marginalise and blight the lives of thousands of children and young people. Urged on by the youthful imperative of being rebellious and confrontational, these young people are perilously vulnerable to being recruited to drugs, violence and, sadly, to militancy. That is a threat to all of us.

In this context I commend the work of Radical Middle Way and the London Muslim Centre which, with many other groups, continue to try to address these issues despite struggling to find sufficient financial resources. Some commentators and analysts saw last year’s London riots as reflecting our lack of investment in our young people. The exemplary way in which young people participated and were involved in the Olympics was explained in the same terms. Surely the lesson is that there are winners or losers. The destiny of our children and that of our society lies in our ability to invest in, respect and honour our children as we ourselves would wish to be honoured and respected. I asked the Minister what if any work is being undertaken to address the impact of Islamophobia and racism on children particularly in the early years.