Joining the `Crusade against the Giants': Keir Hardie's Fairy Tales and The Socialist Child Reader

This article focuses on Keir Hardie's forgotten fiction and journalism for children, published in his paper The Labour Leader during the 1890s. It argues that Hardie's dialogue with child correspondents was shaped by a socialist periodical culture that redefined reading as a communal, political activity. Relating Hardie's appropriation of fantasy to that of a fellow socialist editor, John Trevor, the article examines the fairy tale as a propaganda tool in the process of `making socialists', but also questions the model of child readers as passive consumers, arguing that young readers were both empowered and controlled by Hardie's journalistic strategies.

Identifying families with multiple problems: Possible responses from child and family social work to current policy developments

In the development of family policy under New Labour there has been a growing tendency to identify groups who are likely to be high in lifetime costs to the state. Investment in such groups is seen as crucial. Whilst the economic case for current investment is compelling, idenitiying one of these groups, ‘families with multiple problems’ raises complex research problems and ethical issues. Reseach indicates that families with multiple problems may be identified on the caseloads of child and family social worker and there are claims that key events such as the registration of a child on the child protection register may indicate such multiple problems. This offers new opportunities for child and family social work to embrace less incident based ways of working in favour of longer term provision of services to address longer term risks.

“It’s like a problem that doesn’t exist”: The emotional well-being of mothers caring for a child with brain injury.

Background: Although research has shown that significant burden and adverse psychological impact are associated with caring for a child with brain injury, limited knowledge exists concerning the qualitative experience and impact of this burden.
Objective: To provide an account of the experiences of mothers who care for a childhood survivor of brain injury.
Research design: Postal survey.
Methods and procedures: A self-report questionnaire was sent to a consecutive sample of mothers (n=86) of children (aged 8-28) with acquired brain injury, registered with a UK children’s brain injury charity. Five essay style questions enabled mothers to reflect on and describe at length their caring experiences, with particular emphasis placed on the perceived impact on emotional well-being.
Main outcomes and results: Thematic analysis identified five key themes: Perpetually Anxious, The Guilty Carer, The Labour of Caring, A Self-Conscious Apologist and Perpetually Grieving. Collectively, these themes highlight two core processes shaping mothers’ caring experiences and concomitant mental well-being. Firstly, the collective and enduring nature of caregiver burden over time. Second, the crucial role played by socio-cultural values in perpetuating caregiver burden.
Conclusions: Societal norms, particularly those relating to the nature and outcome of brain injury and motherhood, serve to marginalise mothers and increase feelings of isolation. Findings suggest the value of peer support programs as an effective means of providing appropriate social support.

Promoting normality in the management of the perineum during the second stage of labour

The management of the perineum during birth has multiple long-term effects on women and their families. The midwife has a key role to play and often the techniques they employ vary significantly, as does their justification of these practices. This article seeks to examine current evidence to explore what is known to contribute to lower perineal trauma rates and what practices should be avoided to protect childbearing women. The conclusions drawn show that the updating of
practice and antenatal education may be required so that woman are given the information they need to make an informed choice as to what they want for their own body, child and experience.