Aussie Childcare Network Forum

I need help with the following questions:

Outline how the Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics relates to your work with children.

What do you need to consider when making an ethical decision?

Consider the following scenarios and outline what your response is to each one:

- a family asks you to baby sit for them on the weekends and they will pay you in cash. Ethically, is this a conflict of interest to you or is it ok? Consider the policy of the organisation that you work with.

- a family tells you that they leave their 10 year old child alone at home on the school holidays. How do you approach this?

- a staff member tells you they are going to be sick tomorrow so they can go shopping. They ring in sick the next day and tell the manager of the service that they have gastro. How do you approach this?

If you felt that another staff member was treating a child unfairly, what process would you follow?

What would constitute a staff member breaching professional boundaries? give an example of a situation you would consider a breach.

Thanks!

Can you tell me what you understand these statements to mean in context to the assignment you are doing?
This will give you and us a starting point.

Lindy

When making an ethical decision I need to consider the consequences of my decision and how it can effect those involved, including myself.

For the first one: A family asks you to babysit on the weekends.

I am not sure of the policy on this, so I dont know how to answer it. Personally I don't think it would be a conflict of interest, as I would be babysitting the child in my own free time, outside the Centre's hours, so it has nothing to do with the Centre.

A staff member tells you they are going to have a sickie tomorrow so they can go shopping.

I would speak to the staff member directly and explain that I didn't like how I was put in an awkward position by her telling me that she was going to fake being sick the next day. Also that she should be considering others when "calling in sick", as it puts a lot of pressure and un-neccesary stress on other staff members and the room that she's in.

A family tells you they leave their 10 year old child alone on the school holidays. How do you approach this?

I would talk to the family and try and give them solutions, other than leaving their child at home all school holidays, which can be very un-safe for the child. Advice them of school holiday programs that are run in their area, where their 10 year old can interact with other children and be in a safe, supervised environment. I would also let them know that there are government rebates for holiday programs, like in Child Care Centres, if finances were an issue.

If i felt another staff member was treating a child unfairly- what process would i follow?

I would speak to the staff member and let them know that I have noticed that they have been treating a child a little differently to the others and try to find out the problem and work on how to resolve it.

What would constitute a staff member breaching professional boundaries? give an example of a situation you would consider a breach.

I am not sure about this one- could it be- Knowing that there was an ethical issue in the Centre and not doing anything about it or knowing that they are being un-ethical and continue doing so. An example could be telling other staff members and gossiping about a family that has told you something in confidence.

Please let me know if these answers are on the right track please! Thanks