Contemporary Values and Social Context: Implications for the Emotional Wellbeing of Children

In this paper, the authors highlight features of the social and cultural context which surrounds services to children. Emphasis is given to the point that those who work with children exist within the same cultural landscape occupied by the children, parents and other parents. Whilst this landscape is diverse, it contains certain dominant, historically rooted features which influence government policy and professional practice in subtle ways, as well as influencing the values and orientations of individuals. It is argued that there is a need for greater awareness of these influences, as well as a strong commitment among policymakers and professionals to help limit the negative effects that certain cultural trends have on the social context in which young people develop.