The Residential Environment: Making a House a Home

The writer was a second year Child and Youth Care student, asked to resolve one of the conflicts inherent in residential programs

The task of providing what Beedell calls “real experiences of good care, comfort and control" is made complex by group living. We must find away of “living, not just existing", a way of giving the children these basic things so that it “feels given and not provided". The difficulty is that, though in theory we are providing a base for the children for a short while, in reality for several months or even years, we must approximate a home, not just “a place in which one marks time".

To create a home environment on a domestic scale while “living in a noisy fish-bowl" is extremely difficult. The number of children, the comparative lack of funds, and the ugly buildings of most institutions, all militate against the idea of home. But there are ways and means. It needs imagination, energy and motivation. A can of paint and a vase of bright flowers can work wonders to change the atmosphere. The physical surroundings do affect the mood in general, so the care worker should look at communal space as she would her own living space at home, and add those little touches that turn any dreary room into a home. A clean, warm, cheerful room with table set and hot lunch waiting for the children when they get back from school, a little bunch of flowers for the girl who is feeling down, being available for and aware of each individual's needs, checking and showing an interest in arrangements to ensure a successful outing or home visit, window-shopping, walks in the neighborhood – all these are things a normal family would do for its members without thinking.

If at all possible, we avoid blanket rules and “absolute time-tables" so that we can cater for individual needs and avoid the apathy which a monotonous routine creates. Ideally the group home can fulfil many of the needs of normal family life. For one thing, if the home is part of the neighborhood, the ages and sexes of the children will approximate the normal family situation where age-appropriate behavior becomes obvious and sex role identification is easier. Here, too, the simple tasks like shopping for the kitchen and the joy of preparing and cooking the family meal can be shared by all, with individual tastes and fancies catered for. In the larger institution a simple hot plate can do wonders in creating a warm feeling – flapjacks on a rainy afternoon or popcorn to fill ever-hollow tummies. The oral needs of these children have on the whole been neglected and food becomes a vitally important means of providing care.

Because learning to make choices is an important step in gaining personal independence, it is vital for the children to contribute to the structure for the smooth functioning of the home. They can help decide on rules, consequences, chores. In the running of the household one can provide for different roles which match individual strengths and weaknesses. Joe is the best vacuum cleaner while Sally loves setting the table. They can also share in decision-making when it comes to things like choosing a new color scheme for communal spaces or moving the furniture around. So many useful skills for adult life can be passed on in this informal manner. Personal space must be separate from communal space. We all have a need for privacy, whereas most children coming into care must feel very exposed and vulnerable in the noisy “fishbowl" environment.

We must take great care to ensure privacy of person and possessions. Keys and lock-up facilities should be provided. One of the problems in group homes is teaching children and youth respect for their own property and that of others. For this to develop healthily, each one needs a sense of ownership and pride in their personal space. We must guard against the assumption that all children want a room of their own “for some this may be seen as punishment rather than a privilege. So a quiet corner somewhere may be preferable for some. In their rooms the youngsters should have some freedom of choice as to color and decor to express their individuality. Clothing, also, should where possible be a matter of individual taste and choice. Here the child care worker can assist in showing the children how to use imagination with second-hand clothing – a sewing machine is an essential at any time.

The normal family provides lots of informal education, e.g. in the use of tools and appliances, how to fix a broken plug or window pane, the practical use of the everyday world, how to send a parcel or telegram, the pursuit of hobbies – all the seemingly small things we take for granted in our own homes but which the child in care may never be exposed to.

Whatever other specific tasks we may have to work on with difficult or neglected youth, our job must include trying to personalize their development towards autonomy and responsibility. To the extent that we temporarily assume the role of “family", we can try to make them feel at home.

Bibliography
Beedell, C. (1976) Residential Life with Children. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul

Pringle, M.K. (1975) The Needs of Children. London: Hutchinson