CYP Now - Muppets and manifestos

For some families it’s Home Alone, for others The Polar Express. For me you still can’t beat A Christmas Carol as the film that turns the sofa into a place to sink into the season. Odd really given Dickens’ original intent was to produce a tract excoriating the capitalist system for its maltreatment of children, a polemic against ignorance and want wrapped in a tale about personal responsibility and redemption. Not that you’d know that from watching the Muppets’ version.

We should bear this intent in mind when reviewing the Christmas lists contained in the election manifestos. As a result of hard work behind the scenes by leading players in the sector, the parties have been in a bidding war attempting to outdo each other with the billions of pounds being pledged for youth services, youth clubs, mental health support and further education. And this is on top of the ‘new money’ already being pumped into the system from the Youth Endowment Fund and Youth Futures Foundation.

As children get older, of course, they get wise to the fact that Santa won’t bring them everything on the list, and that what appears under the tree is determined by the economic realities facing their parents, but even partial fulfilment of the promises being made will be a positive step forward. It also means we can concentrate our thinking on how to use resources to deliver maximum impact.

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