Dictionary of frequently used terms
ACC stands for the Accident Compensation Commission which provides comprehensive no-fault accident insurance cover for New Zealand residents and visitors to New Zealand.
Adjudication is the legal process by which a dispute between parties is resolved by decision or judgment of the arbiter or judge after having heard the evidence. It is to be contrasted from conciliation or mediation processes by which the parties in dispute resolve the dispute between them with the assistance of another person. Adoption is the name given to the process by which the birth parents of a child are replaced by others who become the parents of the child instead. The birth parents stop having any legal standing with the child. It is administered in New Zealand by Child, Youth and Family.
Adolescence is the name given to the transition from the beginning of puberty through to adult maturity. It is a mixture of physical and psychological growth.
Advocate is a person who speaks on behalf of another in a particular situation.
Blended family is formed when two adults and their dependent children from previous families come together to form a new family unit.
Board of Trustees is the body which is elected to administer the policies of a school in accordance with the law on behalf of the community.
Carbohydrates are one of the three major classes of food (carbohydrates, proteins, fat) that includes sugars and starches. They are a compound of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Most importantly they are an essential part of diet and a source of energy. Typical carbohydrate rich foods are breads, vegetables, fruits, milk products and sugars
Child support is a regular payment made by the parent who does not have the day-to-day care and costs of their child. The payment is made up to their child's nineteenth birthday. It administered by Inland Revenue who deduct it from the parent's pay along with their tax.
Child, Youth and Family is the part of the Ministry of social Development which is responsible for protecting children from child abuse and neglect; adoption, and the care of children who have broken the law and are under the guidance of the youth justice system.
Civil union is a legally recognised union, similar to marriage, between a couple of the same sex.
Community Services Card is a card provided by the Department of work and Income to low income families to assist them with costs of health care.
Contact visits (formerly known as access visits) are the arrangements to enable the separated parent who is not providing day to day care for their child to continue to have regular contact with that child.
Core benefits are the main benefits provided by Work and Income and include Unemployment Benefit, Domestic purposes Benefit, Sickness Benefit, Invalids Benefit, Widows Benefit, Independent Youth Benefit, Orphans Benefit, Unsupported Child Benefit and new Zealand Superannuation. There is various forms of assistance supplementary to the core benefits.
Cyberbullying is the name given to bullying by cellphone texting, email or through Internet chatrooms, social networking or other websites.
De facto relationship is a relationship between a man and woman that is of the nature of marriage even though the couple have never formalised the relationship through marriage, either religious or civil. Under many laws, a de facto relationship has the same rights and entitlements as marriage.
Digital age is the age when the transfer of information is dominated by computer technology. People have access to instant information, freely available, and without intermediaries such as librarians, experts such as doctors or religious or political leaders, or parental or teacher control.
Discipline is the various techniques that are used to develop a child's behaviour by instruction and practice. Self control is an essential element of that training which may involved positive techniques of encouragement and reward or negative techniques of punishment.
Discrimination occurs when someone is treated unfairly or less favourably than another person in the same or similar circumstances. It may be related of gender, ethnicity, age, political opinion and so on.
Divorce is the legal process by which a marriage is dissolved so that the divorced person is free to enter another legal marriage. It is different from separation whereby the couple simply decide to live apart and cease participating in a marital relationship.
Diwali is the Hindu annual festival of lights celebrated over four days in October and November. It is celebrated by displaying lights and worshipping Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.
Domestic violence refers to violence against someone by another person with whom they have, or have had, a domestic relationship with. The violent person does not need to be living with the victim at the time of the attack. It includes physical, sexual or psychological abuse.
Dyslexia is a reading disorder caused by the brain not interpreting writing correctly. It is not a visual disorder and it is unrelated to intelligence. The effects of dyslexia vary from person to person and it is treatable. Early diagnosis, a supportive family and professional treatment are the key factors in treating the disorder.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share another person's feelings and emotions; to feel with them. It is different from sympathy which is to feel for them
Extended family is the name given to a family comprising not only parents and children (the nuclear family), but other relatives such as grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousin living under the same roof.
Family Court is a part of the New Zealand court system which deals with family problems especially those involving children and their care. It has its own judges but functions rather differently from other courts in that it is much more informal and tries to help people sort out their own problems through counselling, conciliation and mediation.
Foetal Alcohol Effects is the medical name given to the damage done to a child before birth as a consequence of the mother drinking alcohol when the damage is less than that for foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). In other words, the mother has a history of drinking alcohol during pregnancy, but only some of the symptoms of FAS are present.
Foetal Alcohol Syndrome is the medical name given to all the damage done to a child before birth as a consequence of the mother drinking alcohol. It always involves, brain damage, impaired growth and facial abnormalities.
Fostering is the process by which stand-in 'parents' are given responsibility for the care of dependant children who have been taken from their biological parents
Guardian of a child is someone who has the legal duties, rights, responsibilities and powers that a parent has in bringing up that child. Although most parents are guardians of their child, other people can be guardians of that child as well.
High Use Health Card is a card administered by Work and Income and provided to people who are not eligible for a Community services Card but who frequently visit the doctor.
Immunisation is the medical term for strengthening someone's immunity to a disease by exposing them to a small amount of the active agent of that disease.
Internet Service Provider is a company or organisation that provides to its customers the technical services necessary to enable them to have access to the Internet.
Kuia is the Māori term for an elderly woman.
Lottery Grants Board is the body set up by parliament to distribute the proceeds of state lotteries such as Lotto. The money is distributed by grants as well as Creative New Zealand, Sport and Recreation New Zealand and the Film Commission.
Middle years of childhood are an important developmental stage in a child's life. During this stage, the child's cognitive development advances rapidly as does his self understanding and ability to control his own behaviour. It is during this period that he learns to get along with other people, be a team player and make many friends. That name typically applies to the years eight to twelve.
Moral development is the process by which a child acquires a understanding of what is good and bad, right and wrong within their family and society and learns to behave in accordance with those standards.
Motor skills are skills involving the coordinated movement or muscles and result from practice. Gross motor skills involve the use of the large muscles and limbs, even the whole body. Fine motor skills involve the use of fingers and thumbs, toes, feet or lips and tongue.
Obesity is the medical term for being extremely over-weight. Body fat in the obese person is so far in excess of need that it is seriously affecting the health and life expectancy of the person.
OECD the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. It was formed in 1946 and at present has 30 member countries, mostly rich countries with developed economies.
Ombudsmen are appointed by parliament to investigate complaints from individuals about actions and decisions by central, regional and local government departments and agencies.
Parenting agreement sets out the arrangements for looking after their child made by separated parents.
Parenting orders are court directions which say who is responsible for the day-to-day care of a child, and when and how other people important in the child's life can have contact with them. They are normally given when the separated parents cannot reach an agreement themselves. Parenting orders can be enforced by the Family Court just like any other order of the Court.
Paternity is being someone's father. Legally, it means confirming who is the father of a child and has the status, rights and responsibilities of fatherhood. Pharmaceutical Subsidy Card
Peer group is the psychological term for a social group of people of roughly the same characteristics such as age, education or social class. They probably have common interests and backgrounds.
Peer pressure is social pressure from ones friends and others thought of as being from the same social group. It is the pressure to behave like them, to hold the same values, dress similarly and to share attitudes.
Play is learning and it is hard work for the young child. It is through skill that a child acquires many skills, how to use their hands, to balance, to run, jump, skip and carry out complex coordinated movements, how to get along with other people and how to work together in a planned way as a team.
Plunket nurse is a registered nurse who has completed specialist training and is employed by the Royal Plunket Society. The plunket nurse provides support to parents on child care and parenting, and regularly assesses the health and development of children from birth up to the age of five.
Police diversion is an administrative procedure the police use which aims to divert a person from court. The person is not arrested. Instead they are given an informal warning or a formal caution. A warning states that you have come to the attention of police, but that no action will be taken. A caution involves going to the police station with your parents. Both actions are usually held on local internal police records, but are not recorded on the national police computer system.
Pre-schoolers are children aged about three to fours years. They are older than toddlers (1-2 years) but have not yet started attending school.
Pre-teens are older children who have not yet entered puberty. They are sometimes called pre-adolescents and are normally aged from nine to twelve years.
Protection order is a court order that directs a person responsible for domestic violence to stop the threatening or violent behaviour. It provides protection by laying non-violent and non-contact conditions that are to apply. The order applies to any children that are involved
Protein are one of the three major classes of food (protein, carbohydrates, fats) which are an essential part of diet. They are found in meat and some vegetables. They contain nitrogen in the form of amino acids.
Puberty is the period when the sex glands become functional resulting in physical changes to the child's body so that it becomes capable of reproduction
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is the month of fasting for Moslems.
Resilience in psychology refers to the individual's ability to cope positively with stress and emergency or tragedy. The resilient person not only copes effectively with the situation but also has the ability to bounce back when the situation is resolved.
Role model is a person that acts as an example to other people who wish to be like the model. The term can be used in all sorts of situations from guiding children's behaviour to sports.
Self-esteem is how one feels about oneself , who one is, how one acts, how one looks. It involves a sense of self-worth, self-confidence, self-respect. Self-esteem may be high or low; positive or negative.
Self-identity is the awareness of oneself as separate and unique with enduring personal characteristics.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) are infestious diseases transmitted through sexual activity. They include HIV, chlamydia, genital herpes, genital warts, gonorrhea, syphilis, and yeast infections. Sexually Transmitted Infections is the more recent terms and is based on the idea that a person may carry the infection, and infect others, but not actually show signs of disease.
Shaken Baby Syndrome is a form of child abuse in which a baby or small child is violently shaken creating a whiplash effect. It is extremely dangerous and can result in brain damage and death..
Shared parenting is the name given to the arrangement by which both parents play a major part in the day to day care and nurture of their children despite the fact that the parents may have split up or divorced.
Sibling is the technical name for a brother or sister
Sibling rivalry is competition or conflict between siblings. It can start at a very early age and continue into adulthood. From a very early age siblings are sensitive to differences in parental treatment and some psychologists see different treatment as an important cause of sibling rivalry. It is often seen as the young child striving to establish their individuality.
Stress is an outside force that has an impact on our body or mind. Stress is a normal part of everyday life which helps us grow and learn, although too much can have a damaging effect on a person. Our response to stress is a complex bodily reaction triggered by the release of chemicals and hormones that prepare us for physical action. Prolonged, unexpected or unmanageable stresses are the ones which can do the most damage to our health.
Supervised contact (formerly known as Supervised access) is where children spend time with the parent who does not have day-to-day contact in a safe, controlled situation, overseen by someone such as a relative or an organisation that provides supervised contact services.
Tantrum is a childish display of bad temper in which the person loses rational control of their feelings of anger.
Te Kohanga Reo is a Māori development initiative. It is a total immersion Māori language family programme for children aged from birth to six years.
Te Whāriki is the Ministry of Education's early childhood curriculum policy statement and provides a framework for children's early learning and development, emphasising the learning partnership between teachers, parents and families.
Teens are the years of puberty and adolescence. The young teenager (13-14 years) is just transitioning out of childhood. They may have acquired a adult body but their thinking and decision-making is inexperienced and immature. In contrast, the older teen (17-19 years) is legally recognised as an adult, may have acquired significant life experience and be mature in their thinking.
Temperament is the psychological term for those parts of a person's personality that they are born with rather than they have learned.
Toddlers are one to two year olds who have learnt to walk.
Truancy is intentional, unauthorised absence from school.
Vaccine is a preparation intended to improve resistance to a disease. Usually the vaccine consists of an agent that resembles the micro-organism that causes the disease. Often it is made from dead or weakened forms of the microbe. The vaccine stimulates the body's immune system.
Values are the fundamental beliefs or guiding principles that shape a person's behaviour and which that person feels strongly about.
Well Child Tamariki Ora is a programme aimed at keeping babies, toddlers and children to the age of five well and developing to their fullest potential.
Whangai is adoption in accordance with Tikanga Māori (Māori customs and traditions).
Work and Income is the part of the Ministry of Social development responsible for providing financial assistance and employment services throughout New Zealand.
Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement is an annual Jewish religious fast day. It is the holiest day of the year for practising Jews.
Youth justice is the legal processes by which the law deals with children and young people who break the law. It recognises that they need special protection in the justice system. This is outlined in the Children, Young Persons and their Families Act (CYPF), 1989.
Kaumatua is the Māori term for an elderly man.
