The aim of the master's thesis is to examine how professional workers enable children to engage in a conversation and express their voice and what approaches are used when talking to children. I also wanted to determine on what occasions children can contribute to a conversation and on what occasions they cannot. In the theoretical part of the master's thesis, I define childhood, the importance of the relationship between social workers and children and the creation of a safe space for working with children in the process of assistance. I present child rights, stated in the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. I define the respect of childhood and different approaches to working with children. In the empirical part of the master's thesis, I study the approaches, adopted by professional workers when talking to children. Furthermore, I examine on what occasions children are included in the process of assistance and on what occasions they are not, how professional workers let the children’s voice be heard and why children are not included in the process of assistance. The main finding of this master's thesis is the determined need of professional workers for fewer obligations, so that they could devote more time to talking with children and families, and the need for integrated support and assistance, dedicated to children.
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