Child psychologist: Adaptation of IDP children in new communities is inextricably linked to integration of their parents
Kyiv • UNN
Psychologist Kateryna Holzberg spoke about the importance of the parents' condition in the process of adaptation of displaced children. She warns against over-segregating such children and advises creating conditions for the integration of all new students.
The process of adaptation of children who were forced to change their place of residence due to the war largely depends on the state of the closest people around them, how quickly they are ready to get used to life in new conditions. This opinion was expressed by Kateryna Holzberg, President of the Professional Association of Child Analytical Psychologists, child and family psychologist, in a commentary to UNN.
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There is a very important aspect that affects the child's condition: his parents, his guardians, the people who are around him. If they are anxious, then of course the child is also anxious. That's why we have to consider not only the child, separately, but also the family. And if schools and some centers do this through the family, it will be much easier to integrate the child. If parents have a lot of anxiety, the child scans them and behaves accordingly
At the same time, the psychologist warns that one should not particularly distinguish IDP children from others.
School staff and teachers should understand that there are children who may need additional attention, and perhaps a psychologist should be organized to accompany them. But I don't think they should be singled out in any particular way. Because it may happen that there will be such rent-seeking behavior when singling out these children may, on the contrary, contribute to their separation rather than integration. Adults should be aware of this. And a child, if he or she wants to share his or her background, can share it personally. It's just a matter of creating conditions, as for any child who comes to a new school, so that there is no bullying and similar things. But this is done with all newcomers - not just those who come from the occupied territories. Any new child should join the school community through acquaintance, through some integration steps, etc
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The mayor of Brovary, Ihor Sapozhko , saidthat the community pays considerable attention to the adaptation of displaced children, namely their attendance at preschools and educational institutions.
We pay extra attention to ensuring that displaced children study offline in the schools of our community to help them adapt faster. For us, all children are children of Ukraine, they are our relatives
