Jumana Kharoufeh Hazboun, a consultant and educational researcher specializing in early childhood, Palestine. 

 

To work with children who have had traumatic experiences during the war, it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of their individual needs, social and cultural background, and the depth of the psychological impact of the circumstances they have experienced. It is necessary to provide them with the appropriate support and care, to help them recover and monitor the appropriate development of their personalities from different growth perspectives. 

Hence, caregivers of these children, parents, educators, relatives and others, must give them special attention, and try to develop their skill, in order to support them in overcoming the psychological crises they suffer during the war, or beyond. It’s a challenging task, as caregivers themselves may experience psychological, emotional and social difficulties, that hinder their ability to assist children around them. Despite the difficulty of the issue, I endeavor to offer help in this article, by putting forward ideas and suggestions that support caregivers during their interaction with children in these very difficult circumstances, to utilize these suggestions as much as they can, depending on their psychological and social capacities, and on the resources available in the surrounding environment. 

Educational and psychological mechanisms to support children 

The following are a series of educational and psychological mechanisms put forward to deal with and support these children, in order to overcome the impact of the trauma they are experiencing, during or after the war: 

Opportunities for flexible communication and listening 

In these difficult circumstances, children may suffer from fear or anxiety, which could sometimes reach panic level. They urgently need to be carefully heard, to have their fears and concerns listened to, and be addressed with kindness. Offer them the opportunity to express themselves as much as possible, help them unload any psychological burdens on their mind, and allow them to feel like they have someone who listens to them and cares for them, all of which contributes to their sense of confidence. 

Ensuring a sense of security 

A safe physical and emotional environment is necessary for children to feel secure. This is provided by the material and social resources surrounding them. Gentle care and emotional support must be given to them to reassure them, even if it is only to a small extent, depending on the surrounding circumstances and how severe they are. 

Providing psychological support 

If available, psychologists, educational and behavioral counsellors in schools or institutions concerned with children can be consulted to assist children in coping with psychological challenges, providing them with safe spaces to express their feelings. 

Offering avenues for active learning 

Children should be offered as many opportunities as possible, making use of available resources to learn and develop their skills, to ensure that they have access to basic learning, whether in school, home, or safe institutions. Here, the focus is on active learning and incorporating experiential and project-based assignments. The child is given the role of an investigator and knowledge researcher, which contributes to changing their thoughts and psychological state, focusing their efforts towards self-motivated tasks, and achieving learning pleasure. 

Creating opportunities to engage in play and social interaction 

Using meaningful and developmental play, in all its forms, and in proportion to children’s ages, tendencies, and individual differences, helps children express themselves offering them opportunities for interaction with their peers or adults around, which in turn relieves their stress and anxiety. 

Providing health Care 

Children’s health care should be tailored to their needs. This involves periodic medical examinations and psychiatric treatment, if needed, particularly after the end of the war period. 

Creating opportunities for cooperation between family members 

Encouraging collaboration between adults and children in the family can lead to the creation of support and care opportunities, alleviating psychological stress, and providing opportunities to create positive energy for all involved family members. 

Promoting the concept of identity and national affiliation 

Here, there is an urgent need to strengthen the concept of national identity and homeland affiliation, and to clarify the general causes that led to war in a simplified and age-appropriate manner, taking into account the child’s developmental capacity It would be useful to provide opportunities for children to discuss matters related war, and ask questions they are pondering, and try to answer them within the dialogue. Additionally, they can express their cultural and social values and traditions and discuss their impact on the lives of individuals in the community. 

Protecting children from violence 

It is important to protect children from any violence or exploitation they may experience due to their living conditions during or after war. It is necessary to have systems in place to report any violations or exploitations they are exposed to, whether intentional or unintentional, to prevent any further negative psychological effects on them. 

Co-operating with humanitarian institutions 

Support should be sought from humanitarian organizations, governmental and non-governmental bodies working in the field of social care and education, to support children who have been displaced or affected by war. 

Suggestions for activities that support children 

We offer suggestions for child-supporting activities that can facilitate psychological unloading and debriefing and help them transcend the negative effects of war, whether at home, in school, or in any institution involved in the child’s upbringing and learning during or after the war. 

Arts and Crafts Activities 

These arts include many activities, such as painting and coloring, handmade artworks such as beads, paper, sculpture, or clay. There are many ideas for artistic activities that are available online on educational and artistic webpages. 

Reading Activities 

Reading encompasses many activities, such as reading illustrated stories, books, and encyclopedias appropriate to the child’s age, where the content contributes to the child’s emotional and psychological unloading process and gives him/her hope and a sense of mental comfort. Many activities that complement reading can also be developed, such as acting (drama), painting, coloring, oral expression, dialogue, and discussion, as well as supporting children in writing their own stories to express their feelings and thoughts. 

Music Activities 

The use of simple musical instruments, such as a tambourine, bell, and (metal) triangle, can be included in a broad category of activities, which comprise listening to music and dynamic and physical expression. Children can also participate in singing, chanting along pre-recorded songs and karaoke or compose their own songs and listen to them. 

Physical and Dynamic Activities 

In either indoor or outdoor environments, these activities can be carried out with the use of various tools, such as balls of various forms, hula hoops, jumping cords, outdoor playground equipment (e.g. swings), and bicycles, if available. It is worth mentioning that musical and physical activities can be combined to create an atmosphere of enjoyment and positive energy for children, and provide opportunities for creativity, innovation, and relaxation. 

Engaging in social activities 

In these circumstances, the child urgently needs social interaction in all its forms, as an attempt for their social integration, to restore their confidence in themselves and others around them, and achieve a sense of self-security. This interaction can take various forms, such as playing or field visit in the surrounding environment, particularly after the end of the war, when the opportunity to move around freely and safely becomes possible. 

Gardening and Animal Care Activities 

Growing and caring for plants, as well as caring for animals, is a fun activity for children; it aids them in achieving emotional and psychological objectives, such as feeling responsible, mentally mature, caring for others, and creating hope and love for life. In addition to social objectives, like cooperating with others, organizing work and tasks, adhering to time and work standards, and regulations. It accomplishes cognitive, linguistic, and intellectual objectives, such as task planning, documenting observations, solving problems that may arise, and searching for data. It creates very rich learning opportunities when prepared appropriately to be suitable for children’s age, needs, capacity, and individual differences. 

Self-reflection activities 

Children benefit greatly from being supported and from having opportunities to develop self-reflection skills, evaluate their daily experiences, and draw conclusions to advance themselves according to their own potential and energies, in order to achieve their personal goals. This type of activity is achieved at levels that start with simple contemplation, then gradually increase in complexity as the children grow old, and develop their experiences and skills in this field, starting with a straightforward assessment of attitudes and behaviors and their effect on others, assessing and discussing social situations and attitudes, and other experiences that contribute to the children’s development of this skill. 

Activities to improve relaxation skills 

All children should develop their self-relaxation and psychological unloading and debriefing skills and mechanisms. These skills are not inherent and do not come suddenly, but need training from a young age. The child often needs them during the war period or after its traumatic experiences. Therefore, during this critical psychological period, childcare providers need to carry out this type of activity with children, such as breathing and relaxation exercises, listening to calming sounds or music and documenting the thoughts that came to the child’s mind during it, and discussing thought-provoking stimuli related to a certain topic, as well as unleashing the child’s psychological release by expressing his/her thoughts and feelings. 

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I endeavored in this article to present a set of concise ideas and suggestions for dealing with children during or after the war, taking into account, the possibility and practicality of applying them with children throughout their lifespan, the nature of the psychological and social circumstances surrounding the child, and the social and mental characteristics of the children’s caregivers (family, school, institution, relatives, etc.), as well as the resources available in the environment, whether social, material, political or economic. The proximity or remoteness of children and caregivers to immediate war zones, as well as the individual differences between children, particularly those with special needs, may necessitate specific mechanisms for each group. In addition to the general suggestions presented in this article, experts in special education and psychological counselling, and sometimes psychiatrists, are often necessary based on the needs and capacities of each group, hoping to emerge from the war period with minimal effect on children’s wellbeing, and to reduce its impact on the development and growth of children from various aspects. 

This article was published in issue 16 of Manhajiyat magazine and was translated into English as part of a joint project with the Centre for  Lebanese Studies and (PROCOL). All rights reserved. Republishing or quoting the article is prohibited without citing the source or obtaining written permission.