Hello once again, lovely people! We're back with another blog post and this time, the topic is PLAY! Who remembers playtime as a child? I know I do! My sister and I would dress up in all sorts of outfits and put on shows to act out for our parents. Or we would draw with chalk out on our driveway, teaching each other how to sketch out silly characters. I always saw playtime as a natural, obvious part of my life. Both at home and at school, childhood education focuses on play. How do we help this kiddo engage in an activity to learn the names of colors? Turn it into a game and try to find as many things as you can in the room that are green. How do we teach a kindergartener the alphabet? We turn it into a song and dance along to each letter's name. Playing is natural for children, right? It's comes as easily to them as breathing, doesn't it? Not the case. Play is taught. For children living in institutions, the day is very tightly scheduled. Wake up, eat, go to school (for the children that are able to), help take care of younger children, eat again, and go back to sleep. There is very little free time for the child or the caregiver to relax and play together. Think of it this way. Many times, children play games that are based on a story they have made up. A daring hero coming to slay a fierce beast, a magician casting spells to fly, or even a family cooking dinner together. Many of us hear children coming up with new details to their play stories all the time. However, what if the children were never told stories about daring heroes, never shown how to explore impossibilities like magic, never able to experience a family cooking and sitting down to dinner together. Will they be able to make up stories if they have not been taught the basis of imagination? The answer is too often no. The children and caregivers in orphanages are so limited in time due to the many tasks that need to be completed, that there is no space to fit in stories or playtime. For orphanages so understaffed like the one Hope Station members visit, there can be up to 10 children for 1 caregiver at a time. There is no possible way for a child to receive the attention and individual time to practice how to play. Play is such a vital part of development. Responses from others teach children the meaning of facial expressions and allows them to copy. Picking up and moving toys allows smaller kids to develop fine motor skills. Encouragement and interaction with loving people encourages a kiddo's confidence, confidence that will lead to making their own decisions in the future. It's important to remember how precious play is! Hope Station wants to give all little ones the chance to play to their heart's content, both with their current caregivers, and hopefully one day with their forever families. This blog post was written by guest blogger, Sarah.
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Hi lovely people! I’m an intern working with Hope Station for the next few months! I’ve already learned so much from this position and I’d like to share some of that insight with you all as I go along! For this blog post, I’d like to discuss the effect of institutions on children. Also, how we as a worldwide society should work towards a better future for all children. The basis for this post is a TED Talk by Georgette Mulheir, titled "The Tragedy of Orphanages". It is an eye-opening call to action, so I'll add the link below if you wish to listen for yourself! TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/georgette_mulheir_the_tragedy_of_orphanages Listening to the hardships of children is difficult. Anyone who has taken a public speaking course knows that emotional language in effective in captivating an audience. However, Mulheir uses statistics to illustrate the life of children in institutions. Numbers are usually the death of emotional speeches, and yet my heart hurt nonetheless. Mulheir sees babies staring at the ceiling, only moaning to show their distress. Caregivers do not have enough support or time to care for each child's specific needs. This lack of interaction and love creates future problems for little ones and we have yet to find a solution. In many cases, families are forced to part with a child due to poverty, lack of resources, or the absence of support. We put children into institutions, saying the quiet ones are so "well behaved." We fail to realize that they are already used to being lonely. We are blind to the nightmares we have created for our world's little ones. When these children leave an institution, they the have to process their own difficulties, often unsuccessfully. Many children who have grown up in institutions struggle with mental illness, crime, and drug abuse later in life. So we have identified a very obvious problem, now what? What can we do? Thankfully, it is possible to make things much better. A big part of the solution is raising awareness to the issue. After that, it's time for action and action usually means money. However, THE RESOURCES TO HELP ARE THERE! The money available needs to be allocated towards family support programs. We need to encourage people, not tell them to give up. As Mulheir says, child institutionalization may be the one "form of child abuse we can eradicate within our lifetime". More support for families means less pressure to part with a child, less trauma related to the lack of a parental figure, and less problems for innocent children who just need love. Hope Station works to help orphaned children in China by raising up champions in caregivers. This is VITAL! All children need love and proper support to grow up happy and healthy. Yes, we can need to improve conditions in orphanages. However, we at Hope Station want to emphasize that CHILDREN NEED FAMILIES! No matter how wonderful the building is, how knowledgeable the staff are, or how advanced the education is, an institution will NEVER be able to compete with the love of a family. This blog post was written by guest blogger, Sarah. |
A note from Rebekah...If you've ever wondered what it would be like to start a nonprofit from the ground up, to open a home for ORPHANS with special needs in Asia, you've come to the right place. Archives
August 2019
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