IMPACTS ON EARLY EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

 

It is not an understatement to say that children's early emotional development is very important and grief is one of the major things that can affect a child's emotional wellbeing. I am from West Africa, a Nigerian to be precise and have lived there most years in my life. For this reason, I have decided to look at UNICEF and the work they do in Nigeria. In the past 12 years or even more, Nigeria has been under a bloody terrorism attack (political, tribal and religious war) and this has become more intense in the past 6 years till date. There has been terrible attacks against children and families by unidentified armed groups (Boko-Haram, Fulani Herdsmen, Bandits and some others). These groups kidnap and abduct children from their schools, kill or rape them. They attack parents in the farm lands and their villages and end up killing and burning down their homes, leaving their children homeless and without any source of livelihood. Churches are being attacked more frequently and the outcome is always heartbreak and grief.  Some members of these groups end of keeping the girls for marriage in their camps. You can imagine keeping a girl of 8 to 9 years for marriage and assaulting her sexually. 

All of these, makes children to live in fear. They feel bitter, rejected and insecure, which is actually the real outcome of the trauma.  Mostly children and women are at the receiving end. Some children lose their mothers to these terrorists because they take them away forcefully to be their wives. Most families have fled their homes in search of  more secured place. But the question is, "where is safe?" Children also grieve about life changes such as death, divorce, moving to another city or geographic region, losing a pet, and saying goodbye to a parent being deployed overseas (Wood, 2008).

As a result of these, teachers are likely to deal with these horrible news on a daily basis. It is either they are caught in the web of the drama or they have children and families who have been affected by the occurrences. Just like UNICEF has been advocating and remained committed to take all measure to ensure the safety of children and their families and to reduce the suffering victim, we as educators can also stand up as advocates for these children and their families through campaigns "STOP THE KILLING", "EVERY CHILD'S LIFE MATTERS" and other campaign hashtags just to lend our voices. Our voice as educators just have to be heard because we are the primary life shapers of these children and we can't afford to see them go through traumas, especially in their early years. We can also create a mental wellbeing awareness and help these families to maintain a balanced emotional and mental wellbeing.

References

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/least-thirteen-children-killed-latest-attack-children-and-families-niger

Wood, F.B. (2008). Helping young children cope. YC: Young Children, 63(5), 28 - 31