Stressors
Personal
As a child, my family moved around a lot. After every school year, we moved to a new town or city which meant a start over when the school year once again would start up. I felt incredibly isolated every time we moved because I went from having a group of friends to having no one again. It was a vicious cycle that often made me feel that it wasn't worth making any new friends whenever I made my way to a new school system.
I spent most of my spare time with my cousins when it came to interacting with people because we were thick as thieves in our younger years. While it wasn't a horrible thing, I would say that only spending time with my cousins made it more difficult for me to make friends when I was at school. Because I would just tell myself I didn't need any, that I had family and that was it. But it did get lonely in the end because with only two playmates (sometimes three), there were some days where there wasn't anyone to play with.
I didn't cope with it beyond clinging to my family members and just hoping for the best most of the time. I was super close with my mom and my grandparents when I was growing up which I'm grateful for now. While most children were spending time with their friends, I was spending time with adults which may have progressed my maturation in a way other children didn't.
World
Isolation in Russia is typically reserved for those with disabilities. "Nearly 30 percent of all Russian children with disabilities live separately from their families and communities in closed institutions" ("Abandoned by the State | Violence, Neglect, and Isolation for Children with Disabilities in Russian Orphanages", 2020). It's a horrible way for children to live, isolated from those that would help them to grow as people. They spend their childhoods locked away due to the neglect of Russia's government not having enough alternatives for them to make sure they are properly taken care of.
Not to mention the children that arrive at these institutions early on in life, almost never return to their families. And their isolation often comes hand-in-hand with violence, neglect, and even threats. They don't take care of the children that are being isolated from those that would give them the care they need if given the proper alternatives to help care for them within their own homes.
Russia has begun to take steps towards helping create more accessible areas for people with disabilities but they have a long way to go. Right now, children are being forced into institutions and treated as nothing more than dirt in the eyes of those that should be caring for them. A true shame.
Resources
Abandoned by the State | Violence, Neglect, and Isolation for Children with Disabilities in Russian Orphanages. (2020). Retrieved 29 March 2020, from https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/09/15/abandoned-state/violence-neglect-and-isolation-children-disabilities-russian
As a child, my family moved around a lot. After every school year, we moved to a new town or city which meant a start over when the school year once again would start up. I felt incredibly isolated every time we moved because I went from having a group of friends to having no one again. It was a vicious cycle that often made me feel that it wasn't worth making any new friends whenever I made my way to a new school system.
I spent most of my spare time with my cousins when it came to interacting with people because we were thick as thieves in our younger years. While it wasn't a horrible thing, I would say that only spending time with my cousins made it more difficult for me to make friends when I was at school. Because I would just tell myself I didn't need any, that I had family and that was it. But it did get lonely in the end because with only two playmates (sometimes three), there were some days where there wasn't anyone to play with.
I didn't cope with it beyond clinging to my family members and just hoping for the best most of the time. I was super close with my mom and my grandparents when I was growing up which I'm grateful for now. While most children were spending time with their friends, I was spending time with adults which may have progressed my maturation in a way other children didn't.
World
Isolation in Russia is typically reserved for those with disabilities. "Nearly 30 percent of all Russian children with disabilities live separately from their families and communities in closed institutions" ("Abandoned by the State | Violence, Neglect, and Isolation for Children with Disabilities in Russian Orphanages", 2020). It's a horrible way for children to live, isolated from those that would help them to grow as people. They spend their childhoods locked away due to the neglect of Russia's government not having enough alternatives for them to make sure they are properly taken care of.
Not to mention the children that arrive at these institutions early on in life, almost never return to their families. And their isolation often comes hand-in-hand with violence, neglect, and even threats. They don't take care of the children that are being isolated from those that would give them the care they need if given the proper alternatives to help care for them within their own homes.
Russia has begun to take steps towards helping create more accessible areas for people with disabilities but they have a long way to go. Right now, children are being forced into institutions and treated as nothing more than dirt in the eyes of those that should be caring for them. A true shame.
Resources
Abandoned by the State | Violence, Neglect, and Isolation for Children with Disabilities in Russian Orphanages. (2020). Retrieved 29 March 2020, from https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/09/15/abandoned-state/violence-neglect-and-isolation-children-disabilities-russian
I could only imagine what it is like to move from place to place not feeling that you belong . It is sometimes lonely when you are surrounded by friends, but I am glad that you had your parents and grandparents to help you get through.
ReplyDeleteHi Delaney Marks,
ReplyDeleteMaking a new friend is always a challenge. You talked about isolation in Russia for disabled children. This distributed me a lot. These disabled children should be given proper care and attention just like USA and European countries.