I have mentioned it in various ways on various occasions, but I think it is important to lift this point out and look at it closely. The point being that children ending up in institutions is not just about push-factors – such as not having anywhere else to go – there are major pull-factors. If you are not aware of this and do not take it into account, it will not be possible to avoid the unnecessary separation of children from their families or to successfully remove children from institutions.
In some countries – particularly former-Soviet Union countries, but not only those – there is a strong belief that the state, and those employed by them, are more capable of properly raising children than parents are since parents do not have any training. This belief covers children in general, and particularly children with special needs. The mistaken belief that parents are unable to properly care for children with disabilities is quite widespread in many places. Of course, parents of children with complicated needs require some training and support to be able to care for their children, but when given that, they tend to do a lot better job at it than institutions are able to do.
Other major pull factors of institutions are food and education. Families that are very poor and unable to provide their children with three meals a day and/or are unable to send their children to school often believe that their children will have a much better life if they grow up in an institution where their belly will be full and they will get an education.
This is understandable. All the things children get when they grow up with their family – even a very poor one – such as care that takes the individual child’s needs into consideration, attachment, attention, physical contact, stimulation, connection to the community, a sense of belonging and identity, and self-esteem are taken for granted, they go unnoticed. The things that are lacking such as enough food and the opportunity for education are much more noticeable.
The presumption is that when children are offered the food and education – in an institution – they will get that on top of everything they get at home. What people do not realise is that food and education are offered instead of all the other things. And that lack of all the other things creates a situation of far greater deprivation and harm than lacking enough food or education.
This makes it so essential to raise awareness about the harm done by institutionalisation and the benefits of growing up in a family. Because until families understand this, the pull factor of institutions will be a great temptation that will lead to the unnecessary separation of children from their families. Something that seriously worsens their life chances.
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