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In Russia without Love
It only takes a few days for children to become withdrawn and broken. Instead of frantically crying for attention, they soon become silent. Smiling faces, desperate to be loved, become blank, and outstretched arms, begging to be held, are withdrawn. Of the 700,000 children living in institutional care in Russia 95% have at least one parent. Families, faced with overwhelming hardship, feel they have no choice but to place their child in an ‘orphanage’ in the hope they will be better cared for.
We are lucky here in the UK. How many of us will ever have to make such a harrowing choice? They are good people who are faced with one of the hardest decisions a parent can ever make. It is desperation and poverty that drives them to give up their children. They see it as a means of giving their children food and warmth. But often the conditions in institutions are terrible, and even worse is the psychological damage the children suffer. They need love and attention to thrive, and in institutions they feel rejected and deserted.
Many parents hope that one day, once they are back on their feet financially, they will be able to take their children home. In reality, this rarely happens. Not only is it almost impossible to break out of the cycle of poverty, the old Soviet belief that the state can raise children better than families is still deeply ingrained in the attitudes of many parents and childcare professionals. Once children are in the care system, it can be very difficult to get them out.
The film John shocked Britain into reform
The horror of the situation in Russia is surprisingly similar to the childcare system that prevailed in the UK up until the 1960s. It was a series of films about how children coped with separation from their families that shocked the nation and childcare profession into widespread reform and closure of UK institutions.
James and Joyce Robertson produced the powerful series which followed five children, the most famous of which was John. This young boy was aged 17 months when he spent just nine days in a residential nursery. For two days he tries to attach himself to a nurse, but because they are not assigned to individual children no-one attends to him long enough to understand and answer his needs. He is not mothered or protected, food and routines are strange, and John becomes increasingly distressed. He eventually sinks into hopeless apathy and when, just nine days later, his mother comes to collect him he rejects her.
The films had a profound effect on viewers as they clearly demonstrated the detrimental effect that separation has on young children’s development. They led to a reassessment of residential nurseries as the primary model of childcare for children under the age of give in the UK and in many other developed countries. This gives us hope that reform is also possible in Russia.
The Road Home follows the plight of Russian children
During the Second World War, children in the UK were evacuated en masse out of the major cities. The negative impact of such early separation was discovered by thinkers such as John Bowlby, a developmental psychologist whose pioneering work helped to identify the importance of early attachment in young children’s development. Despite this new knowledge, medical and social care professionals and decision-makers remained defensive of traditional institutional care practices. Surely a similar revolution is possible in Russia?
Over the past two years EveryChild has been involved with two other organisations - Early Intervention Institute and HealthProm - in making a documentary about a baby home in Russia, in which about 100 children under the age of three live. We hope the film, The Road Home, will influence policy and practice in Russia – in much the same way John did. It too clearly demonstrates the inadequacies in the institutional system and the detrimental impact it has on children.
The film crew spent months following the development of a number of children. There was one little boy whose mother was homeless. Supported by staff, she was able to build a bond with her baby and every day, after working for long hours as a road sweeper, she would rush to the baby home to spend time with her child. She received help to find a bedsit and was finally able to take her child home. The film crew captured the change in this little boy as he went from an introverted child to a confident toddler after spending time with his mother. He was one of the lucky ones.
In contrast, a little girl who had lived at home for the first eight months of her life did not receive the love and attention she needed in the baby home. She sank rapidly into depression and soon became locked in her own solitary world.
EveryChild hopes the film will prompt reform in Russia
These are two of the stories told through The Road Home. By following the fates of real children, it shows the stark reality of the psychological impact of institutional care. It clearly shows the difference that early parental attachment and a loving family environment can make to a child’s development.
It also shows that these parents truly love their children – they just need some support. The Road Home is part of EveryChild’s work in Russia to reduce the number of children, aged up to the age of three, entering and spending more than six months in institutional care. We aim to change regulations so that Russia’s regional healthcare administrations put in place rigid criteria that have to be met before parents are allowed to give up their children. Support must also be provided by institutions to help parents stay in touch with their children and to help reunite families.
The situation is serious, as the rate of children entering institutions is increasing. Change is desperately needed and it is hoped that initiatives such as The Road Home will help bring about the same monumental shift in childcare as was experienced in the UK. With your help and support, EveryChild can influence Russia’s decision-makers to bring about much needed change to childcare practices.