Children should not be kept in orphanages as it compromises their mental health, says a counsellor and foster care specialist.
Mental health counsellor and foster care specialist Lari Baty Cannon said keeping children in orphanages affected their mental health as well as their right to be with a family.
Cannon also said children in ophanages would be exposed to crime, gang activity, drug usage, prostitution and suicide.
She said the caregiver was instrumental in the laying the foundation of good mental health in children.
“Trust develops when a baby’s need is met by the caregiver. However, if the need is not met there is mistrust.
“When babies have to compete for attention, an infant trauma cycle develops,” she said.
She, however, said the trauma cycle could be reversed for children under the age of three, which is the critical age for child development.
Citing the Bucharest Early Intervention Study findings, Cannon said children living in welfare homes should be placed under family care at an early age.
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Category(s):Child and/or Adolescent Issues, Child Development
Source material from Free Malaysia Today
