Conflict and Children

In the World Forum Foundation publication, From Conflict to Peace Building: The Power of Early Childhood Initiatives — Lessons from Around the World, editors Paul Connolly and Jacqueline Hayden discuss some of the impacts of war and armed conflicts on children:

"...Violence can easily become a routine and normalised part of children's lives. This can be seen, for example, in relation to a number of studies that have reported how children tend to recreate the violence that surrounds them in their play. Observational studies conducted in South Africa have found that 'police raid games' were prevalent in children's games, while in Northern Ireland it has been reported that children as young as four or five 'were spending considerable time erecting barricades in their playgrounds and pretending to throw petrol bombs.'

"However, rather than seeing such activities as important ways young children are attempting to explore and make sense of the conflict that surrounds them, anecdotal evidence suggests that a tendency exists for adults to stop such games for fear of how they may look or where they may lead. This, in turn, tends to be part of a general silence that children experience in relation to the events surrounding them whereby little opportunity is provided for them to explore what they have seen and to express feelings about it.... Not having the opportunity to make sense of what is happening around them can simply increase children's sense of powerlessness and vulnerability."

For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.

© 2005 Child Care Information Exchange - All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Return to Site