EU4Youth provides recommendations on how to support young schoolchildren during wartime in Ukraine

The Innovative Pedagogy at the Ukrainian State University named after Mykhaylo Dragomanov as part of the ‘EU4Youth – Post-conflict Education and Trauma-Informed Pedagogy’ programme has developed recommendations on how to support younger schoolchildren during wartime.

“Large-scale war is a challenge for Ukrainians, especially for children. Sirens, evacuation, separation from loved ones, studying in new schools, and sometimes in basements or shelters – for primary school pupils, these are not just ‘changes in life’ but the destruction of their basic sense of stability,” the publication says.

The recommendations remind that children rarely say, “I feel anxious”. Instead, they become overly excited or, conversely, indifferent to everything, complain more often of stomach aches or headaches, lose previously acquired skills, such as writing or reading, and avoid tasks or conflict with classmates.

The programme suggests concrete tools on how to reduce nervous tension among children. For example, organising a small corner with soft pillows, books or anti-stress toys, where a child can spend a few minutes, will also reduce nervous tension.

The ‘EU4Youth – Post-conflict Education and Trauma-Informed Pedagogy’ programme is implemented by the Department of Primary Education and Innovative Pedagogy at the Ukrainian State University named after Mykhaylo Dragomanov, in partnership with Vytautas Magnus University (Kaunas, Lithuania) and with the support of the EU and the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Original publication on the ‘Vchysia.Media’ portal