Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

For this week I chose to share a very personal story, the story of my best friend Leena. I knew leena in seventh grade, and we remained best friends throughout high school. She lived with her mother and father and her two older brothers. Whenever she came over to study, Leena would not let me close my bedroom door. She was easily startled anytime a loud sound happened. I didn’t pay much attention to her behavior, but one day I asked her jokingly “why are you so anxious all the time?” to this day, her words still send shivers down my spine. Leena broke down in tears that day and confide into me that she doesn’t like closed doors because they reminded her of her mother.  She said any time the door is slammed it meant her father was beating her mom. She said what hurts the most is feeling helpless to her mother’s cry of help calling her name and the names of her brothers behind that door. At night, she was scared to sleep alone and always stayed in her brothers’ room. But her brothers had each other for support, and she was left out to endure the stress. What moved me the most in her story is when she mentioned stuffing her ears with cotton before going to bed, so she won’t hear the screams of her mother. Leena was scared to share her experience with anyone, let alone seek help or support. When she told me, I thought about letting my parents know, but she had me promise not to tell. Leena’s experience, by no means, is unique. Statistics show that 3.3 million children witness domestic violence each year in the United States alone. Domestic violence occurs across the world, in various cultures and affects people of all economic statuses. Yet to me, the effect of domestic violence on children had a face and name to go with it, that name was Leena.

Gone are the days when wars were fought between countries’ armies in a remote battlefield. The majority of modern wars unfortunately take place within countries, not between them. In many such conflicts, children account for the majority of the casualties. In Palestine, my homeland, children represent more than 53% of the Palestinian society. Palestinian children experience many forms of violence from the current war. Those which are most likely to cause trauma are the death of a parent, relative, or best friend. Torture, witnessing an act of violence, separation from one or both parents for a period of time, injury, including those resulting in deformity or handicaps, poverty and severe deprivation, and shelling or demolition of their house. Emotions and reactions of children are manifested in many ways including: problems with speech, difficulty concentrating, learning difficulties, sleeping problems, bed wetting, and feelings of lost hope and guilt. So far, little has been done to stop or ease the suffering of these children; however, a number of organizations and recent studies have brought attention to the growing problem in that region and the devastating consequences.

http://en.ptcgaza.com/files/2011/05/Chapter-in-Book1-The-effects-of-Chronic-Trauma-in-Palestine.pdf

http://www.labournet.net/world/0902/uhwc1.html