The pandemic is particularly troubling for children, according to the experts at Riki (“Rieder Kinder & Jugend Schutzhaus”), which also offers free therapeutic and psychological help during lockdown. The number of those looking for help in the age group of children far exceeds what is available in Austria.
In the Riki in Rieder Bahnhofstrasse, children whose parents are looking for help are treated. “At the moment, however, more and more young people are turning to us personally because they simply don’t know what to do next,” says Riki managing director Ursula Rothauer-Stadler.
Many parents are overwhelmed
Children need sufficient personal and spatial resources in order to be able to deal better with difficult situations: parents, relatives, friends or teachers who offer orientation and ensure that structures continue to exist; but also enough space for retreat, such as your own room, according to the expert.
The corona crisis presents parents and children with unprecedented challenges, especially in lockdown phases in which short-time work or class closings are the order of the day. “Unfortunately, many children do not have the necessary resources,” says Ursula Rothauer-Stadler. “Many parents are overwhelmed with the situation itself, suffer from existential fears and find it increasingly difficult to give support and maintain a good structure for children and young people.” According to the expert, children can show different reactions in such exceptional situations: withdrawal, depressive behavior, eating disorders, but also aggressiveness, vandalism or anger.
Plea for school attendance
The Riki offers free support in the form of psychotherapy and psychological treatment for all of these problems. Riki boss Rothauer-Stadler and her team are currently observing a phenomenon: Refusal to attend school. Some children and adolescents have great difficulty finding their way back to everyday life after a lockdown phase and are therefore being treated at the Riki.
Rothauer-Stadler’s urgent appeal: “As long as it is possible to attend school, children and young people should also go to school. Exchanges and the community there are extremely important not only for learning, but also for mental hygiene.”
Source: Nachrichten
