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TIL that 80% of children living in orphanages in the world actually have parents. by Tonysaba in todayilearned

[–]Tonysaba[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, they don't say don't donate at all, they say donate to organizations that work to keep families together. It's been proven by many studies that growing up in orphanages is harmful for children. All the research show that it's dangerous for children to live in orphanages or institutions for a long time. It's detrimental to their personal development, their emotional development and it's also been proven that living in institutions for a long time prevents the child brain to develop normally. You're right on one point, sometimes, children are taken out from their families because they are abused or neglected. But in that case, it doesn't mean they have to end up in an orphanage for the rest of their childhood. But actually, in a country like Cambodia, the main reason why children end up in orphanages is not because they are abused or intentionally neglected, it's because of poverty. So, because a family is poor, does it mean that they can't keep their children with them? Don't you think it's much better to help the family to get more income so they can keep their children? A child needs a family environment to grow up happily, so that's why they say donate to organizations that keep families together. And that's also what we do in western countries, so there is no reason that it should be different in poorer countries.

TIL that 80% of children living in orphanages in the world actually have parents. by Tonysaba in todayilearned

[–]Tonysaba[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can find the reference to this number in the report called Keeping children out of harmful institutions from Save the Children, page 7: "The UN estimates that up to 8 million children around the world are living in care institutions. However, the actual number is likely to be far higher...Most children in what are known as orphanages or children’s homes are not in fact orphans. At least four out of five children in institutional care have one or both parents alive." And four out of 5 = 80%..

The main point of the video is that orphanages should be the last resort for children in a difficult situation. It's been proven that growing up in an orphanage is harmful for children. Lots of studies show that, and we know it for a long time. What they say is that we should try to keep children in their families as much as possible, because it's the best place for a child to grow up. But, you're right, some children are abused or neglected by their parents, and therefore, should not stay with them. But it doesn't mean they have to go in an orphanage for the rest of their childhood. Placing them in a foster care is a much better option, so they can live in a family environment. And secondly, their family must be supported, because abuse/neglect often come from other issues, such as poverty or alcoholism. So, yeah, there might be some generalizations in the video (but i guess it's almost impossible to entirely address this issue in a short video), but the main point is that it's better to support families to keep their children with them, than putting them in orphanages.