This photo represents a touching moment in the life of Sunflower’s summer camp. Six families: mothers who grew up in children’s homes, one grandad who is raising his grandaughter, and their young children went away for six days to work on their parenting skills. This vital work helps prevent the next generation suffering from their parent’s childhood trauma.
Read more: Sunflower summer campsAt the start there was some tension. Everyone was getting used to the new conditions, and the weather meant they were all cooped up indoors. The children didn’t listen to their parents, and also didn’t turn to them when they needed help. They preferred to play on their own and would argue or run off when they were brought together. Yet, by the end of the summer camp, they shared this impromptu moment of togetherness. Tolya had found a ‘treasure’ and his friends were all eager to see what it was.
To get to this point took a lot of work, work which started right at the start of this year when the parents articulated what they wanted to get out of it. They all expressed the difficulty they had in getting their children to listen. During the six days of the camp, a key goal was to help the parents observe their children more closely, to read the signs that show what they need physically and emotionally. One mother said at the end, ‘I have begun to notice where I put pressure on my child. For now it’s difficult to do differently, but the main thing is that I notice those moments.’ Through play therapy and creative activities, the parents were helped to understand why their children refused to play with them, or got angry. Rather than mirroring their children’s behaviour, they learned ways to gently draw their children into the game.
Meanwhile, in the children’s group, the children were also encouraged to recognise and name their emotions. They began to take turns and even tried to resolve their own conflicts. When the group met up back in St Petersburg, they could all look back on many happy and creative moments. All are working hard to carry what they learned into their daily lives.
