Children in Bosnia and Herzegovina have more and more development difficulties. The main reason is too large exposure to audio-visual contents. Experts advise that the early detection and intervention are most important, and that parents play a key role. The BHRT team visited the Center for Mother and Child, early growth and development, which has recently opened with the support of the European Union in Banja Luka. By the way, the European Union provided 7.2m euros in our country for five such centers.
Svetlana Vidović, mother of a boy of three and a half years, is brought to the child in a speech therapist. Problems were with speech. After four months of work, the results are, says, great.
“Progress is huge. He shows me. I tell me. I even hope that he will speak quite correctly and normally until his age,” says Vidović.
The needs for working with children are large. In the Center for Mother and Child, early growth and development in Banja Luka, a team of experts, psychologist, defectologist, speech therapy. In less than a month, more than 250 children were reviewed.
“We are organized so that when the pediatrician determines some deviations in the early Development of the Child, our parents who are ordered on the phone or personally, are determined by the type of treatment,” explains the main nurse Gordana Vučić.
The most common problems that children face are attention disorders, voice-linguistic difficulties, but also disorders from autistic spectrum.
“Children who have been quite exposed to audio-visual contents in their early development, if they adopted it, in a foreign language and most often English. Children cannot concentrate in one activity,” Aleksandra Milanović points out.
“Early intervention is crucial in this period because the child’s brain is intensively developed, in that period, the brain is capable of learning, to adapt to the parents as soon as possible,” said Children’s psychologist Ivana Šargić.
Services are harmonized with the Law on Health Protection of the Republika Srpska. They are implemented by cooperation between health, education and social protection sectors.
“The idea is that the child as soon as possible, that is, but in the presentation of any discrepancies, the treatment of Ranka Kalinic, the Chief of the Center for Mother and Child, growth and development in Banja Luka.
The Center for Mother and Child, Growth and Development in Banja Luka is opened with the support of the European Union. The plan is opening centers in Prijedor, Bijeljina and Doboj. The two centers are opened in Vogošća and Saraj Polje 2024. years.
“Evidence shows that quality interventions in early childhood, better educational outcomes, show that every 1 km of socio-economic benefits may cost up to 103 million KM.
If a child does not respond in the name, he avoids his view, no meaningful game or if he is not saying the word, parents, with experts, and react in time for 15 months. BHRT.
