Children who experience physical, cognitive or emotional neglect, say because their mother
was sick and their father was busy, often face anxiety. As a result, their body produces
stress hormones. If this happens a lot, these hormones become toxic for their developing
brain, which then later can repress emotional and cognitive well-being for life.
The real story of Daniel Rucareanu, who spent part of his early childhood in a Romanian
orphanage, shows the full impact neglect can have.
The story began in 1966 when Romania’s then leader, Nicolae Ceaușescu, wanted to make
his country a world powerhouse and came up with laws to increase the country's population.
Abortion and contraception were declared mostly illegal. While the law led to a rapid rise
in birth rates, many of the poorer families were unable to take care of all their children
and Daniel, and around half a million others, were sent to state-run institutions.
In most orphanages there were no toys, no books, or anything else to stimulate cognitive
development. Many kids just stared at the bare ceilings, waiting for their next meal.
Due to the lack of human contact, some babies developed strategies for self stimulation,
such as rocking back and forth.
The cognitive neglect often led to lower IQ scores, delayed language development and a
lack of creative thinking. This happens because our brains build connections with every new
experience and stimulation. If there are no rich experiences during the first years of
life — the period in which the brain develops the fastest — children cannot build the
foundations necessary for optimal future learning. They miss out for life.
Daniel lived with over 400 other children and their shared bedrooms were hardly ever
cleaned. The meals were mostly tiny portions of boiled cabbage, which the staff would sometimes
steal to eat themselves. Some supervisors used violence to control the orphans. Others
encouraged the older kids to beat Daniel to humiliate him and exercise authority..
The consequences of physical neglect and lack of basic nutrients caused most orphans to
suffer from stunted growth. Some children contracted HIV and Hepatitis B as a result
of the reusing of medical supplies. The physical abuse caused severe bruising and other injuries.
The overworked and under-trained staff hardly ever soothed the crying children. In fact
they barely spent any time with Daniel at all. Some children were left completely alone
with their worries, others hid their feelings from the very people who ought to protect
them, since they feared being hurt.
Emotional neglect and anxiety lead to an excessive production of the stress hormones known as
adrenaline and cortisol,which is like poison for the developing brain.But the experience
also distorted the children’s understanding of love and human relationships. They learned
to trust nobody and as adults, often suffered from depression, insomnia and social anxiety.
When Ceausescu's regime was eventually overthrown and the conditions inside the orphanages were
shown on television, researchers from around the world came to examine the nameless children.
MRI scans later showed that some had smaller volumes of brain mass. The resulting research
made a strong case that not only is nutrition vital to a child's development, but so is
human contact. To help the children, a large number were adopted into foreign families.
But even after being adopted, many had problems forming loving bonds to their new parents.
This aligns with the attachment theory and the notion that a child needs to establish
a loving relationship with at least one primary caregiver early in life. Daniel was quite
lucky with his family. While he continued to experience trauma and anxiety, he went
on to have a university education, started a family of his own and later he founded a
non-profit organization for neglected children.
If you grew up in a loving environment, count yourself really, really lucky. If you experienced
forms of neglect, try to internalize the idea that it was never your fault and maybe not
even your parents' fault either.
To read what we think can be done if you have ever experienced neglect, read the descriptions
below. One way is to share your thoughts about neglect and how you think it affects you today.
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