WUNRN
Kyrgyz Migrants' Children Left
Behind
Experts warn of psychological impact
of prolonged parental absence.
By Timur Toktonaliev - Central Asia - 18 April, 2014
________________________________________________________
The
International Centre for Migration, Health & Development
Migration,
Displacement & Children Left Behind - GIRLS
3 ·
Over the past decades, the number of people migrating
worldwide has been increasing dramatically. According to the UN estimates,
about 215 million people live and work outside their country of birth (a number expected to grow to 400 million
by 2040),
and over 700 million migrate within their countries (UN 2012). As more people decide to move
within and out of their countries of origin, special attention was drawn to the
impact of migration on children left behind. Given the rigid entrance policies,the difficult living
conditions in the host country and the legal status of migrants, many people who decide to migrate
are forced to leave their children behind. The decision of one or both parents
to migrate and leave their children in their country of origin is often based
on the altruistic desire to provide for the family and give them a better life.
When not migrating with their children, most parents plan either to return to
their place of origin after working a short time abroad or to reunite much
later in their destination country.
Scope & Magnitude
As a result, many countries find themselves with a considerable number of
children left behind, with consequences that should be carefully considered.
Although there is no available data on the number of children left behind
worldwide, some countries tried to provide statistics on the approximate number
of children left behind. In China, for example, it is
estimated that there are 58 million children under 18 years
old left behind, accounting for 21.72% of all children in China (Wang
2011:2). Another country, Philippines, known as one
of the largest labor sending countries, accounts for approximately 9
million of children left behind, which represents 27% of the overall
youth population (Parreñas 2005:317). In the case of
After analyzing different studies on the impact of parental migration on the education of children left behind, it became more evident that migration has contradictory effects on the school attendance and educational performance of these children. Several studies have also indicated that remittances lead to an increased number of children, in particular girls, who complete schooling. Many researchers reported that the loss of parental attention and supervision may lead to poorer school performance and increased drop-out rates. Often, children left behind are feeling obliged to perform household duties or take care of younger siblings, which leaves them with less energy for school activities or forces them to abandon their studies. In addition, the absence of a parent may negatively affect the children’s psychological well-being, making them to feel abandoned and thus perform poorly at school. Living in a migrant household may also have a detrimental effect on the decision to attend school, as it may change children’s educational aspiration and increase the prospect of future migration
Consequences
Despite the growing number of children left behind, little is known about
the impact and implications of parental migration on children who stay in their
country of origin. Although migration might provide opportunities for parents
to earn significantly higher incomes to the benefit of all family members, it
is also accompanied by long-term family separations, which might have direct or
indirect effects on children’s development. Children need safe, predictable and
stress-free environments and a strong, caring and reliable primary caregiver in
order to reach physical, cognitive, social, and emotional maturation. Migration
creates emotional displacement for migrants and their children and it
can have a detrimental impact on their children’s health, education, emotional
stability and behavioral attitudes. Although some children cope well with the
migration of their parents, others experience migration as a form of abandonment
or rejection, adopting several deviant behavioral patterns. It is
thus imperative to address the question of being left behind and achieve a full
understanding of the dimension of this phenomenon.