Bridging the Gaps in Orphanage Care: Educational and Emotional Challenges

Questions of upbringing and support for children in orphanages require immediate attention. Today we face a situation where pedagogical support methods remain outdated and fail to ensure the child’s full emotional development. Educational practices based on idealistic principles have proven to be far removed from reality, leading to the formation of destructive habits and negative behavior among young citizens.

The main problem lies in the lack of professional and personal support that children so desperately need in their earliest years. Limited institutional resources result in even the most sincere initiatives—such as professional training, job creation, and housing support—facing financial obstacles. As a result, attempts to compensate for the absence of a complete family become ineffective, adversely affecting the development of values and self-organizational skills among the wards.

The role of healthy family relationships in shaping one’s personality cannot be overestimated, and the lack of such an environment in orphanages drives children to search for alternative, often risky, ways to improve their living conditions. Children who aspire to a better future face the harsh realities of a pedagogical system that is not always capable of providing the necessary care and attention.

Today, the orphanage system needs an innovative approach that can address not only the economic and organizational issues but also provide emotional and pedagogical support comparable to the warmth of a family. It is essential to unite the efforts of professionals, experts, and society in creating conditions where every child can realize their potential and find the support they need for a successful future.

What problems and issues are raised in connection with the functioning of orphanages?

Several significant problems and questions emerge regarding the functioning of orphanages. First, there is the serious issue of organizing upbringing and pedagogical support. The author explicitly notes that “the work of orphanages has developed very poorly, often resulting in institutions like Kuryazh,” indicating poorly conceived methods of education and the negative consequences of applying romantic ideals in this field (source: link ).

Furthermore, attention is drawn to the fact that children placed in these institutions often fail to receive the necessary emotional support and love, which reflects in their later behavior. For example, one source states: “These children developed habits such as theft, swearing, a tendency to arson, and running away... These tendencies developed in them because they were all deprived of love and care from adults in the first months of life” (source: link ).

Economic difficulties are also mentioned, as projects aimed at providing for the sustenance of shelters encountered financial barriers. The author observes, “My projects required an economic base to be realized... I considered my task to solve three problems: training in a profession, providing a permanent job, and securing housing,” yet the choice of professions for both girls and boys was limited (source: link ). This indicates that even with efforts made to support children, the structure of the orphanage system faced financial and organizational obstacles.

The social aspect is equally important: issues concerning the formation of proper values and the establishment of healthy relationships in the absence of a complete family. One author emphasizes, “No teacher working with ten to twenty children at once can compensate for these family relationships,” highlighting the impossibility of substituting a family environment with institutional care (source: link ).

It is also mentioned that some children in orphanages attempted to leave in search of better conditions without any specific street ideology. They left in hopes of “ending up in a better colony or orphanage,” only to encounter the harsh conditions of a pedagogical system that is not always able to provide the necessary attention and care (source: link ).

Thus, the major problems in the functioning of orphanages include difficulties with pedagogical methods of upbringing, the absence of full emotional support and family relationships, economic limitations in creating conditions for the child’s full development, and the negative influence of institutionalization, which leads to the emergence of destructive behavior among the younger generation.

Supporting citation(s):
"It is necessary to decisively discard the theory of a perpetually existing homeless society... Largely due to the fault of these same romantics, the work of orphanages has developed very poorly, often giving rise to institutions like Kuryazh." (source: link )

"These children developed habits such as theft, swearing, a tendency to arson and running away... they were all deprived of love and care from adults in the first months of life." (source: link )

"My projects required an economic base for their resolution, since... I considered my task to solve three problems: training in a profession, providing a permanent job, and securing housing." (source: link )

"No teacher who works with ten to twenty children at the same time can compensate for these family relationships." (source: link )