VOICES of Our Children and Youth: Akwesasne
On May 8 the VOICES of Our Children and Youth students were filmed by Akwesasne TV at the request of the Kana:takon Grade 5 and 6 classes to conduct a VOICES session on kid’s perspectives on the impacts of COVID-19.
The following press release was posted by the Ahkwesahsne Board of Education for the VOICES Project. VOICES is a research initiative currently taking place in the Mohawk community of Akwesasne, located in an area that straddles Ontario, Quebec, and New York along the St. Lawrence River. Drs. Ian Pike and Emilie Beaulieu of the BCIRPU and Alison Macpherson from York University are project leads, and Dr. Rose Alma-McDonald is the community lead. These researchers are collaborating with the community of Akwesasne to help to identify safe and unsafe spaces, and improve injury prevention.
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On May 8th the VOICES of Our Children and Youth students were filmed by Akwesasne TV at the request of the Kana:takon Grade 5 and 6 classes to conduct a VOICES session on kid’s perspectives on the impacts of COVID-19. The purpose of the session was to educate our local Akwesasronon children about COVID-19 in a community context and about how to stay safe. The lesson covered the symptoms of COVID-19 and how to stay safe at home and in the community. The lesson also included posters that were made by the children illustrating who their heroes are in this pandemic.
The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA) and the Ahkwesahsne Mohawk Board of Education(AMBE) jointly agreed to participate in a “Voices of Our Children and Youth” project in 2018. The VOICES project is funded by the Canadian Institute of Health and Research in partnership with the Ahkwesahsne Mohawk Board of Education, University of British Columbia, York University and Katenies Research and Management Services. The goal of the VOICES project is to build capacity within the community of Akwesasne to influence change toward safety and injury prevention amongst Akwesasronon children and youth.
Dr. Rose-Alma (Dolly) McDonald is the local coordinator of the project. The project is designed to demonstrate the potential to influence community safety and injury prevention policy and programming, as well as to coordinate efforts within the community to monitor injuries occurring in the school setting and assess the need for local community injury prevention initiatives that will complement the safety planning of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and St. Regis Mohawk Tribe located near Cornwall, Ontario.
Niawenko:wa to our funders and for those who participated in the development of the COVID-19 Safety lesson video and particularly the Grade five and six Kana:takon School students, as well as our leadership for listening to what these young Akwesasronon students had to say with regard to community safety in a pandemic context. This important project is designed to empower our next generation of leaders by allowing them to use their voice to impact change for other children and youth in Akwesasne
For further information contact:
Dr. Rose-Alma J. McDonald,
Coordinator Voices of our Children and Youth,
rosealmamcdonald[at]sympatico.ca
613-575-2533
- distress when a child was in pain and when a family was grieving; and
- sadness in the event they were not able to save a child in their care.
- concern for the injured child and the child’s family;
Particularly traumatic events, such as those involving vivid sights and sounds (e.g., families holding each other and having extreme reactions), stuck with the practitioners, having long-lasting impressions on them and causing them to re-live these events in the years following their exposure.
Even after their shift was over, practitioners said that they changed how they approached parenting and how they perceived safety during play as a result of witnessing these traumatic events. They reported having more knowledge of the causes and consequences of severe injuries, such as those that require hospitalization or emergency care. For example, practitioners were more likely to enforce boundaries around where their children could play, such as by forbidding their child to play near busy streets. They also were more likely to tell their child about safe play environments and equipment, and put this equipment on their child before play, such as explaining the benefits of using helmets while riding bikes.
Practitioners were more likely to enforce boundaries around where their children could play, and use safety equipment, such as bike helmets.
Practitioners also described being concerned about their children’s play near open windows, around large bodies of water unsupervised, and in environments where firearms were present. They also expressed worry about their children’s play on trampolines and on motorized vehicles, such as ATVs. Findings related to trampoline play safety concerns were published in the journal Injury Prevention.
Observing family grief due to child injury or death affected the mental well-being of health care practitioners, drawing attention to the need for mental health supports for those involved in caring for severely injured and dying patients.
"Raise more resilient children through play...watch and see how your child handles challenging tasks without intervening right away." —Dr. Michelle Bauer
Building resilience through play
How can parents help their children build resilience? By letting them play!
The experiences that practitioners witnessed encouraged them to support their children in building resilience through play; specifically, by supporting children in learning to cope with failure, overcome fear, build self-confidence, develop distress tolerance, and regulate negative emotions. Findings related to building resilience through play were published in the journal Child: Care, Health, and Development.
Parents fostered resilience in their kids by:
- helping their kids get back on bikes after they fell off and wanted to try again;
- sitting on their hands so they did not instinctively reach for their children when their children fell down; and
- encouraging participation in challenging and thrilling activities in forests and water while safety equipment was used.
"There are a few ways that parents can raise more resilient children through play that are supported by literature and our study findings," said Dr. Bauer. "One: watch and see how your child handles challenging tasks without intervening right away."
"Two: Ask your child how they want you to help—let them tell you what makes them feel safe and happy during play. Let them lead. And three: make play both safe and exciting by encouraging risk-taking, teaching them how to avoid hazards, and using safety equipment.”
This research was supported through Drs. Bauer’s and Gilley’s receipt of a clinical and translational research seed grant from the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR), Dr. Bauer’s BCCHR postdoctoral fellowship award, and additional training provided to Dr. Bauer through her participation in the Programs and Institutions Looking to Launch Academic Researchers (PILLAR) program through ENRICH, a national organization training perinatal and child health researchers.
Learn more about the study through two infographic posters:
Graphics and posters by Milica Radosavljevic
