April 25th is an important date for Italians. And, like every year, at the center of debates, memories and commemorations these days. But how can we explain it to children who ask us for clarification? “For every age there is the right way to tell it, depending on the developmental phase”, explains Italo Farnetani, professor of Paediatrics at the Ludes University-United Campus of Malta, to Adnkronos Salute.
“To children under 10 years old, for example – suggests the doctor – I would simply say that on this day the war being fought in Italy ended. We must take into account the fact that in this age group children think about concrete operations, on what they see and what needs to be explained to them in its concreteness. We can therefore tell them that in our country there was a war like the ones they see on television and on April 25th we will celebrate its end”. From the age of 11 onwards, especially those who attend high schools, continues Farnetani, “you can talk to the kids about the ideal, political contents linked to the Liberation Day”. While “from 14 years of age onwards, that is, when the adolescent enters the phase of 'formal operations', the discussion can expand to the concepts of peace, war, freedom, dictatorship, human rights, that is, making an educational discourse. In this phase of the adolescence, in which the concepts of good and evil, justice and injustice predominate – underlines the pediatrician – a utopian vision of reality takes hold. Adults, considering this particular phase of the development of adolescents' reasoning, can help children to do an objective analysis of what happened on April 25th so that it can start from a historical, ethical and political evaluation of the facts to independently form a precise idea of the origin and motivations of the symbolic meaning of the date. Subsequently, it will be possible to examine i subsequent decades of the history of Italian politics”.
Information that takes into account the developmental phases, concludes Farnetani, is a useful way to provide “adolescents with tools to understand the root problems. Otherwise, there is a risk of proposing pre-packaged or biased concepts that do not help the development of person”.
#April #25th #explain #children #pediatrician39s #advice
