Guide for Refugee Parents

Red Cross: Guide for Guide for refugee parents

By psychologists Atle Dyregrov and Magne Raundalen

You have made a great investment so that your children will have a

better future. You have decided to flee from the familiar, but dangerous,

to the unknown. The situation before and during your flight may

have been very difficult and dramatic for many of you. Arriving in a

new country can also be very challenging, despite the fact that it is

safe. In this guide, we will provide you with advice and recommendations,

hoping it will assist you in giving your children a new and better

life. In addition, we want to give you some advice as to what you,

as a parent, can do to create a stable framework and a new sense of

security for your children. We are aware that some of this advice may

be contrary to what is normally done in the culture you are coming

from. We would like to stress that we have no desire to impose a new

culture on you, but the advice and recommendations we are offering

have been established through a long history of meeting and helping

children who have experienced difficult or traumatic events.