Guide for Reporting on Early Childhood

Introduction

Children make up about one quarter of the world’s population. Yet, when reporting on children’s issues, journalists often treat them as supporting or peripheral players to the adults, or victims with no independence or voice.

Children often end up on the front pages of newspapers or the top of newscasts as symbols of suffering, or as victims of natural disasters, wars or other horrifying events. This approach fails to consider childhood as the fundamental beginning of life and worthy of greater attention, concern and care.

This guide offers theoretical knowledge and practical tools for journalists to improve their understanding of the youngest children and to change the way they approach covering them. It grows out of the Dart Center’s Early Childhood Journalism Initiative, a multi-year program to deepen understanding of the developing brain and promote ethical and informed reporting on the youngest children.

Since 2017, the Dart Center has organized workshops, webinars, reporting fellowships, and networking opportunities to provide journalists around the world with knowledge, skills, financial support, and other resources to expand and deepen news coverage of early childhood and its intersection with inequality, education, health, child care, and social and economic policy. The initiative has been possible thanks to support by the Van Leer Foundation (Netherlands), Fundação Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal (Brazil), and The Two Lilies Fund (United States).

For the Dart Center, the focus on childhood was a natural extension of decades of work on how journalists can improve their understanding and coverage of trauma. 

“When we talk about trauma, we need to also focus on early childhood, when a lot of traumas originate,” says Bruce Shapiro, director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. “There is a lot of information — in science, policy-making and education — that can help us inform our understanding of this vital period of life. A focus on early childhood creates a powerful lens for innovative reporting that is much needed in our society.”

Understanding the developing brain — what journalists should know

The science of Early Childhood Development (ECD) has changed rapidly over the past few decades. Thanks to advances in brain imaging, genetic studies, and longitudinal behavioral surveys, what was once a central debate in child development — are outcomes determined by nature or nurture? — is now pretty much settled: It’s clearly both. It’s environment AND genetics. It’s experience AND temperament.

But how do those factors interact? How can policy makers and researchers predict how a child — or a group of children — will fare in the aftermath of adversity? And what changes might improve the outcomes?

We hope these questions will inform the work of journalists who report on trauma and adversity through the lens of ECD. And to do that, it’s helpful to understand some basics of early brain development.

The following is largely taken from the work of neuroscientists working on ECD and toxic stress (see credits at the end.)

Brain architecture

Brain development in humans starts a few weeks after conception and continues through young adulthood. When a baby is born, the brain’s key architecture is in place but still very much in formation.

The brain structures most connected to cognition and emotions involve those in the prefrontal cortex (the large expanse of brain tissue behind your forehead) and those in the medial temporal lobe (i.e., middle of your brain, such as the hippocampus and amygdala).

Before birth, an individual’s genes largely determine how these brain structures develop. But after birth, their growth relies heavily on the inputs that come into the brain through experience and environment.

Ideally, most of those experiential inputs are nurturing, loving, and educational — but, as we sadly know, they can also be difficult and stressful, fraught with risk to the brain’s healthy development. 

Stressors may be biological, such as: malnutrition, infection, disease in early life.

Stressors may be psychological, such as: witnessing or experiencing abuse, trauma or violence, mental health problems in a caregiver, and living in poverty — with its accompanying deprivation and stress. Increasingly, social scientists are recognizing that racism and environmental injustice, among other societal factors, also lead to long-term psychological harm. 

The term often assigned to these stressors is “adverse childhood events” (ACE) — as coined in a seminal research study by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the late 1990s. The range of severity among stressors is wide: from the commonplace (divorce, school anxiety) to tolerable (a minor car accident, a broken bone) to severe (devastating personal loss, extreme violence or trauma.) 

Type of response

But what matters more than the stressors themselves is how the brain responds when stressed, and the maturity of the brain when confronted with stress. 

In some cases, the response can be tolerable or even, in cases of normal stress (say, being left with a babysitter or, later in life, taking a math test), positive to growth and development. Ideally, a child learns how to respond to and cope with normal stress through healthy experience.

The category that is most worrying is the “toxic stress” response.

According to the US National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, a “toxic stress response” is what happens when the stress response systems (say, heightened cortisol levels or a fight or flight reaction) are activated over a long period of time.

Those chronic situations can lead to long-term physical health problems into adulthood, such as cardiovascular or metabolic issues, or mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression. They can also lead to the constellation of symptoms known as PTSD, or cognitive problems, such as poor impulse control, executive functioning difficulties, and problems regulating emotions. 

Pathways to brain change

It makes logical sense that early pain and adversity would shape a person in the future. But how exactly is the young brain changed? This is the subject of much research over the past 20 years.

Some of the pathways that researchers are investigating include:

Allostatic Load: the physiological “wear and tear on the body" that results from repeated or chronic stress. It is used to describe how frequent activation of the body's stress response systems, which are essential for managing acute threats by raising the level of the stress hormone cortisol, can damage the body in the long run. 

Epigenetics: while we all have a stable genetic code (DNA) with us from birth, the way the genes are expressed can be affected by one’s environment. The fast-growing field of epigenetics looks at the role of experience, environment, nutrition, and other external factors in changing gene expression — essentially, turning genes on and off through processes called DNA methylation and histone modification. That gene expression is now believed to be carried from one generation to the next — meaning that one person’s trauma-related changes can be transferred to their offspring (but also, some say, reverted back.)

HPA Axis: a term used to represent the interaction between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands, which are developing during sensitive periods of growth. Maltreated children are thought to have a greater risk of HPA dysfunction, which can affect hormonal and immune systems.

Synaptic pruning/neurodevelopmental disruption: as brain connections (synapses) are being made in the young brain, and neurotransmitters are released, stress can essentially reprogram the body’s ability to regulate emotions and basic functions. In addition, the brain relies on experiences to eliminate or prune unnecessary synaptic connections — known as cortical thinning. But when a child is severely neglected, the natural pruning may not take place at all — or not adequately — so that the brain is overloaded by inefficient connections, which can cause cognitive problems.

Telomeres: the end section of a chromosome (picture the plastic piece at the end of a shoelace) that appears to protect the integrity of DNA and keep it stable through replication. Research suggests that stress shortens the length of telomeres, hastening cell death and negatively affecting an individual’s health and longevity. 

Importance of timing

Neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to change and adapt — contributes to both the brain’s strength and its vulnerability. It’s what allows the brain to develop optimally, and to compensate for difficult experiences when the circumstances are right. However, it also makes the brain’s structures susceptible to damage and dysfunction when the circumstances are wrong.

This is why the timing of stressors can make a big difference in how much the brain is affected in the long term. 

In one regard — the earlier the stressor, the more likely to cause permanent changes in the brain because neuroplasticity is high; i.e. the structures of the brain are still actively developing. 

But timing also comes down to what’s called “sensitive periods” and “critical periods.” 

Sensitive periods refer to the times when neuroplasticity is high — and the brain is especially receptive to inputs, both good and bad. 

Critical periods are more immutable; they refer to hard windows after which the brain has a much more difficult time making up for lost opportunities. (Think of how much harder it is to learn a language or master a musical instrument later in life.)

Keep in mind that the child must learn how to mount a healthy stress response, and that depends a lot on their social and physical environment. If the environment is not supportive, then over time children will become more reactive to stressors as they won't have the skills to cope. If extreme or chronic stressors occur during a sensitive or critical period, it’s more likely a maladaptive response will become hard-wired.

Protective factors

Despite all the ways the brain can be damaged by early adversity, researchers are also looking into protective and mitigating factors that essentially inoculate the brain from adverse experiences. Those are factors that can maximize resilience – the ability to bounce back to a healthier place, or, some would say, to bend without breaking.

One key protective factor is a supportive family or home environment, in which a child has at least one (though ideally more than one) trusted adult whom they can rely on for their care and welfare. That support can also come from community institutions, such as school or afterschool programs or a faith community. Even in cases of toxic stress, a strong buffering relationship can help a child navigate an extreme stressor. 

Genetic predisposition can be another protective factor. Scientists believe that some children have a genetic make-up that makes their brains either more or less vulnerable to the effects of adversity. This is sometimes referred to as an “orchid vs dandelion” constitution. Children with brains that are more sensitive to outside factors, both good and bad, are labeled “orchids”, while those that are more stable and hardy are considered “dandelions”. This can explain why some siblings in the same family, exposed to the same environment, can vary in how well they weather early stress. Scientists believe this may come down to particular genetic mutations that then interact with the environment of the child.

Going forward, scientists are also seeking “biomarkers” to help predict which children are likely to do better or worse after adversity — whether metabolic or genetic or related to the immune system — so that researchers don’t have to rely on self-reporting surveys by adults later in life. 

Possible interventionS 

Following stressful situations and adverse events, clinicians are working on developing interventions that could mitigate harmful outcomes. That could begin with general screening for ACE’s in a primary care setting, so providers can identify children who have experienced trauma and stress. 

After recognizing the need, interventions may include individualized therapy, home visits by social workers, and parental skills training. 

In cases of abuse or neglect that is unlikely to improve, high-quality foster care is another intervention. One well-known study of orphans in Bucharest, Romania, looked at children raised in institutions who suffered from early neglect; they found significant developmental gains among children who were placed in skilled foster care at a young age, compared to those who remained in institutions or who didn’t enter foster care until after a critical period.

Of course, the best way to help children exposed to severe adversity is to remove them from the situation (assuming that doesn’t involve additional trauma in itself, such as separation from a supportive adult). 

But if that’s not possible, the next best thing is to provide help early, while the brain can still recover to baseline development.

[Credit: Study: Adversity in childhood is linked to mental and physical health throughout life, BMJ, 28 October 2020. Charles A Nelson, Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Nadine Burke Harris, Andrea Danese, Muthanna Samara. Also informing this chapter was academic research by Dr. Steven Suomi, Dr. Bruce McEwen, Dr. Michael Meany, and Dr. Katie McLaughlin, as well as lectures by Dr. Charles Nelson for the Dart Center Global Early Childhood Reporting Fellowship.]

When and how to interview children

When is it OK to interview a child?

The first question to ask is whether interviewing a child is absolutely necessary for your reporting.

Can pertinent details be gathered from adult relatives, limiting the child's involvement in the reporting to casual interactions and observation? Could alternative resources, such as court data or information gathered from social workers and NGO officers, be used to narrate the story? 

“When I’m writing about kids, I’m engaging mostly with adults … I just think it's very tricky with small kids to get them to understand who you are and what you're doing, really. But I like to think of their parents almost as buffers between me and them.”  

Ginger Thompson, Chief of Correspondents, ProPublica  

Best Practices in Reporting on Refugee Children, Families, and Caregivers

The paramount principle guiding this process should revolve around ensuring no harm is inflicted upon the child during the interaction. This is especially true if the interview with the child involves traumatic incidents.

Additionally, the child's age is a crucial factor, determining the appropriateness of the questions and discussion. When children are not verbal yet, observing how they play and interact with trusted adults can be a way to gather information about their lives without intruding too much. 

While three year olds are capable of providing detailed descriptions of events — though their narration may not be factual — it is preferable not to carry out lengthy interviews with children younger than primary school age unless you have a more established relationship with the child. Teenagers are most likely able and willing to give an interview alone, but it is preferable to consider involving their parents or legal guardians in the process, at least to get informed consent. Also, age and maturity depend a lot on the context of upbringing. While children that have faced a lot of change can appear more mature than their age, it is always good to be cautious when interviewing them.

At the same time, avoid talking down to children, or patronizing them. Think about your tone of voice and ask yourself whether you are giving the child the same consideration you may give any other interviewee. When you approach an interview thinking that children only know how to play or are not aware of their surroundings, you may be surprised if they subvert your expectations, for example by showing how aware they are of the dynamics around them, and how much they know.

“In my decade-plus as a reporter, the number of profound things I’ve heard children say far outnumber those I’ve heard from adults. Kids notice much more than many of us realize. They have a lot on their minds, and, usually, they share it without any knowledge of how their words fit into a larger context. What that leaves us with is refreshing and, sometimes, devastating honesty.”  

John Woodrow Cox, Enterprise Reporter, The Washington Post 

Essential Tips for Interviewing Children

Timing is another critical factor. Is it too soon from a traumatic incident for the child to be able to talk about it? Is there flexibility to reschedule the interview if the child is not ready? Consider the possibility of postponing certain questions to prevent retraumatizing the child, especially for migrant children or children living in a war zone, who are still facing significant daily challenges.

Once the decision to interview the child is made, and the interview's purpose is clear, it becomes imperative to contemplate the structure of the interview, starting from obtaining initial consent to the eventual closure.

Importance of prep time 

Conducting a thorough situational assessment of the visit location is crucial before embarking on the interview. 

Familiarize yourself with the surroundings and identify an optimal location for the interview or conversation with the child and family. Choosing a physically secure space, complete with privacy and comfort, can help prevent the child from feeling uneasy or intimidated. 

Then it is important to seek informed consent, providing the child’s parent, guardian or caregiver a clear overview of the project or story, its aims and objectives. 

If there are other members of the journalistic team — including translators, videographers and sound assistants — at the interview, it is essential to brief them on their roles, and explain the limitations and boundaries of the interview. For example, establish if the interview should avoid delving into traumatic incidents, and if so, what alternative aspects can be explored? 

Also decide whether you can promise confidentiality — keeping the child’s identity and image private. Do you need to reveal full names and show full images? Could the subjects of the interview be at risk if their full identity is revealed? Discuss beforehand with your editors and team, thinking of possible alternatives that can protect the subject’s identity, and also communicate this to the child and their family. 

Establishing a “frame” for the interview 

Clinical psychologist Kate Porterfield speaks of an interview “frame” as a way to create a structure to lean on throughout the interview, which will help you focus while minimizing the risk of overwhelming the child by setting clear parameters around the process. 

This framing procedure includes the following seven key steps, which are explained in more detail in the following pages:

Step one: Secure consent 

This step refers to the process before the interview when journalists make sure that the parents or guardians of the child, as well as the child, understand what the journalist is there to do and agree to the interview.

Step two: Anticipate and ask permission

This step refers to the process at the beginning at the interview, as well as throughout, when we explain the timeframe of the interview, and keep checking in with the interviewee that they are OK to go ahead.

Step three: Build Rapport 

This step refers to the process before and at the beginning of the interview when we try to establish a connection with the child by observing them and slowly easing into the interview.

Step four: Introduce content

This step refers to the process of introducing the general topics of the interview, and setting the stage for the upcoming questions.

Step five: Reflect back what you hear

This step refers to the process of repeating back information that you have heard. This helps you verify information and also show the child that you are listening, while also providing  validation to the child of what they have said.

Step six: Wrap up actively

This step refers to the ending of the interview, and allows us to offer closure and to give feedback to the child about what we have learned from them.

Step seven: Enhance coping through “displacement” and other techniques

This step refers to techniques that you may use to help children move towards coping, rather than having them feel helpless or hopeless at the end of an interview. 

Continued informed consent

In any interview setting, the initial step is securing informed consent. Simply asking, "Can we talk to you and your child?" is insufficient. 

Unlike seeking someone's political opinion after an election or news event, obtaining informed consent requires clarity on the purpose and use of the interview. For instance: “We are researching the experiences of refugees from your country. Would you be willing to share information to help us understand better? We will be writing a story to raise awareness about the issues in your country. Your participation is voluntary, but we would appreciate any insights you'd like to share.”

The context plays a crucial role in obtaining consent properly, acknowledging the potential of a power differential in which the interviewee may agree to the interview with false hopes of direct benefits. It’s essential to be transparent about your role as a journalist and what that means to avoid overpromising. Clarify your intended story and its purpose. When appropriate, provide examples of your work. Emphasize that you have no power over their future, but explain that sharing their story could contribute to public understanding.

Explain that they can revoke consent before the piece is published, and provide your contact details for questions or follow up. 

Keep in mind that you're not interviewing a public figure but a potentially vulnerable young person. Exercise caution when they share personal details, and assess ways to protect their identity to avoid putting them at risk.

Parental consent is crucial. But ideally, you would also obtain consent from the child, and not only from the adult in charge. Caregivers need to understand why you are doing the interview. But once you have their consent, seeking the child's permission gives them a sense of agency, which is especially vital for those who have felt powerless due to trauma, war, or forced migration.

One approach is to say to the child: “I have already spoken to your mother/aunt/older brother, and they have given their approval for us to speak. Before proceeding, I would like to ask for your permission as well.”

This not only ensures proper rights to the information but also communicates that you are considering their well-being by consulting a guardian while also valuing their opinion.

Consider obtaining written consent from a parent or guardian if possible.

Explain the process & build a rapport before the interview

Before starting the conversation, lay out the topics you'd like to cover and outline how long you're planning to talk.

Figure out the interview duration upfront to manage your time wisely. It's equally crucial for the child to know what to expect. 

Stick to age-appropriate timeframes, avoiding conversations over 30 minutes for children under the age of nine. Children with emotional or cognitive impairments might need an even shorter duration. Make it clear that breaks are possible whenever necessary. Be ready to cut short the interview if the child shows signs of stress or wants to leave. 

If you have a crew, take time to introduce them, and if you have recording gear, show the child how the equipment works. You can let them see how you take their picture, or have them use the voice recorder themselves. 

Most importantly, give children and their families as much control as possible over the interview process. Keep emphasizing that they can choose not to answer a question and also remind them that sensitive information can be kept confidential (i.e. not included in the story).

Remember that your interview can be a source of agency and control for a child, as much as it can be a source of distress. Always keep the child’s well-being front and center in your interview.

Choosing the space

Make sure the child feels at ease during the interview. A trusted adult should always be present, especially for younger children. 

If there's a crowd, relocate to a quieter spot where the child can speak without worrying about who might be listening. But don't make them feel isolated or worried about being alone; say something like, "Hey, would you like to move to a quieter space?” Remember that the child may be concerned about their safety.

Interview the child from eye level if you can, by squatting or sitting down, so you are on the same level and they feel they have equal power. If the child is quiet and you cannot hear each other, consider moving towards them.

Also consider the effect of trauma on newborns and toddlers when interviewing mothers, for example. If you ask questions that may be triggering to a mother who is breastfeeding or who has a very young child around, this can also affect the child, even if they may not be able to express it verbally. Always try to talk to a mother separately from her child, if you can, or maybe forgo difficult questions for a later, more private moment. 

Ease into the interview

Before delving into the hard questions, you can use some techniques to make the child feel more at ease. 

Here are some examples of language or communication strategies you can use:

“I’d like to learn about you. Can you help me learn some things?”  

“Let’s write your name together. I want to learn how to write it correctly!”

Show them a map of the area and point out where you are together.

Show them your notepad or camera and let them touch or even try the equipment out.

Ask about school (if not in a refugee camp), siblings (if you know there have been no losses or trauma connected to their siblings), or a game they like to play.

“What else would you like me to know about you?”      

“I always try to take time in any interview, but especially with young people, to get to know who they are outside of this bad thing that happened. What is it that they care about? What is it that they love? What is it that they look forward to? And the other part is making sure that they have the open-ended moments… [Ask them] ‘What would you say to other people going through this situation? What do you want people to know about what happened here?’” 

Anya Kamenetz, former NPR Education Correspondent 

“Why we need to pay attention to the mental health of children and caregivers”

Reflect back what you hear

To validate the child's story while cross-checking information, repeat their words. Use their language to show you're attentive while clearing up any confusion. Avoid rephrasing things into your own words.

Some examples of language for reflecting back: “I want to tell you what I learned from you. Is that ok?” or “What you’re telling me is so important. Can I tell you what I heard you tell me?” or “I heard you say … Do I have that right?”

This can be more effective than asking the same question in a different way, or than saying that you did not understand something. 

Displacement techniques and mastery

An effective way to interact with children is by employing displacement techniques, i.e. phrasing a question in a way that a child pictures you talking about someone else, and not them directly. Instead of directly delving into a child's potentially distressing experiences, you can utilize open-ended statements like, "Many kids feel scared when they lose their home," and observe their reactions.

Even if a child is hesitant to share their own story, they might open up about "other children" or feel encouraged to express their own emotions. Ask questions like, "What do you think it's like for kids when they hear the sound of gunfire?" or "I wonder how it was for other kids in your country who had to leave their homes."

Additionally, children may find it beneficial if you emphasize their courage or how their experiences can be lessons for others. When children feel like they have "mastered" a situation, they may feel more secure, which is important following an experience in which they had no control. 

You can encourage them with statements such as:

"I'd like to learn from you so I can share with other kids who have been through war."

"Can you teach me about…"

"You're really brave for sharing this story; other kids can learn from it because of your story."

If discussing personal experiences seems uncomfortable, you can frame questions in terms of the surrounding "systems." Inquire about their interactions with the police or other adults during migration, asking, for instance, "What was it like for kids when soldiers were around?" or "What do children do when men with guns show up?”

Wrapping up actively 

Avoid leaving a child in the midst of a painful memory, especially right after they've cried or displayed signs of trauma. Transition out of the conversation gradually, allowing the child to feel they've done well and providing an opportunity for them to distance themselves from the discussion. This also gives you a chance to offer feedback and share additional information about the next steps.

For instance, you can show your notes or the pictures you took and say: "You helped me learn so much; look at how much I wrote." Acknowledge their effort, stating, "You've done such a good job today. We'll stop talking soon. Is there anything else you want to share or ask me?"

Ask about their plans for the day or their favorite activities, helping them go back to a normal routine. If possible, explain your next steps for your project: listening to the interview and writing up their story for others to read. 

Consider whether you should offer to show them the story before publication, but only if you're prepared for the potential reaction and the chance they may want to change something or withdraw their interview. But you could certainly offer to show them the story after publication — and then be sure to follow up and do that.

​​“I don’t want any of my sources to feel surprised by what I publish. That doesn't mean I give my source veto power over my stories. But I want my sources to feel they have some control over the stories that are going to be told about them. There are people who have been traumatized. Power has been taken away from them… And so I put a lot of power into the hands of the people that I write about.” 

Ginger Thompson, Chief of Correspondents, ProPublica 

Best Practices in Reporting on Refugee Children, Families, and Caregivers
 

Manage expectations appropriately and avoid overpromising. If you're leaving the country, refrain from promising a follow-up visit. Leave your contact information with an older family member if appropriate, ensuring you'll share the final article with them. Express gratitude for their openness and assure them that you'll remember what they shared with you.

After the interview

After the interview, be realistic about your limitations, understanding that you are not a psychologist, aid worker, or decision-maker. Do consider if there are ways to connect the child with additional support or resources, such as psychological assistance, shoes, or sports training, from relevant agencies you've researched in the community before the interview.

When documenting the interview, avoid simplistic portrayals and be cautious with language choices. Question the necessity of labeling someone as a victim or a survivor and be mindful of nuance. Children can be both brave and scared simultaneously, and your choice of quotes, adjectives, and scenes can convey these complexities.

Consider how the child describes themself in the interview and be cautious of oversharing details that may jeopardize their safety. Consult with editors and social workers who may have a better understanding of the child's situation.

Don’t use information that could embarrass or harm the child, even if they've given permission. For example, refrain from discussing sensitive topics like bed-wetting or illegal drug use unless integral to the story.

When writing the story, try to stay away from the hero vs victim narrative. It’s important to spotlight the challenges faced by children — especially in the context of difficult events. But don’t overlook positive stories: stories of hope and healing. Your reporting should reflect the adaptability and resilience of young people, and how they can thrive in challenging environments and new contexts against the odds. 

Address secondary trauma and its impact on you and your team. After the interview, take time to debrief and share your feelings with trusted team members or individuals. It's normal to feel a range of emotions, such as sadness, anger, or despair, after engaging with children who have endured suffering. Refer to the section below on self-care for more insights. 

Cultural and psycho-social considerations

Approaching children requires careful consideration of additional factors, especially if they have experienced traumatic events.

One crucial aspect is the power dynamic between the interviewer and interviewee. While particularly noticeable in settings like refugee camps or temporary accommodations, it applies broadly to all interviews with children, especially those living in uncertain or unstable circumstances. Always be mindful of the potential power dynamic — for example considering that someone may agree to do an interview because they see you as an outsider who may be able to help them, or because they think they have no other option. Also avoid making promises that you cannot fulfill.

“Do not overpromise….You have to be very clear…Once I've gone through all the steps and I’m in front of the  person, I say say something like: ‘Thank you for agreeing to speak to me but I just wanted to tell you that speaking to me as a journalist might not change your situation.   It probably will not affect you in any positive ways. But beyond that, you sharing your story as an unaccompanied minor or a person living in a refugee camp might allow audiences to understand this experience better so perhaps politicians can make different choices.”   

Ismail Einashe, freelance journalist 

“How Reporting on Children and Caregivers Can Improve Migration Coverage”

Also consider cultural differences and different cultural meanings when preparing for an interview.

Awareness is the first tool for an interviewer. Reflect on who you are, what you are wearing, and how you come across to those you interview. Depending on the interviewee's cultural background, factors such as your gender, appearance, nationality, and economic status may be triggering or uncomfortable. For instance, it may not be advisable for a man to interview young girls, especially if you may suspect that they may have experienced violence. In such cases, having a female colleague conduct the interviews may foster a better sense of comfort or safety.

In some communities, children can ascend into adult roles earlier than others; for example, if they live in an area where children work from a young age, they may have been making adult-level decisions for years. Family structures can also change in volatile contexts such as migration. You might find an older sibling has taken charge of their siblings. Or maybe you’re reporting in a place where it's common for aunts and uncles or other extended family members to act as caregivers. Remain flexible, open-minded and non-judgemental and remember that safeguarding rules and conventions vary between cultures.

Choosing appropriate language is essential when approaching children and their caregivers. Referring to a child as a refugee or migrant carries political connotations. It's crucial to be cautious with words, brief translators, and inquire about the child's preference in how they are introduced.

Familiarize yourself with the interviewee's country and culture, either through research or by consulting experienced colleagues. Phrase questions in a non-judgmental, open-ended manner in order to get more meaningful responses.

Find out as much as you can about the child’s story and the traumatic event that happened before the interview by talking to older relatives or social workers. Use documents such as police reports and court records if appropriate. Ask caregivers and others who know the child if there are topics or details that are especially difficult for the child to talk about, and be sensitive. 

Remember that events that were traumatic for the child may also be traumatic to the parents. Use the same trauma-informed approach with adults you interview as well. Conversely, some parents may not be able to recognize the impact of a trauma on a child and may say something like “He was little, so he doesn’t remember or understand what happened.” Interviewers may find discrepancies between what children actually describe to you and what their parents think they remember. 

If you work within a larger team, make sure that everyone has grounding in a trauma-informed approach before you go into the field, and that you can have a conversation about topics to      handle sensitively, as well as cultural awareness. If you can’t brief the team beforehand, do take the lead and be the spokesperson, and talk to the team afterwards about potential areas for improvement or challenges that came up. Be careful not to blame team members for difficulties they encountered in the work. 

If you rely on an interpreter, it is very important to understand that their origin and background may become a trigger for the interview subjects too, depending on the geopolitical context of the interviewee’s experience. Interpreters may inadvertently remind subjects of perpetrators of other groups from their homeland. Make sure interpreters are briefed around trauma-informed practice and that they translate exactly what you say, even if some details appear minor. For example, when you check in during the interview, make sure the interpreter keeps translating your check-ins as well.  Even saying, “I hear you” after an interviewee speaks is important for interpreters to translate. If you shift to the interpreter for any reason to address them, explain this by saying something like, “I’m going to ask the interpreter a question to clarify something right now. We will interpret this for you as well.” Never have side conversations with the interpreter that are not interpreted.
 

Promoting resilience, recuperation and self-care

For journalists reporting on the lives of very young children and their families, encountering distressing narratives, images, and people in crisis is a common aspect of the work. 

The human aspect of observing, listening to, and responding to the suffering of others, while fulfilling, can also be emotionally challenging and distressing. It is crucial for journalists and media organizations to acknowledge that exposure to such material can be overwhelming and potentially lead to secondary trauma for team members. This is also true when editing traumatic imagery without actually being physically in the field.

Symptoms associated with secondary traumatic stress include intrusive mental images, heightened arousal, altered perspectives, and a sense of isolation, and can resemble the experiences of those who have directly experienced trauma.

While the best way to limit the risks of secondary trauma is to limit access to events that cause it, this is usually not viable for all journalists all the time. 

In order to cope better with the effects of secondary trauma, there are changes to systems that are recommended for news organizations and for teams, as well as quick tips.

From a systemic perspective, it is important for media organizations to train entire newsrooms on the impact of trauma both on subjects and sources who may be directly affected and on those telling their stories. It is also important for organizations to create opportunities for staff to discuss trauma-related challenges, to enhance individual and team resilience and foster peer-support. (Peer support is extremely important in promoting resilience in journalism and can be helpful to freelancers too when fostered through affinity organizations or networks.) Finally media organizations should also carve out space and time for staff to engage in well-being activities.

From a personal perspective, it is critical that journalists not feel that the full responsibility for safeguarding their mental health and wellness is on them alone. However, there are many things journalists can do to take better care of themselves and support colleagues.

The top priority is to be aware of signs of distress that journalists may show while covering a traumatic event or its aftermath. These may include sleeplessness, upsetting dreams, intrusive images or thoughts of the event, avoidance of reminders of the trauma or feeling numb, being jumpy and easily startled, anger, difficulty concentrating, as well as physical reactions, such as sweating, rapid heartbeat, dizziness or nausea, when reminded of the event.

While exercise and healthy eating is not a simple fix for everything, cultivating certain self-care habits (such as physical exercise, mindfulness, healthy eating, limiting drugs and alcohol that alter the delicate balance of chemicals in the brain, limiting news consumption and sleeping on a regular schedule) has been proven to help journalists manage stress and remain resilient, especially in the aftermath of difficult coverage. Talking to colleagues and trusted friends and family  is also important, as is consulting with a therapist if needed. 

For further information, please refer to the Dart Center’s resources on self-care and peer support. 

Conclusion

The Dart Guide for Reporting on Early Childhood is a living document that will be updated as language evolves and additional guidance is needed. If you think something is missing from this guide or have feedback on an entry, please contact us at [email protected].

The guide can be translated and adapted into different languages, granted that the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma and its authors are credited accordingly.

If you are interested in our training or in translating the guide, please contact us at [email protected].

Credits

Chapters on Understanding the Developing Brain & Glossary written by Karen Brown

Chapters on Interviewing and Ethical Considerations written by Irene Caselli and Isobel Thompson

Editing by Karen Brown, Isobel Thompson, Irene Caselli

Supervision by Kate Black, Program Director, Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

This guide is possible thanks to the support of the Van Leer Foundation (The Netherlands), Fundação Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal (Brazil), and The Two Lilies Fund (United States).

Glossary

Terms and Definitions compiled by Karen Brown and courtesy of Ann Masten, Ordinary Magic; Aisha Yousafzai; Brainfacts.org/Society for Neuroscience; Lisa Guernsey; Rana Dajani; Harvard University Center On The Developing Child; National Center for Biotechnology Information/National Institutes of Health; Wiley Online Dictionary; Linda Richter/World Health Organization; National Academies Press; UNICEF/2016 Lancet ECD report; Wikipedia.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): potentially traumatic events or circumstances that can have negative, lasting effects on adult health and wellbeing. These experiences range from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse to parental divorce or the incarceration of a parent or guardian.

Allostatic Load: the physiological “wear and tear on the body" that results from repeated or chronic stress. It is used to describe how frequent activation of the body's stress response systems, which are essential for managing acute threats, can in fact damage the body in the long run.

Attachment: an emotional bond between infant and one or more adults. The infant will approach these individuals in times of distress, particularly during the phase of infant development when the presence of strangers induces anxiety. In addition, the infant is distressed if separated from attachment figures.

Autonomic nervous system (ANS): a division of the nervous system that acts largely unconsciously and regulates bodily functions such as heart rate, respiratory rate, digestion, and the response of the eyes’ pupils to light. This system is a primary mechanism for controlling the fight-or-flight response.

Contingent responsiveness (“serve and return”): adult behavior that occurs immediately after a child’s behavior and that is related to the child’s focus of attention, such as a parent smiling back at a child.

Coping: efforts to regulate the self or the environment under stress, a key concept in the study of resilience. Coping includes strategies such as problem solving, seeking support, minimizing pain, self-encouragement and self-distraction.

Correlation vs. Causality: basic research terms that distinguish between an effect that occurs along with a particular environmental condition (correlation) but not necessarily as a result of that condition (causality).   

Cortisol: a steroid hormone produced by the cortex of the adrenal gland. Cortisol is often thought of as a “stress hormone”, but it is also secreted under low stress conditions and plays important roles in everyday functioning, rising and falling during our sleep-wake cycle where it regulates metabolism and acutely enhances our immune defenses. When we are stressed we produce high levels of this hormone. When secreted at high levels under stress, it increases the sensitivity of brain circuits involved in processing and retaining information about threat, which may help us avoid future dangerous situations. However, chronic or frequent elevations in cortisol can result in changes in brain architecture resulting in impairments in cognitive functioning, poor brain development and wear-and-tear on many organs and tissues of the body.  

Critical periods (similar to, but not exactly the same as, sensitive periods): a time during an organism’s life span when it is most sensitive to environmental influences or stimulation than at other times during its life. If, for some reason, the organism does not receive the appropriate stimulus during this "critical period" to learn a given skill or trait, it may be difficult, ultimately less successful, or even impossible, to develop some functions later in life.

Cumulative risk: combined effects of multiple or repeated risk factors; accumulating effects of ongoing adversity.

Cybernetic theory: the study of regulation and control in systems by feedback, used to explain aspects of the purposeful behavior of human beings. Norbert Wiener, an American mathematician during World War II, originated the theory to describe and design mechanisms that rely on feedback to change direction.

Developmental psychology: the field of psychology concerned with the processes of change across the lifespan. Developmental psychologists focus predominantly on childhood development, and developmental psychology has become synonymous with child psychology.

Early Childhood Development (ECD): early childhood development is often understood as a process that begins with conception and continues through age 8.  While each child is unique, general patterns of development are similar. During this critical period, children develop motor, cognitive, linguistic and socio-emotional skills and the foundational architecture of the brain is laid.  All development throughout life builds on the foundational capacities established in early childhood. ECD has also been defined as a comprehensive approach to policies and programs for children and their parents, caregivers and communities from the prenatal period through children’s entry into school.

Epigenetics: the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself. This fast-growing field of study looks at the role of experience, environment, nutrition, and other external factors in changing gene expression – including from one generation to another.

Executive function & self-regulation skills: the mental processes that enable people to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. These skills are crucial for learning and development. They also enable positive behavior and allow us to make healthy choices for ourselves and our families. Executive function and self-regulation skills depend on three types of brain function: working memory, mental flexibility, and self-control. 

Gene-environment interaction: how environmental influences can actually affect whether and how genes are expressed. Despite the belief that genes are “set in stone”, research shows that early experiences can determine how genes are turned on and off and even whether some are expressed at all. Therefore, the experiences children have early in life — and the environments in which they have them — shape their developing brain architecture and strongly affect whether they grow up to be healthy, productive members of society.

HPA Axis: a term used to represent the interaction between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands. Scientists believe it plays an important role in the stress response. Maltreated children are thought to have a greater risk of HPA dysfunction.

Intervention: attempt to influence or change the course of events by providing care or information or otherwise manipulating a situation.

Joint media engagement: when two people (such as a parent and a child) watch or play with digital media together and engage each other with questions or dialogue while doing so.

Neuroplasticity: the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their environment.

Nurturing care: a stable environment that is sensitive to children’s health and nutritional needs, with protection from threats, opportunities for early learning, and interactions that are responsive, emotionally supportive, and developmentally stimulating.

Positive Stress Response: a normal and essential part of healthy development, characterized by brief increases in heart rate and mild elevations in hormone levels. Some situations that might trigger a positive stress response are the first day with a new caregiver or receiving an injected immunization.

Post-traumatic stress: biological and psychological reactions to severe adversity experiences, including anxiety, fear, jumpiness, nightmares, feeling like you are reliving the trauma, emotional numbing, intrusive memories of the traumatic experience.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD: a disorder that can arise following exposure to traumatic experiences when post-traumatic symptoms persist longer than usual; usually defined by persisting symptoms of reliving the experience (e.g., flashbacks or intrusive memories), avoiding situations that bring the traumatic experience to mind, frightening thoughts, feeling constantly on guard or hyperaroused (e.g., jumpy, startle easily); and feeling numb or detached; children may act out the scary event in their play, show regression (e.g., bedwetting), or be very clingy.

Promotive factor: a general predictor of good adaptation or desired outcomes; sometimes called an asset or resource.

Protective factor: a moderator of risk or adversity that has more effect or extra effects when risk or adversity is high than it does when risk is low, such that the individual does better than would be expected for that level of risk.

Psychosocial Deprivation: the absence of appropriate stimuli in the physical or social environment which are necessary for the emotional, social, and intellectual development of the individual.

Psychosocial Stimulation: providing a child physical stimulation through sensory input (e.g. visual, auditory, tactile) as well as emotional stimulation through an affectionate caregiver-child bond. The formation of this bond at the beginning of life sets the state for cognitive, emotional, and social development later in life. Feeding and other care practices provide opportunities for psychosocial stimulation and help establish a positive attachment between caregiver and child.

Resilience: capacity (potential or manifested) of a person (or any dynamic system) to adapt successfully to disturbances (adversities and risks) that threaten the function, survival, or development of the individual (or the system); positive adaptation or development in the context of significant adversity exposure. The definition of resilience is up for wide interpretation, but most agree it does not refer to a static personality trait or attribute, but rather a process or construct that combines exposure to adversity with response and outcome.

Risk factor: indicator of risk for a specified negative or undesirable outcome in a group of people.

Scaffolding: a concept derived from Lev Vygotsky’s theory of mediated learning, scaffolding is the process by which someone organizes an event that is unfamiliar or beyond a learner’s ability in order to assist the learner in carrying out that event.

Secure attachment: a child who is securely attached actively explores the environment in the presence of the caregiver, is visibly upset by separation, and greets the caregiver warmly when they are reunited.

Sensitive Periods (similar to, but not exactly the same as, critical periods): windows of time early in life when the brain is actively shaped by environmental input – for both good and bad. In recent years, scientists are discovering pathways in animal models through which these windows might be re-opened in adults, thus re-awakening a brain’s youth-like plasticity. Such research has implications for brain injury repair, sensory recovery, and neurodevelopmental disorder treatment – as well as social and educational policy.

Separation effects: when a child has formed an attachment, she will display any of a range of distress behaviors when separated from the attachment figure, including protest, fearfulness, and despair.

Stress: effects of disturbances in an individual or system that disrupt adaptive functions; response of a dynamic system to challenges or demands; biological and psychological processes associated with responses of individuals to challenges. 

Stress buffering: when supportive adult relationships lessen the impact of a young child’s response system if exposed to stress. This interaction fosters a return to baseline of physiological responses such as increased heart rate, blood pressure, and the release of stress hormones such as cortisol.

Stress inoculation: the process by which milder or manageable experiences of challenge improve the response of a person to future stressful experiences; when stress exposure or challenges strengthen or prepare a system for better future adaptation.

Stunting: low height-for-age, caused by long-term insufficient nutrient intake and/or frequent infections. The prevalence of stunting in a population measures how many children are not growing well due to chronically poor nutrient intake. Stunted children are at risk of impaired brain development, lower IQ, weakened immune systems and serious health complications like diabetes and cancer later in life.

Synapse: the contact point where one neuron communicates with another, between the dendrite of one cell and axon of another. The synapse allows one neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another.

Synaptic pruning: the process of synapse elimination in the brain that occurs (mostly) between early childhood and the onset of puberty in many mammals, including humans. Pruning is influenced by environmental factors and is widely thought to represent learning. After adolescence, the volume of the synaptic connections decreases again due to synaptic pruning.

Telomere: the end section of a chromosome (picture the plastic piece at the end of a shoelace) that appears to protect the integrity of DNA and keep it stable through replication. Research suggests that stress shortens the length of telomeres, hastening cell death and negatively affecting an individual’s health and longevity.

Tolerable stress response (as compared to positive stress response): activation of the body’s alert systems as a result of more severe, longer-lasting difficulties such as the loss of a loved one, a natural disaster, or a frightening injury. If the activation is time-limited and buffered by relationships with adults who help the child adapt, the brain and other organs recover from what might otherwise be damaging effects.

Toxic stress response (as compared to positive and tolerable stress response): reaction to strong, frequent, and/or prolonged adversity—such as physical or emotional abuse, chronic neglect, caregiver substance abuse or mental illness, exposure to violence, and/or the accumulated burdens of family economic hardship—without adequate adult support. This kind of prolonged activation of the stress response systems can disrupt the development of brain architecture and other organ systems, and increase the risk for stress-related disease and cognitive impairment, well into the adult years.

Vulnerability: the susceptibility or sensitivity of individuals or systems to harm from a particular situation, threat, or risk factor; a moderator of response to adversity or risk that results in higher than typical negative effects