– It is a fact that the vast majority of people can have children, but today we take a little for granted that everyone can raise a child and know what to do in the first two years of life, Abid Raja tells Nettavisen.
The left-wing politician and former Minister of Culture and Equality believes our society does not focus enough on the mental health of parents of young children and the first two years of a child’s life.
In a representative proposal presented Thursday this week, Raja asks the government to present a parliamentary report on prevention in the life of children and on the mental health of parents in the first 1,001 days from pregnancy to the age of 2.
– Important to us at a vulnerable time
He has personally experienced that the first time as a parent can be very challenging, especially with twins.
– You come home from the hospital and you see it was much more than we realized. We were pretty tired in the first few months, says Raja.
The family went to the health center and was briefed on the Home-Start family support program.
– Then a lady appeared who helped a couple of days a week with cleaning and carrying the baby so we could fill up. We want this type of accommodation in all municipalities. We saw how important it was to us at that vulnerable time, and we were two resourceful parents, says liberal politician Abid Raja.
– We have received this help for six months, completely free. It was absolutely crucial for us, she adds.
Embarrassing and stigmatizing
The parliamentary representative believes that many new parents are struggling to adapt to the new daily life of parents. While most people are happy to have children, this doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone.
– There are also those who are not so happy and are affected by everything from postpartum depression to financial challenges. They experience it wasn’t as easy parenting as previously thought, says Raja.
Now the liberal politician wants the government to focus more on the mental health of parents of young children – and presents the issue in a representative proposal:
– It can be experienced as embarrassing, make you feel stigmatized and inadequate. It is painful and painful to experience that what the perfect maternity period should be does not turn out to be. It can also have serious consequences for both the baby and the mother, family and society in general. Many think you should go through it on your own. Then it is important that the help is low-level, satisfactory and available to families in need, Raja writes in the proposal.
The threshold for seeking help can be high, the liberal politician believes.
– You are afraid of looking stupid or you are afraid of contacting the child protection service and being in the spotlight that you do not want.
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Unfair to the rest of the Municipality-Norway
When Raja and his wife had twins, the couple lived in the municipality of Bærum.
– The municipality of Bærum, which is a wealthy municipality, has followed the advice to provide funds from the municipality to manage the “Home Start” program. Those who work there do it voluntarily, but the organization costs money. Isn’t it a bit unfair to the rest of Kommune-Norge that only a few municipalities have that offer? Raja asks.
The former Minister of Culture has also experienced firsthand how a difficult upbringing can affect you.
– I had a pretty hard time growing up. Not all children have parents who are good parents. Hopefully the vast majority of parents are fine, but I think the vast majority are in the middle of nowhere. I think you can do a lot to improve them. They are also the parents who …
Raja pauses before continuing:
– It’s bad to say, but they are bad parents.
The leftist politician also believes that the child protection cases in Bergen clearly demonstrate that a better support system is needed.
– What we saw in Bergen is absolutely crazy. How children can grow up in Norway and not get involved in the system.
– Absolutely disastrous for families with young children
Now the liberal politician hopes the government will set up a large committee in various ministries and ensure an investigation into the situation.
For example, Raja plans to look at how health centers, primary care and child protection centers work today and look at how parents of young children and babies are being followed up today.
In conclusion, Norwegians are facing a difficult winter with electricity bills, interest rate hikes and rising prices for a range of goods. Families with small children can also be beaten.
– What is happening now is completely catastrophic for families with young children. First, we had a two-year pandemic where many lost teaching, social learning and sports. And now with the price jump that has occurred on absolutely necessary goods. Plus, you get bills that you don’t really know what it will be like, only that it will be 4-5 times more expensive. Those who have struggled financially previously will have an extremely hard winter.
He fears that this could affect the quality of life of children.
– It’s not just about paying the bills. You also have to live while you have this winter. You cannot suspend the lives of children from March to April. You only pay for electricity and food and don’t afford anything else. It’s about the quality of life we build for children, concludes Raja.
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At risk of closure
In Norway we have 356 municipalities. Home-Start is present in 36 municipalities and has 46 departments in 36 municipalities, the organization says.
– It is about the political will to provide funds for Home-Start. The budget comes from the municipality, says Maria Kaino Holm, special advisor to Home-Start Familiekontakten.
However, rich municipalities are not necessarily providing funds for the organization.
– We have experience that there are municipalities that have scarce finances, but who nevertheless see the importance of safeguarding this offer. If the preventive work is cut, the bill will be bigger. At the same time, unfortunately, we experience that some departments are often at risk of closure due to cuts in the municipal budget. Both Asker and Nesodden are at risk of closure at the time of writing.
– Every year, the departments risk being closed, as we are at the mercy of the involvement of politicians. It requires a lot of time and resources on our part just to maintain the ward, resources that we could rather spend on families and children if the funds were predictable.
On average, running a newly started department costs about half a million, the consultant estimates.
The funds are used, among other things, to pay for coordinators, as well as for recruitment, preparation courses and social events for volunteers.
Today the organization helps around 900 families and 2,000 children.
– The number has been higher before, but these are pandemic numbers. Furthermore, these are only figures for families who have concrete family contacts. There are many others who receive help and follow up from us through a coordinator or events.
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