Podcast premiere: ‘Child safety in the family’ now on our YouTube channel

During the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, held on 12 September 2024 in Kyiv, UNICEF Ukraine recorded a podcast dedicated to the safety of children in the family environment and the importance of open communication between parents and children.

As each of us needs a ‘safe place’ to return to when we feel angry, sad, or lost, and to get such needed words of support and advice. The family is such an environment, which is especially important for children, who always seek their parents’ attention and support. And healthy and open communication between parents and children is the key to a family`s mental resilience.

Participants of the podcast included:

• American psychologist and former firefighter George Faller;
• Ukrainian artist and lead singer of the band Tonka, Olenka Karas;
• Ukrainian young man Vіacheslav Yalov, who had to become the guardian to his four younger siblings after losing his mother due to Russian shelling.

During the discussion, the speakers shared their personal experiences and reflected on how family shapes such personal qualities as strength and resilience, particularly in case of children.

According to Vіacheslav Yalov, the family is the most important thing in each person’s life, because these are people who accept you ‘for who you are’ and will always support you. ‘My family taught me that if you set a goal, you can achieve it. Little by little, and everything will be fine,’ noted the young man.

George Faller emphasised the importance of right parenting and finding ‘that balance between love and limits’. The American psychologist also noted that adults shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes in the process of upbringing as ‘you learn by falling.’

The podcast was created within the ‘Child Safety in the Family’ dimension of the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, with the support of UNICEF Ukraine and the NGO Cultural Platform Zakarpattya, as part of the KONTENTA audiovisual studies project.

You can watch the podcast on the official YouTube channel of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen Global Platform via the provided link.