Some Romanians, especially those who live in the countryside, still use old methods to cure their children when they are sick, according to  recent UNICEF data. They rarely take their children to the doctor, and they do so usually only when these methods fail.

Courses for parents are still rare in Romania, reports local Stirileprotv.ro. Moreover, mainly in the rural areas, mothers feed their babies with the food they cooked for the adults in the family, reports local stirileprotv.ro. Fathers are distant and don’t want to play with the kids.

Romanian parents still believe they have to punish their children. Half of the poor families’ adults admit that they raise their voice to the child and a large percentage slap the kid or pull his hair when he misbehaved.

On the other hand, hugs and affection are rare, and  fathers tend to avoid loving gestures. The situation is slightly better in urban areas, reports Stirileprotv.ro.

When it comes to taking care of a sick children, almost a quarter of Romanian parents don’t go to the doctor when the kid coughs or has the fever. They try to solve the problem using old methods.

Children aged under six also remain unsupervised on a daily basis. In some cases, they stay alone for more than three hours, according to the study. Sometimes, grandparents or older children take care of the little ones when the parents are not home.

UNICEF believes that the state, via doctors and social workers, should be more involved in training the parents.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com