The conditions in these state-run orphanages are atrocious. The children are left alone for most of the day, receiving five or six minutes of attention a day (Perlez). The children, consequently, have little stimulation or physical activity. “Babies weren’t held when they were crying, fed when hungry or changed when wet… they were left lying on their backs in cribs for hours staring up that the bare white ceilings” (Beckelmen).
When Bucharest Early Intervention Project researchers first visited Romania in the late 1990s, they saw teenagers the size of 8-year-olds, not because of poor nutrition, but because emotional and social deprivation inhibit growth. “They witnessed rows of toddlers who, lying alone for hours, waved hands repetitively in front of their faces in an effort at self-stimulation. Language and attachment, learning and attention, emotion, behavior, IQ—all can be damaged when infants are denied the coos, smiles, and consistent, one-on-one care of a normal childhood” (Beckelmen). More and more evidence is found showing neglect directly leads to developmental delays. The children are in desperate need of more individual care.
