Children's Everyday Life in the Project

Children receive only the visits they want to have : we recognize the children have the right to refuse seeing their parents and in such a case we will meet them separately and explain the situation. We will provide them with news about their child when the child has given authorization to release information about ce.

This rule is designed to protect children from further abuse from their

parents, or from emotional turmoil for which they don't feel ready. Even mute children have their ways to mean what they want or don't want (non verbal communications). For this reason children's wishes are given preference over their relatives' ones. Children know best what was done to them and to what they don't want to be exposed again.

Children' s participation : children being members of the household are encouraged to express any feedback as life is a never-ending process where imagination has to be used to try meet as best as possible in everyday reality

all the different needs of each particular person, little or big, living and working on the project.

Children are also encouraged to express themselves in initiating talks and in participating in daily evening conferences where they can get used to

decision making, planning, listening to others, and being supportive to those needing it.

Children' s choice of assistants : children may change at any time their preferred assistant to choose somebody who suits them better.

Also, when we recruit a new assistant, before making the decision each child's

opinion is wanted about that new person.

Pocket money : children are given every week some pocket money for them to spend freely as they wish or spare for later. We volunteer to keep for each child a personal account book and to help them learn to manage their amount.

Religion : like for any other matter of children' s life, this is left to what they want personally. If they want to attend to a church service, we have to arrange transportation and escort as much as needed. This therapeutic milieu as a place and organization does not belong to any particular religious faith. This is left to the wishes of each person.

Local activities : children can participate in any out-of-home activity relevant to their wishes. We then have to arrange transportation and escort as much as needed.

Self-care : children are encouraged to perform daily living skills as much as they can : dressing, personal hygiene, buying food with us, helping with meals, washing clothes, and upkeeping their room and the place but without any obligation to do any chores.

Food : at any time and for any meal children can choose their own food and how much they eat, for reason that each person knows best how to regulate one' s own body metabolism by the sensations experienced : only each particular person knows best what ce feels inside and accordingly what the needs are.

Excesses (overeating and anorexia) show that the therapeutic process for such a person still needs be done. These symptoms being superficial, trying to control or modify them would not be efficient as the problem is located deeper in the person.

We personally have a preference for vegetarian food, but children are free to decide what they want to eat.

Toxins in food : toxins are toxic substances produced in the body of animals who suffer permanently from lack of minimum natural conditions of living : are kept in cages, never can go out, are forced to remain in their waste... All very unhealthy conditions in which industrial farming forces animals to survive. These poisons are absorbed by consumers when they eat the flesh of such animals.

"Children who grow up getting their food from plant food rather than meats have a tremendous health. Animals tend to concentrate pesticides and other chemicals in their meat and milk. Plant foods have much less contamination even if they are not organically grown" (Dr. Benjamin Spock in his book "Baby and Child Care", 7th edition).

The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics agreed and stated that vegan food for children is appropriate for all ages.

In the therapeutic milieu, we propose children to drink orange juice first thing in the morning to allow the C vitamin enough time to be assimilated before taking breakfast, as it is a good backup for their immune system.

rev. 2015