Is the child out of control? The Latvian state will make him obedient and attentive 0 8

Why Aren't Women Giving Birth?

According to the Daugavpils municipality, over the last decade, the birth rate in the city has decreased by 45%. In turn, over the last year, the decrease was 13%.
A similar, if not more dramatic, situation has developed at the other end of the republic — in the Kuldiga region. The picturesque town in Kurzeme had 22% fewer children's cries last year. The data on the ratio of births to deaths in absolute numbers is 146 and 389. One does not need to be a mathematical genius to calculate when, at such rates, the 10,000 local residents will completely run out...
Of course, the presence of material instability in the country and the anxious expectations of armed conflict with a neighboring, powerful state do not contribute to a proper psychological climate.
But, on the other hand, was the situation more favorable in 1944, when the parents of your author were born? First and foremost, the boundaries of the comfort zone have changed. Young people, even when married, most often do not go beyond the familiar lifestyle — shopping, traveling, parties, computer or board games... In general, a continuation of their own childhood.

Fear of Inadequacy

Of course, we always take risks — even if we simply go outside. But is that a sufficient reason to stay behind a closed door for life?
Global studies, recently presented at the Saeima Commission on Human Rights and Public Affairs, indicate that 1 in 4 children may indeed face developmental delays. For 1 in 7, these risks are significant. They may include:

• Speech development difficulties;
• Socio-emotional challenges;
• Understanding and behavioral problems;
• Learning difficulties.
  All of this creates emotional strain for the family, lowers the child's self-esteem, creates difficulties in school, and increases costs for health, social, and educational systems.
  However, experts estimate that with early screening, the aforementioned problems can be overcome in 80% of infants. Nobel laureate in economics James Heckman calculated that 1 euro invested in preventive child monitoring can create up to 14 euros in long-term savings.

BAASIK — From One to Six

This abbreviation stands for the Early Development Screening Tool Kit. The program is being implemented in Latvia starting in 2024 under the leadership of Professor, Doctor of Psychology Malgorzata Rachevska (Dean of the Faculty of Education, Psychology, and Art at the University of Latvia). Over 1,000 children have already undergone computer-based testing. High reliability and validity of the results have been obtained, which are combined with recommendations for parents and educators.
During the BAASIK tests, the child is assessed for:

• Intellectual abilities;
• Language and speech;
• Adaptive behavior;
• Oppositional defiant behavior;
• Dissocial behavior;
• Anxiety;
• Fatigue;
• Basics of mathematics and reading;
• Communication;
• Signs of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
  Participants in the process — the child, their parents, family doctor, and educator — create a computerized database or child profile during communication, which is integrated with the E-veseliba system, the State Educational Information System, and the Register of Natural Persons.
  Of course, a number of legislative amendments still need to be made — to the Child Rights Protection Law, the Education Law, the Patient Rights Protection Law, and others. By the end of 2026, an assessment of the BAASIK pilot project is expected in several municipalities, followed by its implementation throughout Latvia.
  The cost of the preventive child program for Latvia is about 50 million euros, aiming to cover around 10,000 children and over 500 various institutions.

Four Levels of Assistance

According to specialists' plans, the system will result in:

• Digitized data from preventive examinations of children from birth; anthropometric parameters — height, weight, head and chest circumference.
• Analyzing the risks identified for the child's development over time.
• Digital information exchange between the medical and educational sectors, resulting in educational institutions automatically receiving information about the necessary support for children with special needs.
• In-depth study of developmental disorders in children and necessary support measures; a list of services in health, education, and social rehabilitation.
  The organizational model of BAASIK will consist of multidisciplinary teams. As for healthcare, four levels of assistance will be available for the child:
• Level 0 — public health nurses in educational institutions;
• Level 1 — family doctor teams and private pediatricians;
• Level 2 — secondary outpatient care and social pediatrics, child development teams;
• Level 3 — inpatient care and child psychiatrist teams.
  In Germany, for example, 145 such centers have been established — considering the population difference, Latvia would need only 4-5 such institutions, one for each region.

Neonatologist to the Rescue

The primary diagnoses that pediatricians work with are the so-called "modern diseases" — obesity, the aforementioned ADHD, various speech disorders.
In the team, along with the pediatrician, work: a child psychologist, physiotherapist, speech therapist, and occupational therapist. A special educator and social worker are also involved. At the core of it all is the neonatologist — a doctor specializing in the care of newborns, their treatment, and nurturing in the first 28 days of life. The specialist is present at births, assesses the child's condition, provides emergency care, nurtures premature babies, treats congenital pathologies, infections, jaundice, and teaches mothers how to care for the infant. After all, the first weeks and months after birth can determine what awaits the child and their family for a lifetime...
Your author, passing by the buildings of the now-closed children's hospitals in Ilguciems and Jugla, always remembers how, respectively, three and two decades ago, he anxiously and hopefully awaited his children here. I hope that they themselves, and their generation as a whole, will have more confidence in the support of the system. Well, at least — to avoid hospital infections and medical errors.
And then, according to local experts' plans, monitoring will continue in school. Teachers in Latvia will now be taught a course on the neuro-psychological development of children so that they are prepared...
And for teaching in the lower grades and for diagnosing "difficult" children up to 11 years old, a program called STOP is being developed. But that’s another story!