48% of children fear loud noises due to war – poll among mothers

Sociologists have released a new survey on the problems of Ukrainian children during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 62% of the mothers surveyed reported that their children had witnessed or experienced events relating to the Russian war against Ukraine.

Nowadays, 25% of mothers consider their place of residence unsafe, compared to 21% in February 2023, says a new survey conducted by the Sociological Group Reitynh (Rating).

79% of mothers rate their children's physical health as "very good" or "good", with 73% rating their mental health as "very good".

At the same time, many children are afraid of loud noises (48%) and exhibit irritability (37%).

"They are not showing full evidence of PTSD, but are affected by the war in a number of ways," the study indicated.

38% of mothers stated that they were in need of financial assistance, 14% needed help with food, and 13% required non-food aid (clothing, hygiene items, blankets, etc.).

54% of the polled mothers believe that the ability of Ukrainian parents to address issues related to the upbringing and development of their children has deteriorated compared to the times before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

25% believe that nothing has changed. Only 15% noted an improvement. Those whose financial situation is currently the worst spoke more about deterioration.

Mothers from Kyiv reported such hardships most often (67%). The feeling of deterioration was recorded in 41% of mothers with high income, 59% of mothers with low income, and 54% of mothers with the lowest income.

Sociologists also assessed school attendance and the effectiveness of children's education.

Mothers of 94% of children reported that their children were studying full-time or in a mixed form of education (this figure was 92% in February 2023).

Of the 6% of those who do not attend school at all, 40% fail to do so due to their local school being closed; 60% are concerned about their child's safety.

Over 55% of students use a computer or laptop as a supplementary learning tool.

Sociologists noted that school attendance has improved significantly since the previous survey in February 2023 and that the main reason for school absences is children's illnesses.

An average of 3 out of 4 mothers assessed the progress and quality of their children's education positively.

The Sociological Group Rating conducted the poll on behalf of the Ukraine Children's Action Project on 29 October – 2 November 2023.

Where possible, the responses were compared to a similar survey conducted in February 2023.

The survey involved 2,000 mothers of children aged 3-17 in all oblasts, except for the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, as well as areas where Ukrainian mobile communications were unavailable at the time of the survey.

The margin of error in the study is 2.2%, with a confidence level of 0.95.

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