[Affective interactions with children in shelters: an ethnographic study].

This study was conducted in order to observe interactions among twenty children living in a sheltered home and their care-givers. Using ethnographic methodology, these children (between ten months and five years old) were observed during half-hour meetings held twice a week for three and a half months. The findings indicate a lack of training among the care-givers, reflected in verbal hostility towards the children, with limited care, few words of encouragement and little physical contact. At the same time, it was noted that the children searched continuously for attention and care from other adults visiting the home. This underscores the need to prevent and restructure poor relationships between care-givers and children, shaping healthy environment for their development.