Chidren in Poland and the Effects of their Parents’ Job Migration

Abstract

Job migration is not a new phenomenon in Poland, nevertheless it is a fact that it has increased in recent years. It concerns both young people, who have barely started their adult life, and also those whose family situation is stable. In the latter case the family is often destabilised as a result of migration, its structure and functions change. Any changes here particularly affect children. Contrary to the information from the media, however, it should be stressed that not every family in migration is dysfunctional or even pathological. This phenomenon is complex and it shows that children in families that migrate are affected by both positive and negative effects of their parents’ job migration. They depend on many factors, such as the motivation for migration, children’s age, whther the family relations are proper, the duration of migration, and which of the parents migrates. It is essential to indicate both the positive and negative effects of migration, especially in relation to children. They take place on various levels of such as: family educational, rearing, social, and legal. Showing the dark aspects of migration should help the families themselves and the institutions that participate in the family life (e.g. the school, the Church) in lessening the negative results of migration for children.