We should be considerate towards children with low self-esteem! That is one of the key messages of the seminar "Behavioral and emotional disorders of children and adolescents – greater understanding leads to healthier outcomes" held on April 3, 2018, for pedagogues and psychologists of Sarajevo Canton primary schools and led by Nermina Kravic, M.D., a neuropsychiatrist subspecialized in child and adolescent psychiatry. Academic failure is a result of interconnected factors, it is represented by bad grades in tests which measure knowledge students learned at school. Failure at school is a subjective assessment of one's failure at academic as well as personal level, and it is connected to low self-esteem. Failure at school is often a symptom of a child's emotional disorder, and it is expressed through self-punishment and a hidden sense of guilt. By early identifying a child's behavioral and emotional disorder, we contribute to establishing appropriate methods of work with the child, as well as parents who also need some help and support. This was the third and last seminar for pedagogues and psychologists of primary schools on the topic of behavioral and emotional disorders of children and adolescents, which is part of a three-year project "Peer and gender-based violence", organized by TPO Foundation in cooperation with three cantonal ministries of education. Future activies regarding behavioral and emotional problems of children will involve teachers and parents from 30 primary schools.
As part of a cooperation agreement between TPO Foundation and three ministries of education – Sarajevo Canton, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton and Central Bosnia Canton – on the implementation of pedagogical-preventive contents in the sphere of peer-violence prevention with the support from students' teachers and parents, the project program was going to include special educational programs dedicated to the empowerment of staff at schools in the sphere of peer and gender-based violence reduction and prevention.

On that note, the last one-day seminar for pedagogues and psychologists of Sarajevo Canton primary schools entitled "Behavioral and emotional disorders of children and adolescents – greater understanding leads to healthier outcomes" was held on April 3, 2018. The participants had the opportunity to hear about different more and less severe forms of disorders of children as well as experiences of Nermina Kravic, M.D., in dealing with children who had been diagnosed with one or more behavioral and emotional disorders. The participants concluded that these educational programs are of great use to all educators and that such programs should be organized at schools more often. The program activities on this topic are to continue at schools as we expect 30 lectures to be held by pedagogues for staff at schools, with the mentorship from the TPO team, and workshops for parents to be organized in all partner schools in this project.