Traumatic memories

It's hard to fathom how young children affected by traumatic events are able to move on with their lives. Photo / Thinkstock

You wonder if four-year-old Akash Sharma knows what has happened to his mum.

Over there in Fiji he will surely know he won't be seeing her again. The poor little guy.

And you'd hope he doesn't know how his loving mum died - that's like something out of a sick horror movie.

His father isn't there for him now either since he's being questioned in relation to that gruesome death last week.

It's cases like this that hammer home how vulnerable and innocent kids are. They're not meant to have to deal with experiences like this.

Akash is staying with relatives and, by the sounds, is in good health after his dash to Fiji with his father. But while he's healthy now, how do kids with emotional trauma like losing their mum or being caught up in an allegedly violent domestic environment move on?

How do they make the most of their life with that sort of baggage?

I'm no expert - I'm just a dad - but in many cases they don't move on. Can't move on. How could they with brutal memories embedded in their heads?

There are parallels between Akash's situation and the recent case of five-year-old Napier girl Sahara Baker-Koro. Hers is yet another shocking instance of child abuse in New Zealand. A 24-year-old man has been charged with her sexual violation.

While they are very different circumstances, both cases are horrific.

Akash could just be the lucky one here, even if it doesn't seem like it at the moment, because he has got an opportunity to get on with his life.

Young Sahara won't have that chance because she was found dead in her bed.

And I know there is little I can do or say to help the likes of Akash, Sahara, and the many other kids in similar situations, but I can go home and give my own little one a great big hug.