"When I Think of Child Development"

"Since the earliest period of our life was preverbal, everything depended on emotional interaction. Without someone to reflect our emotions, we had no way of knowing who we are." - John Bradshaw

When I see this quote I cannot help to think about what I have learned in these past weeks in my class. Emotional connections and interactions can shape who we are and how we see the world. From very early on in our lives we look to emotions and interactions with first our caregivers and then others. I now know just how important emotional interactions between children and caregivers really are.

Testing For Intelligence?

   When looking at the big picture to some it seems a little ridiculous to be having children take standardized test, right? Children are measured and assessed in a number of ways in the school systems today. Many of these tests are being administered and children really aren't learning much. If we are to assess how a child learns why not look at how a child interacts with others, how the child is reading, and even how the child's language is. I think instead of testing things that children will more than likely end up forgetting and teachers only teach because they have to, we should be assessing things that a child will use in his/her lifetime. Socialization, emotional readiness, and other factors that goes into a child's learning, other than picking out the subject of a sentence, should be assessed to how the child is learning and developing.

   Many countries tests children's abilities and intelligence in many different ways. I learned years ago in my undergrad studies how China assess their children's intelligence. During their whole life Chinese children learn and study to prepare themselves for the gaokao. The gaokao is a test given to high school graduates to determine which college they will go to (if they can even go) and what they could study. It's pretty much a life determining test. Children study for this test that lasts for nine hours over the course of two days. Subjects that would be on the test is math, science, English, Chinese, and a 800 word essay. Students have been known to hook themselves up to IV's filled with fluids to keep them going and essentially make themselves sick with stress over the test (Carlson, B., Chen, Z., 2013). The way I see it, their education system is far more intense than ours. I don't think I would be able to survive this type of test let alone want my kids to go through it.

   If we want our children to be assessed by what really matters then we should be advocating for this. I believe for something to truly change enough people have to get on board and voice their opinions to the right people. While you may feel that your voice isn't being heard, advocating is the best way to get information out there to change the results of a system that is just not working.

References:
Carlson, B., & Chen, Z. (2013). You thought the SAT was bad? Meet the gaokao. Retrieved from: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/130607/china-gaokao-exam 

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

   This week we are talking about stresses that can affect a child and that child’s development. As a child I do remember one stressor that affected my life. Compared to others my childhood was relatively stress free but experiencing a natural disaster is something that I will never forget. Living in North Carolina, hurricanes are somewhat common and can happen every year. One hurricane that I can remember during my childhood that was unlike any other I have experienced. Hurricane Fran hit North Carolina on September 1996. I remember this as my first hurricane experience and the worst. The lights went out, winds howled, trees feel on the house, and I was scared that the house would cave in. Luckily our house was not damaged but as a 6 year old it was quite a scary experience. I remember sleeping in our hall bathroom and being without power for weeks. It was a while before we were able to go back to school because many parts of where I lived were flooded, even the school. Thankfully, everyone I knew was okay and not hurt. We had to pull together with our neighbors and community to help repair damages and support each other.

                                     

   Even though I went through a natural disaster I can see all around the world where there is more fatal damage than what I went through. During hurricane season, June to November, there is a more potential threat of hurricanes in the Caribbean and Central America. After a hard-hitting hurricane or tropical storm, children are left with disaster in his/her community. Some have to deal with the loss of family members which can lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Children may also seem to become more aggressive and distant with others. In the community the loss of agriculture and food can lead to malnutrition in children which can affect their growth and development (Barrios, Stansbury, Palencia & Medina, 2000). Stress can affect a child’s brain development and can lead to child to have deficits in learning and in memory. Children exposed to stress can develop major depression and PTSD. But while these factors are negative there is some positive in that a child can overcome these factors and develop and live a normal life (Berger, 2012). There are many organizations out there that help those who experience natural disasters and can ultimately help a child that is in need.

Some are:

http://www.redcross.org/ - American Red Cross

http://hands.org/ - Hands on Disaster Response

http://www.rescue.org/ - International Rescue Committee

http://www.savethechildren.org – Save the Children Disaster Relief

References

Berger, K.S. (2012). The developing person through childhood. (6^th ed.). New York, NY:    Worth Publishers.

Barrios, R. E., Stansbury, J. P., Palencia, R., & Medina, M. T. (2000). Nutritional status of  children under 5 years of age in three hurricane-affected areas of honduras. Retrieved  from http://www.scielosp.org/pdf/rpsp/v8n6/3955.pdf

Public Health Issue: Immunization

                                         
   For our class we are discussing public health issues that effect child development. The topic that I chose to cover is immunization. I chose this topic because since I am an educator, the children that I work with have or will have vaccines. Immunization also seems to be a debated topic as to whether it is helpful for children to be vaccinated or not. I find the debate interesting and I would like to know more as to why more and more parents are choosing to not have their children vaccinated.

   According to the World Health Organization, immunization "is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease" (2014). There are many vaccines for many different diseases that were more than likely once epidemics. For example, chicken pox use to be a death causing disease that caused hundreds of deaths per year in the United States now there are no deaths and far fewer people get chicken pox. While many disease have become preventable through vaccines there are still other diseases that professionals have yet to find a vaccine for, such as AIDS (Berger, 2012). Certain vaccines are given at particular ages, many in the early childhood years. A lot of families are concerned about the potential side effects that vaccines may have. Some families are concerned that their child will be greatly uncomfortable with the vaccine and that they child may end up getting sick anyway. A potential side effects that is common with vaccines is a mild fever and some discomfort for a few days. Because of these side effects missed vaccinations have risen in the past decade (Berger, 2012).This causes a great concern for public health professionals since they feel that having side effects from a vaccine is a better issue then having an epidemic. The World Health Organization continuously shares their research as to why vaccination is important. They have an interesting Q&A section which can be found here: http://www.who.int/features/qa/84/en/. They cover many of the questions that a concerned parent may ask.

   Immunization across the world is different in many different countries. Some countries, such as African countries, do not have access to many immunizations. Many infants and children in Africa die before their fifth birthday because there is a lack of access to immunizations for many preventable diseases. While there are great efforts by WHO and UNICEF, there are still a lot of infants and children that are being missed and not getting vaccines. Low and middles income countries are receiving help from these organizations and many diseases such as measles and polio are seeing a great decrease in numbers. We can see these great efforts being taken but it will take a lot more to eradicate the many other diseases that effects Africa.
   I think that finding this information was very helpful to me and my opinions in immunization in infants and young children. I was able to see why parents and families are wary of vaccines and their potential side effects and the good that vaccines do and why public health professionals are trying to get information out and educate people to get vaccinated. I think this will help me in my future work because I was able to gather resources that I could share with families in my classroom.

Resources

Berger, K.S. (2012). The developing person through childhood. (6th ed.) New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

World Health Organization. (2014). "An evaluation of infant immunization in africa: is a transformation in progress?" Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/85/6/06-031526/en/.

World Health Organization. (2014). "What are some of the myths-and facts-about vaccination?" Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/features/qa/84/en/.

The Childbirthing Experience

   Since I have not had the privilege to experience childbirth personally and none of my close friends or relatives have either, I decided to write about my own; which I had to refer to my mom. My mom recalled all the details saying that she "just wanted to get me out!" She explained that she went into labor and her water broke during the middle of the night and they headed to the hospital. She was actually a few weeks early into her labor considering they were expecting me on around the 17th and I was born on the 6th! She said that she was in labor for about 12 hours and finally the doctor decided to give my mother a c-section because I had become distressed and she was not dilated enough. She said that 12 hours of labor and a c-section later I was finally born. During the c-section my dad was the only one allowed in the room. I weighed 6 lbs. 11 oz. She has not had anymore children (I am an only child) so she has not experienced child birth other than having me.
   While reading through our textbook I have discovered the difference in childbirth in the U.S. and other countries. One aspect that was interesting to me was home births. In the Netherlands 30 percent of births are done in the home. For home births midwives re used and they are paid for by the government. The only time that a hospital is used is if there are complications with the mother or newborn. An ambulance or flying stork is used to send the mother to the hospital. Dutch researchers find that home births are actually better for the mothers and they pose no harm to the infants (Berger, 2012). I find this interesting since it is really rare for a mother in the United States to have a home birth. It is almost unheard of. Midwives are rarely used as well and I found it interesting that they are used as a government service to expecting mothers.
   I think that child birth plays a huge part of child development because so many factors can happen that effects a child's growth and development. A child being premature, distressed during birth, the mother using drugs, or any other complications can effect the child's growth and development in the future.

References

Berger, K.S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

A Special Thank You!

Eight weeks ago I began a new journey into my Master's Degree at Walden University. Through my first course I have found that I have learned so much already. Through this blog I was able to connect with some of my colleagues. I would like to send a thanks to all of the colleagues that I was able to connect with- Pamela, Patricia, Anna, Bonnie, Brenda, and Trinisha. I would like to give a special thanks to Pamela whose posts were very enlightening and can tell she has a passion for what she does and I can see her hard work and dedication in her postings. I would also like to give a special thanks to Patricia because her passion for Early Childhood inspires me. I can clearly see her passion for military families and that has inspired me to pursue my own passions. I would also like to thank Dr. Dartt for her encouraging words and being patient as I tried to get back into the APA formatting! I am excited to continue this journey and learn so much more throughout all of my other courses.

Early Childhood Codes of Ethics

I have chosen three ideals from the codes of ethics from NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) and DEC (The Division of Early Childhood). These three ideals are meaningful to my life and my professional career. These code of ethics ideals are:

NAEYC:

I-1.5- To create and maintain safe and healthy settings that foster children's social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development and that respect their dignity and their contributions.

This ideal is important to me because I have to make sure everyday that I am reflecting this statement. I have to make sure I am fostering each child's development in my lesson plans, activities, and in their everyday schedule.

I-2.2- To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve.

I believe that educators need to have a relationship with the child's family because we are not only providing services to the child but the child's family as well. Building a positive relationship with the family benefits the child because everyone will be communicating about the child's development and specific needs.

DEC:

II. Professional Development and Preparation:

4. We shall support professionals new to the field by mentoring them in the practice of evidence and ethically based services.

This is especially important to me because I continuously have practicum students in and out of the classroom learning from me and the students. Having this code of ethics in mind helps us to remember that we are there as mentors and a support system for new educators.

References:

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

The Division of Early Childhood. (2009, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.dec-sped.org/uploads/docs/about_dec/position_concept_papers/Code%20of%20Ethics_updated_Aug2009.pdf