Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

Stressors are everywhere, and occur naturally and sometimes forcibly in all our lives.  There are many ramifications of these stresses and how we cope and survive is dependent on many factors including support from others.  

The stressor I chose to examine is war and its affects on children's biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial development.  War, unfortunately is currently affecting us all.  Some children are sheltered, protected and far removed from war, others know too much about the violence and suffering.  Because the topic of war is so broad in its stresses, I chose to focus on the affects of a parent/parents leaving on deployment here in the United States.  

I have several children in my class this year who's parent/parents have been previously deployed and some who are anticipating deployment or currently waiting for a loved one to return.  War and military life can bring so many hardships to a family with young children.  

 A resource for families understanding the affects of deployment on children and families:

 http://www.military.com/benefits/resources/deployment/your-children-and-separation

A great resources for educators helping children cope with deployment:
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/homefront/homefront.pdf 


 A resource for supporting military families in your community:
http://www.operationmilitarykids.org/public/home.aspx 

It is heartwarming to share how communities rally around families affected by deployment and how they aid one another in coping with, and compensating  for, the stress of war.  I have experienced children and their parents learning new routines within a single parent household and how they became dependent on caregivers for emotional support and love.  I have held mother's as they cry, aided father's in making a video message or video journals for their children prior to deployment, I have cooked meals for an over-stressed newly single mom and three children, I have helped make hundreds of cards and letters for service men and women in our military over the past 10 years.  We reside in North Carolina and are surrounded by three large military bases.  This stress affects at least two families in our program each year, sometimes many more.  We offer parent workshops on how to help their children cope when a mommy or daddy leaves for months at a time.

Later this week I will post on the stress of war and its affects on children in other countries.

Child Development & Public Health

For this assignment, I chose to explore the concern of public access to healthy water.  

This topic is important to me as an educator of children.  This affects all children globally.  I drink several bottles of purified water each day,( from my re-usable bottle) and I feel guilty to have access to this privilege when other people/ children do not. Not having access clean water affects children's development, academic progress and health.  I feel very strongly in supporting communities world-wide in obtaining clean water and reducing (plastic) pollution.  This can be taught at the early childhood stage of life.

I chose to research clean water access consumption in Mexico. 

"Tourists are warned not to drink tap water in Mexico but what do locals drink? In Mexico 94% of surface water is contaminated but not everybody can afford to buy purified water."   -this is a problem!

 http://www.globalgiving.co.uk/pr/5900/proj5832a.html

 This organization has begun a donation bank to aid children of Mexico.  

Project Needs and Beneficiaries

The bottled water industry in Mexico is one of the largest in the world causing huge environmental concern as to the amount of waste plastic being produced. Along with discarded plastic bottles, the beaches are littered with rubbish that has been washed up from all over the world.The people of Mexico need to be taught to purify their water and reduce plastic consumption. 

We work with the people of Mexico to obtain drinking water without purchasing plastic bottles and encourage families to collect rubbish from beaches.  Those participants who collect the most are presented with a water filter to use in the their homes.

http://water.org/learn-about-the-water-crisis/facts/

"Today’s water crisis is not an issue of scarcity, but of access. More people in the world own cell phones than have access to a toilet. And as cities and slums grow at increasing rates, the situation worsens. Every day, lack of access to clean water and sanitation kills thousands, leaving others with reduced quality of life."

• Diarrhea remains in the second leading cause of death among children under five globally. Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – is due to diarrhea. It kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.
• Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease. 
• Diarrhea is more prevalent in the developing world due, in large part, to the lack of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as poorer overall health and nutritional status. 
• Children in poor environments often carry 1,000 parasitic worms in their bodies at any time. 
• In the developing world, 24,000 children under the age of five die every day from preventable causes like diarrhea contracted from unclean water. 
• 1.4 million children die as a result of diarrhea 

Sources:

Asian Development Bank web site. 2009.

UN Water. 2008. Tackling a Global Crisis: International Year of Sanitation 2008

World Health Organization. 2008. Safer Water, Better Health: Costs, benefits, and sustainability of interventions to protect and promote health.

Childbirth- In My Life & Around the World

I had my first child when I was 19 years old.  I was young, unmarried, scared and completely unprepared for the journey ahead of both myself and my son.  The event itself was scary and uncomfortable.  I did not prepare with Lamaze classes, I opted for an epidural, and I had both of my equally frightened parents by my hospital bedside.  The very "medical process" took 14 hours and was mentally and physically exhausting.  The beginning of my son's life was an adventure that I have learned so much from.  He was 5 weeks early and would prove to have a delicate immune system, but luckily he was fully physically developed. Birth has an amazing impact on child development, my son is a testimate to that.  After the initial birthing process, I immediately took parenting classes and continually advocated for his health and well being.  He remained a "sickly" child for the first five years of his life, in and out of the doctor/hospital.  He is highly allergic to most major medicines and environmental agents.  My daughter's birth, seven years later, was completely different.  Her labor lasted 4 hours, my husband and myself were completely prepared and actually enjoyed the process.  Her early childhood journey has also been strikingly different than that of my son's. 

http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/giving-birth-in-japan

I chose to investigate the common birthing process in the country of Japan.  

In Japan it's widely accepted that pregnant women can eat certain foods like raw fish, weight gain is generally less for mothers, it is customary for mothers to stay six days at the hospital (one day for labor and five days for recovery), and the post-delivery recovery period in the hospital is like boot camp for new moms, preparing them for life outside the hospital. 

I wish I had received more post-delivery assistance, education, and support.  I stayed only two days in the hospital and felt "rushed" out and unprepared.  I struggled with postpartum depression and issues of feeling unworthy as a mother.  I feel that there is not an effective system in the US to help young/new mothers.
 

A Note of Thanks & Support

During the past weeks we have forged a collaborative learning community, shared information and insights with each other, and supported each other. I am so grateful for this opportunity to develop with each and every one of you!  As I prepare to move throughout this educational journey, I am amazed at how my colleagues have supported me through their support and guidance.  I hope I in turn have supported you all.  I sincere wish is for all of us to successfully continue on our professional paths with passion, confidence and inspiration.  Thank you all!

Personal Post Alert

Hi fellow professionals!

I am enjoying week 7 from...... the Bahamas.  :-)  My husband decided to take our family (including our 3 year old daughter and 11 year old son) on our 7 year anniversary vacation.  Next week we will be in Disney World, hence the early posting on the discussion board and blog this week and next. So I wish you all warm sunny thoughts.

3 ideals contained in the DEC codes of ethics that are meaningful in their significance to my professional life.

DEC (Division for Early Childhood)

Code of Ethics:

http://www.dec-sped.org/About_DEC/Position_Statements_and_Concept_Papers/Ethics

Professional and Interpersonal Behavior:2.  We shall demonstrate the highest standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, and honesty in all
our professional activities in order to inspire the trust and confidence of the children and families
and of those with whom we work.

 Professional Collaboration:

2. We shall honor and respect the rights, knowledge, and skills of the multidisciplinary colleagues
with whom we work recognizing their unique contributions to children, families, and the field of
early childhood special education.

Responsive Family Centered Practices

1. We shall demonstrate our respect and appreciation for all families’ beliefs, values, customs,
languages, and culture relative to their nurturance and support of their children toward achieving
meaningful and relevant priorities and outcomes families’ desire for themselves and their children.


4. We shall empower families with information and resources so that they are informed consumers
of services for their children.

These four ideals from the Division for Early Childhood spoke to me as I explored this position statement.  The first one on professional behavior discusses honesty and integrity.  These concepts are so important in the work place, especially when working with children.  The second ideal is about professional collaboration.  Collaboration is so important, we can learn so much from other professionals.  Respecting others opinions and ideas in this field leads to productive collaboration that benefits all children.  The third and fourth ideals deal with families within our care.  We have an ethic responsibility to guide families/parents, inform them, educate them, and empower them in the care and decisions of their childrens lives.  I strive to empower my families on all subjects from behavior management, to navigating IEP's, to recalled childrens products on the market.  As professionals, as teachers, it is our responsibility to take our wealth of knowledge and share it with the community in benefit of all children. 

Additional Resources for Early Childhood Studies!

I was exploring resources on the web and came across:

Jul19 2010

ED Launches Early Learning Initiative Web Page

The U.S. Department of Education has announced a new web page devoted to early learning. According to the announcement, the web page is designed to include information about:

 key programs, funding opportunities, resources and publications, technical assistance, and interagency work.

early learning in the Administration’s proposal for reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

investments in early learning across Departments.

The page includes presentation materials, a webinar, blog posts, and public comments from our Listening and Learning about Early Learning tour.  

The link to this new webpage is:

http://www.ed.gov/early-learning