South Africa : Consequencesof Stress on Children's Development

I looked into growing up in South Africa and discovered cross cultural/cross national research could deepen my understanding of the relation between social environment and child development. I learned that children there are not strangers to stress. One of the stresses there that plays the biggest part is violence. There have been wars there that left children orphaned, and displaced from thier families. This is a very strong stressor. Even though children appear to be strong and holding it together, as you can imagine it's very hard to keep it together. There is so much violence going on in South Africa, this due to many different reasons.

Violence....Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

As a child I had a good friend who suffered the stresses of violence in the home. She lived with her mother who had a boyfriend who was very nice until he consumed alchohol. Once he had his fix he became very violent emotionally and physically. He would do a lot of loud talking and profanity. This he would do toward her mother and the kids. He would even be in such a rage that sometime he physically abuse her mother. He never hit the children though. She had three other siblings. This really effected my friend negatively. She would come to school she couldnt concentrate, she was always sleepy, and she barely ate anything. This went on for a couple of years until we got to middle school and I could really see a difference in her. She said that she was now living with her grandmother and things were great. Her grades started to improve, and she began to be very outgoing and happy again. She stayed with her grandma up until we graduated and went on to be a very successful teacher in North, MS. There were stressors in her life, but she pushed on and eventually was able to overcome them and move on with her life in a positive way.

Breastfeeding....

Breastfeeding is a very pasionate subject for me. I have two children and I am expecting now. With my previous two children I did not breastfeed. My oldest child turned out just fine, but my daughter has quite a few medical issues. She has eczema, asthma, allergies and etc. My doctor once indicated to me that if I had breastfed she wouldn't have these illnesses. Well this time I am breastfeeding. From my understanding this is the healthiest thing you can do for a child. The milk that the body produces is the most nutritional, and it's exactly what a child needs. The question at hand is how long should a child be breastfed?

I looked into breastfeeding in China and discovered it was slim to none. Approximately only 20% of mothers in China breastfeed (Xinhua, 2009). These rates are very far behind World Health Organization targets, that suggest infants six months are younger should be breastfed. A study of 2,160 Chineese infants, between 1998 and 2004, showed that breastfeeding could help develop of the neural system and dramatically lower the rate of eczema(Xinhua, 2009). In the United States 75% of women breastfeed. This number superceeds the number in China. Breastfeeding is very popular in the U.S. and very promoted.

When I open my childcare facility I plan to promote breastfeeding as well. I want children to be as healthy as possible, and I dont want anything to get in the way of thier development.

Xinhua, Y. (2009). China Lagging Behind Breastfeeding Targets. Retrieved from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009

Childbirth - In your life and around the world.

The birth of my daughter was extraordinary. It was the most beautiful and emotional event I had ever experienced. I chose tis birth because everything about it was natural down to delivery. I had no medication what so ever, it was not even painful because it was over so fast. I think more women should have natural chilbirth because I had never felt better. I felt energetic and healthy. I was so aware of everything going on with my baby. I think it played a huge part in her development and how fast she has advanced through life also.

I chose China to find out how births happen there. Childbirth is influenced deeply by one's culture. In China childbirth is seen as women's business and most of the health care providers are women. In China women give birth with no medicines so that they can experience the journey to motherhood. They are not aloud to cryout in pain and discomfort either. In my opinion, childbirth for them is very stressful, because of all the rules they have to follow during pregnacy, childbirth, and after delivery.

Thanks....

I want to thank all my colleagues for your help and support throughout this class. Everyone was very thoughtful and positive and their comments and I appreciate it!!! The bond and support I have experienced here at Walden has been better than any educational experience I have ever had. It makes me more serious and confident about my classes. I find it intriguing to have so many people who share the the same passion as I do. I appreciate you all. Thanks for making this a great experience!

Examining Codes of Ethics

NAEYC
Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment

I-1.3--To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child.

Every child learns differently. Some children are faster learners and others are slower. Some children learn through listening and some through hands on experiences. However a child learns, the teacher should respect it and do whatever it takes to get the knowlegde to the child. A lot of teachers aren't outside the box, and this causes children to be behind in class and discourages them from learning to the best of thier ability. When I own my own facility my teachers will be outside the box and know how to make education fun and exciting.

I-1.8--To support the right of each child to play and learn in an inclusive environment that meets the needs of children with and without disabilities.

There is nothing more important than meeting the needs of all the students, whether they have disabilities or not. There are not a lot of educational institutions for children with disabilities. I want my students at my early childhood education to all have an equal opportunity to learn. Students with disabilities be some of the most intelligent students and are just waiting for a chance to show it off. I want a facility that does not descriminate, and every student will be encouraged to do thier best and keep pushing for success. I want teachers who will advocate and inform parents and students on whatever it takes for thier child to succeed.


Code of Ethics
Responsive Family Centered Practices

3. We shall respect, value, promote, and encourage the active participation of all families by engaging families in meaningful ways in the assessment and intervention process.

It is so important to get the parents involved in the childrens education. I am a firm believer that children get the most knowledge at home with parents and family. And education really does start at home, and if we can get parents to work with the teachers to make sure that children are on the right path to success, then we can eliminate children being retained. Sometimes all childrenneed is motivation, just the fact that someone has thier back and believes in them makes the world of difference.

New Resources

    Early Childhood Education Care

    http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy-priorities/early-childhood-education-care/

 

 

   Children Who Fall Behind

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/feb/17/children-fall-behind-nine-months

Early Childhood Education http://www.earlychildhoodeducation.com/

The Course Resourses are listed near the bottom of the page in thier designated area.