Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Beans and Pie Crust

Well, I didn’t really experience any of the stressors listed for this assignment as a child, so I chose to ask my dad what he might have experienced when he was younger…

He told me about the poverty he experienced.  He told me how his mother (who died when I was just a baby) raised him on her own and how, when he was younger, he didn’t even realize the situation they were in.  He remembers having “beans and pie crust for dinner…but those were some good beans and pie crust!”  He’s often talked about how well his mother cooked.  I believe it was the nurturing and care that he received from his mom that helped him cope with it.  It wasn’t really until he was older that he said he realized the stress that was on her.

He also discussed his mother’s mental illness that was a result of the many stressors in her life and how he began to know when she would be “getting sick.”  The affect it had on him was mostly the sadness he had for her having to deal with this.  Looking back on it, he had nothing but positive repercussions of this experience.  He talked about how it fueled his desire to do well in school so that she wouldn’t have the stress of a bad child to deal with.  He also discussed how dealing with her helped him to have sensitivity when dealing with others he came across in his life who had mental illness and how God just allowed him to be able to see what he saw and deal with it.  His final outlook he says with a smile in his voice: “I was fortunate; I came through it mostly in tact.” As my dad related to me his experiences with these stressors, he also discussed how malleable children are; that they can go through so much and not even realize it and still “do remarkably”.

Poverty and Brazilian Children

I viewed a 2005 study from several students at Tulane University about Brazilian children, which indicated that at that time, 7-8 million Brazilian children were estimated to be living on the streets while 25 million were living below the poverty line (Bodack, Hunter, Kaufman, Kelly, 2005).  This study discussed how poverty is really the root cause of all the other stressors they experience, including disease and malnutrition, drug abuse, lack of education, and even prostitution.  There has been legislation created to combat the problem of the increasing numbers of street children that gives them rights to many things including “health, nutrition, education, and leisure” (Bodack et. Al, 2005).  Recent legislation has been put into place that provides financial incentives to parents to send their children to school (Bodack et. Al, 2005).  There have also been a number of programs and organizations instituted to help these children.  This study also indicates that, although these solutions are helping the children, more must be done to combat the root cause of their poverty: unjust governmental policy.  Isn’t this always the root of the issue?

Resources

Tulane University “The Truth Behind Children in Brazil”

http://homeport.tcs.tulane.edu/~rouxbee/kids99/brazil.html

The Channel: an organization committed to “transforming the nation of Brazil, one child at a time”

http://www.thechannel.org/aboutUs.html

Public Health Issues: A Focus on Nutrition

I eat pretty healthy (most of the time) and it always saddens me when children don’t have access to a variety of healthy, nutritious foods like I do.  It saddens me more when the adults rearing them don’t support healthy eating habits, are ignorant of the benefits of proper nutrition, or usually, just can’t afford it.  Maybe I’m a little passionate about this aspect of child development. I’ve got all kinds of ideas for nutrition programs that would possibly be able increase low-income families’ access to nutritional meals. I chose the topic of nutrition/malnutrition with a desire to learn more about it and perhaps gain insight that will help me advocate for improvements in this realm.

Here’s some practical information about nutrition I learned:

Breast milk is the best milk.  

-       According to the World Health Organization (2010), infants should be fed only breast milk for their first 6 months of life, after which they should be fed a variety of complimentary foods with breast milk on demand for up to 23 months and beyond.

If You Teach them, they will learn…how to eat.

-       a study on low-income mothers and children in Brazil showed that children of mothers who were given in-home, consistent nutritional counseling over the first year of their child’s life had a better diet quality at 3 to 4 years old (Vitolo, Rauber, Campagnolo, Feldens, Hoffman, 2010).

Trained Physicians = Healthy Children

-       Studies in Brazil and Pakistan showed that physicians and healthcare workers with continuing education in nutrition counseling were more likely to counsel their parents on good nutritional practices and make sure their parents understood the advice.  These mothers were better able to recall the information they learned and were also more frequently practicing the information they learned as indicated in health and body exams (Pelto, Santos, Goncalves, Victoria, Martines, Habicht, 2003; Zaman, Ashraf, Martines, 2008).

What I gained most in this exercise is exposure to sources that major in worldwide nutritional health.  I now have specific, trusted sources to go to for research and training that can benefit parents with whom I have future contact and opportunity to teach.  Here is a list of them:

Infant and Young child Feeding. Article. Retrieved from:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs342/en/index.html#

Global Strategy for Infant and young child feeding. Article. Retrieved from:

http://www.who.int/child_adolescent_health/topics/prevention_care/child/nutrition/global/en/index.html#

10 Facts on Nutrition. Article. Retrieved from:

http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/nutrition/facts/en/index.html

World Health Organization (World Focused)

Journal of Health, Population, & Nutrition (World Focused)

Journal of Nutrition Education (U.S. focused)

Resources

Vitolo, M., Rauber, F., Campagnolo, P., Feldens, C., Hoffman, D. (2010). Maternal dietary counseling in the first year of life is associated with a higher healthy eating index in childhood. The Journal of Nutrition.140(11), p. 2002-2007. Doi:10.3945/jn.110.125211.

Pelto, G., Santos, I, Goncalves, H; Victoria, C., Martines, J., Habicht, J. (2003). Nutrition counseling training changes physician behavior and improves caregiver knowledge and acquisition. The Journal of Nutrition. 134(2), p. 357-362

Zaman, S., Ashraf, R., Martines, J. (2008). Training in complementary feeding counseling of healthcare workers and its influence on maternal behaviours and child growth: a cluster-randomized controlled trial in lahore, Pakistan. Journal of Population, Health, and Nutrition. 2, p. 210-222

My birth experience...if you can call it that

I’ve never really attended anyone’s birth and I’ve never given birth myself so I feel a little disconnected from this precious woman's rite of passage.  However, I have been associated with a few births and they all occurred in hospitals.  I am happy to report that I have a cousin scheduled to have a water birth in a few months.  I’m exited to see how it goes!

I chose to share my experience of my little brother's birth because it's the only one I really have any personal memories of.  It was very special and exciting because I knew my baby brother was coming but I was only six years old and didn't really understand what was going on.  I was at school (1st grade) during the actual birth, but I did get to come to the hospital later and see him.  They were even going to let me hold him but I was too scared.  My mother stayed in the hospital for a few days afer because she had had a cesarean section.  (I was also a c-section baby) I remember seeing pictures of her looking pretty medicated during the procedure but with a HUGE smile on her face.  Although I've never attended a live birth, I do hope to give birth to my own children one day.

I never really realized that birth was such a delicate process.  I think I assumed that once a child is being born, everything is pretty much all right.  Now that I understand that there are many factors present that can affect a child’s development at birth, I have more reverence for the whole process.

How they do it in the Netherlands...

Most women in the Netherlands give birth at home with a midwife referred by the family’s doctor.  A doctor is only really recommended if there are major complications or in high-risk situations.  It’s so common that there’s even a kit all expectant mothers get that has everything they’ll need for their home delivery! (it's called a "kraampakket", see picture)  Not only does a midwife help them with birth, they actually stay with the family for a week and help around the house and give parenting advice.  I thought this was pretty sweet.  It’d be nice to have someone who’s not your mother but is motherly and very experienced in the whole birth process to hang out with you during this time. 

As stressful as hospitals can be, I think home birth must be a nice way to deliver a child.  No machines and tubes and announcements over a loud speaker.  Although I’ve never actually witnessed a birth, I’ve seen pictures of my mom’s birth and there are always a million nurses and people in the background doing stuff.  I can’t imagine that being very serene.  Considering the effect a mother’s stress level can have on a child’s development, I think home birth might be slightly better than hospital birth because it’s more conducive to lower stress for both mother and baby; especially if you have a trustworthy expert to help you along with the process and you’re doing it in the comfort of your own living room.  How personal it must be as well.  Considering a child’s development, I think it would be good for a child to be born in its own home, not having to experience their first hours of life in the stressful environment of a hospital.   In my humble estimation, the less stress and medical intrusion, the better the birthing experience.   A good birth experience for mother and child can only add to the overall health of a child.

Here’s a link to the woman's site I used.  She gives several candid descriptions of birthing practices in different countries:

http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/?page=1

YAAAAYYYY!!!

Well everyone, it's been a pleasure working with you all in this foundations course, thanks for sharing the pages of your lives with me.  Let's keep up the good work!  One down, a few more to go!

Examining Codes of Ethics

It is my goal that the following professional ideals will become a part of my life as an early childhood professional.  Some of them I already practice but I hope that over time I will more consistently practice these ideals.

NAEYC Ideals:

I-1.1—To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed  through continuing education and training. This is my goal from now on.  I understand that if I want to be effective in this field, I must make consistent effort to staying abreast of knowledge and practice pertinent to this field and my program.

I-2.8—To help family members enhance their understanding of their children and support the continuing development of their skills as parents.  This is an objective of my current early childhood program, about which I am very passionate.  The more parents know, the better cared for their children will be.  I've worked a little to help parents know more about their children from another person's perspective in order to decrease negative parent behavior toward their children (ie: bad-mouthing "you'll never be anything" talk, etc.)  I hope to sharpen these efforts and see more fruit from them.

I-4.6—To promote knowledge and understanding of young children and their needs. To work toward greater societal acknowledgment of children’s rights and greater social acceptance of responsibility for the well-being of all children.  Not only do I wish to inform parents and families, but I wish for greater society to really understand and acknowledge the tremendous value of investing in our children.

 

Division of Early Childhood (DEC) Code of Ethics:

Responsive Family Centered Practices

4. We shall empower families with information and resources so that they are informed consumers of services for their children.  As I continue on this journey of learning more about this field, I am dedicated to learning for myself the resources that are available to families in my community and making families aware of them.

 

I reviewed Karin Chenoweth’s (2010) article, “Learning from Success:  Love Meets Best Practices at a New Orleans Elementary School,” and wanted to document the resources it led me to.  This article is about her visit to one of the schools that was selected by The Education Trust to receive the 2010 “Dispelling the Myth Award” that honors “schools that serve large numbers of children of color and those from low-income families that educate their students at high levels”.  I was first drawn to this article because of its title wondering what it would say about what love can do to make a school successful.  After reading, I was truly inspired by the article, mainly because it depicts a school in just about the worst conditions a school could exist—extreme poverty and crime—yet “just about all the students meet or exceed state standards”.  The answer the principle gives for their success is that the teachers and staff at the elementary school “love our children”.  Chenoweth concludes from her visit that they indeed “love their children enough to teach them”.  This quote stayed with me.  She gives examples of how the teachers and staff at this school “educate without humiliating” and go the extra mile, inconveniencing themselves if they must, to see that their children are encouraged, “motivated and engaged”.  The article really sums up the inevitable success that comes when teachers and administrators are selflessly united and committed to the best for their children and when they actually believe that their children, regardless of the environment in which they live, can succeed.

Here are some of Karin Chenoweth's books that are getting national acclaim and I want to check them out:

It's Being Done: Academic Success in Unexpected Schools (2007)

How It's Being Done: Urgent Lessons from Unexpected Schools (2009)

Some other resources I got into this week:

themindtrust.org 

This one is an Indiana based, non-profit organization that supports educational reform through informing educators and leaders about issues and also offering grants to entities with achievable ideas about changing education.

waitingforsuperman.com/action

 This resource kind of goes along with the one above, education reform and calling people to action.  It's associated with a movie, "Waiting for Superman", that has really made a buzz in this country about the state of our education system.  I haven't yet seen the movie but I definitely want to.

Course Resources

Here's a link to my "Course Resources" page, it has all the resources we received from our foundations course:  http://prospering-early.blogspot.com/p/course-resources.html
Here's a few of my own: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Sylvia C. Chard, Ph.D. and her "Project Approach". I've read a little about this and am interested in learning more about it:

http://projectapproach.org/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I first heard of Dr. Deborah Stipek from the "Sectors of Early Childhood Education" multimedia program.  I'm very interested in learning about child motivation and found that she's got a few books out about this subject and has been involved in some very interesting research projects. (click on the titles below to get more information)

Motivation to Learn: Integrating Theory and Practice (4th edition, 2002)  

Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning (with K. Seal, 2001) 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is my local resource and referral agency's blog (that I'm just now taking advantage of thanks to my new blogging knowledge! ) It has a mixture of news and information on both local (Indiana) and national events and issues.

http://childcareanswers.blogspot.com

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Resources I liked from my colleagues's blogs: 
A Source from Lilliane's "Beach Life": I think I'd definitely like to purchase this book.  It looks like it will be useful in helping me to understand various childcare education tactics as well as be a valuable resource for training my teachers.  Thanks Lilliane! 
All About Child Care and Early Education:A Comprehensive Resource for Child Care Professionals by Marilyn Segal, Mary Jean Woika, Jesse Leinfelder 

Sources from Debra's "DebraAnnDawson":  These appear to be really good resources for teaching and curriculum supplies as well as helping you stay informed of national policy news and events. Thanks Debra! 

http://www.earlychildhood.com/

http://edlabor.house.gov/education/early-childhood/ 

A Source from Venuri's "Early Childhood Wisdom":  Another resource that looks like it will help keep me informed of children and education issues.  Thanks Venuri!  http://everychildmatters.org/