Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

The stressor I choose to speak about is Natural Disasters because I have experienced it myself, even though I was not a young children, I remember how it made me feel and how to overcome the experience.  My family had a family summer home up in Maine, near the border of New Hampshire and Maine that they built them selves.  I remember being up there with my grandparents before the new school year began, sitting at the kitchen table playing a game of cribbage while listening to the radio.  The weather was sunny and warm and during the game the weather outside changed.  The wind began to pick up and it started down pouring with the unexpected hail that came with this storm.  As my family began to get up and close the open windows and doors, I began to scream at what I was seeing along with my grandfather.  A large tree was picked up by an invisible force with the roots attached, the tree spun around, and with gentle ease placed on the forest floor without a loud sound coming from the drop.  Once this moment happened the storm had ended and we explored to see what damage was done.  There were 6 large fallen trees along the driveway and around the summer home along the forest line of trees.  The summer home, swing set, car, and other items were untouched by this storm that was later discovered to have been a micro-burst storm.  I have need had an experience like this in my life until that moment the storm came rolling in.  I felt that it made me more aware of my surroundings when a storm comes rolling in and what to expect can happen within a severe storm I experienced with my grandparents.  I am not afraid of severe storms, I am now on edge at what the final results of the storm will have and if it will be like the storm in Maine.  I do make sure that windows and doors are closed and locked when a severe storm rolls in because of the many trees that fall and got broken during the storm.

I choose to explore how many Japanese families deal with natural disasters and how it effects children's development.  I choose Japan because of my training in the martial arts that derived from Japan.  Japan had an earthquake and tsunami that devastated their country that effects the recovery of economic stability and the effects on each and every person who experienced this natural disaster.  Children in Japan who have experienced  traumatic natural disaster, researchers are able to altruistic and empathetic tendencies emerge. about 12 students are trying to support other children by an event called "Rebuilding Communities Together with Children," that highlighted the importance of children's voices to be hear regrading the experience and to help prepare future disasters.  When rebuilding its important to include the children in the process because it effects their development.  By listening and supporting children to express their feelings about the disaster because it effects them with detrimental impact on their long-term development.  Children are the future and they react in a similar fashion as adults do though their development plays a role in how much a child understands through major milestones in their life.  They created special conferences and meetings where children were able to express their thoughts, feelings, and opinions about the disaster and insights of preventing future disasters.

References:

http://unicefeapro.blogspot.com/2014/04/in-japan-children-help-prepare-for.html


  

Child Development and Public Health

I chose malnutrition because it is a chronic issue that affects one third of the children around the world (Berger, 2012, p. 154).  Malnutrition is categorized as protein-calorie malnutrition that occurs when a person doesn't consume sufficient food to sustain normal growth and development (Berger, 2012, p. 154).   Its sad to know that so many children in the world are malnourished and don't receive enough food.  In any culture or country all children and families should have enough food to eat but sadly this is not the case.  Malnutrition can cause stunting which is being short do to their chronic malnutrition keeping them from growing; which hits the poorest nations in the world (Berger, 2012, p. 154).  Another severe case of malnutrition for these children is wasting which is when children with severe underweight at their age and height (Berger, 2012, p. 154).  Malnutrition is a problem in all countries, even the United States.  I work for a Early Head Start Program and many of the children come from low or poor income families and its sad to see how much food they intake throughout their day at school.  Some children only receive a decent meal at school that supplies the children with breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack.  A few children ask for many helpings after their first helping because some families are in situations were they can't offer their children a nutritional meal.  Some families don't have jobs, some are homeless, and others put their money to more important things like prescriptions for ADHD, or bipolar, or any other reasoning to take a prescription for.  As a professional I support the families by letting them know of different places that offers meals and food to them for free.  Many of these places are food pantries and food kitchens that serve food to families.  To help prevent and support a turn around of malnutrition is to education families about the importance of nutrition and the causes and effect of malnutrition on young children and their future.

After doing some research about malnutrition I found that its still a extreme problem in the United Kingdom (Kids Company).  The article shared the 4 million children in low income households while half of those children are living in poverty (Kids Company).  I learned a new term from this article called food insecurity which is a term to describe the limited availability of nutritional adequate and safe food or uncertain ability to acquire food in socially acceptable ways (Kids Company).  It suggested that some children receive quality good food while at other times they receive poor quality food (Kids Company).  I truly feel bad that children in any country have to deal with malnutrition and deal with the issues malnutrition can cause for their development.  

I feel that I can help in some way to get this information out into the world for others to know how serious this topic is around the world.  I would want to find different ways to support these families and children to get the education they need to overcome malnutrition in their owns and life.  As a professional I would like to learn from these families and children what their ideas and suggestions would be to get this topic out into the open for discussion.  I would like them to share their stories for others to learn from and to help prevent malnutrition in our homes in the world.  No child or family member should know the effects of malnutrition and should be able to receive and have a well balanced nutritional diet at all times.

References:

Berger, K. S. (2012). The First Two Years: Biosocial Development. In J. Bayne (Ed.), The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). (pp. 127-159)  New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Kids Company.  The Impact of Malnutrition on Children's Physical and Mental Development. Retrieved on May 17, 2014,

http://www.kidscoplatepledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/platepledge-the-impact-of-nutrition.pdf

Child Birth In Your Life and Around the World

I do not have a personal birthing experience to share.  I don’t have any children of my own and I never took part in a birthing experience of those who were pregnant.  The only birthing experience I can share is my own personal birth.  In order to share that story with others I had to speak with my mother to find out about her experience of child birth.  My mother had an ultra sound appointment and they check out the baby and the progress the baby was making.  My mother said the doctor focused on a certain spot that was low and began to become uncomfortable.  Went home for dinner and continued to feel uncomfortable.  After a while she started feeling and keeping track of her contractions.  Around 11 PM she called her doctor and went to the hospital.  My dad stayed out of the room and watched and waited in the waiting room until I was born.  I was born at 2:46 AM and delivery was very quick.  I feel that having a healthy and supportive pregnancy will help a child regarding their child development.  With the help and support from nurses, doctors, family members, it helps the mother, father, and child bond in a way full of love that is important for the child and how their child will develop once they are born.

I choose to speak about the Japanese culture of child birth around the world.  I learned that many Japanese women find out they are pregnant is by a doctor, at a women’s clinic.  Once the women finds out that she is pregnant she finds a mid-wife and they help support the women to prepare for delivery at the hospital.  The husbands are encouraged to stay in the waiting rooms or at home until the wives come back home with their new born.  The doctors encourage the women to have a low calorie diet and drink lots of tea.  The nurses/mid-wives follow the doctors’ orders and follow the hospital/birthing clinic policies to the book.  Once the baby is born the baby stays in the nursery for 3 days to give the mother time to recover on giving birth to their child.  The similarities are that a doctor can tell if a woman will be having a baby or not, though most women in the American culture learn through a pregnancy test from a store.  Many doctors encourage women to gain some weight and have a healthy diet for them and the unborn baby, but in the Japanese culture it is frowned upon to gain weight.  In the American culture that new born babies are able to stay in the room with the mother or can be sent to the nursery, it is all about the mother’s choice of wanting to bond with their child and breastfeed right away.  I find that each culture is very unique and their beliefs, values, and history of their culture play a large importance to prenatal care and development.

References:

Andy Gray. 2008. Giving Birth, Having a Baby in Japan.  Retrieved on May 10, 2014.  http://www.globalcompassion.com/japan-birth.htm