Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

I chose the topic "violence".

Violence is taking place all over the world and it is effecting children a great deal. Growing up, I experienced a great deal of violence. Unfortunately, my mother was on drugs and did not make the best decisions when it came to her kids. So you can only imagine what kinds of things I saw at an early age. I do not blame her totally because she was not in her right mind. But as a result of that, my sisters and I experienced some things that made a huge impact on us.

One of my sister's fathers was very abusive to my mom. She would be gone for long periods of time (because she was getting high or looking for drugs I'm sure). So he took it upon himself to look for her in the streets, bring her home, and would beat her (with a belt) as if she was a disobedient child. At the time, I was helpless. All I could hear was her screaming from the bedroom. The door was closed but it did not make a difference. It hurt me to hear her scream like that...

That same man was a child molestor. I found that out the hard way. He was the second man (in fact I think he was the third man) to do something like that to me. It happened to me at ages 3 (I remember vaguely), 5 and 7. I didn't tell a soul about what happened until I was about 9 yrs old, that's when it really hit me.

My sisters and I moved with my grandmother and I felt more safe there. Although some crazy things took place at my grandmother's house, that was the place I felt the most comfortable. I coped with my issues by simply not thinking about them, but focused on helping my grandmother with my sisters and making sure I did good in school. I would have to say that I was a strong kid. I didn't care about getting revenge on the men who did those things to me. I was just happy to be out of that situation until I was about 9 yrs old of course, then I opened up and told my family everything.

I want to talk about children who suffer from hunger in somalia. This has been going on for a long time. Children who suffer from hunger are effected in so many ways. Lack of food causes malnutrition. Malnutrition causes other things to go wrong in the body. If a child does not get the proper nutrition, he/she will experience some challenges during development. I know as an adult, it is hard for me to function if I do not eat enough so I can only imagine how that is on a daily basis for a child. It slows down everything biosocially, cognitively and psychosocially. Children who suffer from hunger don't have much energy to play, learn or energy to perform daily tasks.

But there are organizations out there that are working on fixing this problem. Organizations such as CARE, Mercy Corps, and UNICEF are working on this problem and are taking donations from those who want to help. This has been a problem for as long as I can remember. I pray that it will be solved soon. Those children deserve a better chance at life.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43841708/ns/nightly_news/t/famine-horn-africa-how-help/

Child Development and Public Health

I chose the topic: access to healthy water.

This topic is meaningful to me because I believe that is something that we take for granted here in the U.S. Some of us have the the privilege of taking showers everyday, drinking water everyday, cleaning house etc. However, there are countries who have a horrible water supply. Not to mention, the well-being of children. "Everything" needs to be clean when it comes to dealing with little ones. And water plays a big part in that.

I did a study abroad in Mexico during my undergraduate study. I was in Merida, which is in the Yucatan. Thankfully, we could use the water to take showers, but we were told not to drink the water. We could take the chance to use the water to brush our teeth. But it was not recommended. With that being said, we bought plenty of bottled waters and our host familes kept purified water in the houses. Otherwise, we would be at risk of getting very sick.

I plan to have my own daycare. God willing, I will have a chain of daycares all across the world, which may included Mexico. I am glad that I am aware of what is going on with the water in that country. Therefore, I will know what precautions I need to take in order to work around that issue. I will make sure to keep purified water and bottled waters present in the center. Hopefully by then, the water supply will have improved. Who knows, I may end up being an activist or someone who will work toward bettering the supply down there. Mexico city has already started working on the problem. There is an article about it that came out in 2008. Here's the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7312452.stm.

Their goal is to have it right by 2012. The president and the government want to not only improve the water supply in the city, but they want to improve it throughout the whole country as well. They have my support...

Childbirth––In My Life and Around the World

I was part of a birthing experience recently. I held the mother’s right leg as she gave birth to her little girl. And I saw EVERYTHING! Lol. I’m surprised that I did not faint during the process lol. But it helped me to understand life just a little bit more. It helped me to understand how beautiful it is to bring a child into this world. It helped me to understand how some mothers are so attached to their children. It helped me to understand a little bit more just how serious pregnancy, labor, and child-rearing are and that they should not be taken lightly. I will never forget that experience. And I am looking forward to giving birth one day in the near future, God willing. I’m attached to children anyway so just imagine when I have my own. I believe that will be a very happy day after all is said and done. I chose this birthing experience because this is the only one I have so far. But that will change soon...I hope!

Not so long ago in Jamaica, many children were born at home, which is different from the United States. Birth rituals were overseen by nanas or midwives, and varied from place to place, depending on race and class. All, however, reflected a deep sense of connection to, and respect for, the spirit world. Today, retentions are strongest in rural areas.

To prepare for birth, the room had to have an open bible on display. The nana would anoint the mother's belly with castor oil which would later be given to both mother and child. This is certainly more pleasant than having the mother drink a glass of water in which her mother-in-law's toe had been dipped, as is the custom in Bihar, India, or having her drink beer in which a purple onion has been boiled, as in Guatemala.

Following the birth, Jamaican nanas dressed the child's navel with nutmeg. The nana also blew smoke into the child's eyes, often from an old clay pipe which these women traditionally smoked. (In many Native American and Amerindian cultures tobacco is regarded as food for the good spirits). The nana then washed her own face with rum and sometimes she herself took a stiff drink to give her 'eyesight,' since the witnessing of each birth was said to affect her sight.

I like what I found out about births in Jamaica because they have respect for the "spirit world" and the process is so unique. I did not see an open Bible when I was in the delivery room. Nor did I see any rituals take place that I know of. I may take on their way of child birth when I decide to have a baby. I view life as a spiritual experience anyway. I am really intrigued by this...I do not believe that I have any additional insights on development by doing this comparison but I still believe that a child's birth plays a major part in his/her development, and that goes for children all across the world.