Stress in childhood

When I was growing up, my mom was sick.  She was actually diagnosed before I was born.  She had syringomelia.  She spent a lot of my childhood in and out of hospitals.  When she was home she was in a wheelchair.  Her right arm and left leg were paralyzed.  I used to help her in and out of bed and in and out of the car. 

My mom was a great person.  She was very strong.  Her mind was fine it was her body that was useless.  When I was 12 years old, she went into the hospital for the last time.  She would spend the next 15 years in the hospital.  She passed away 11 years ago on Dec. 23, two days before Christmas. 

My father was and still is a wonderful man.  He raised my brother and I and had a sick wife.  Most men would not have hung around for that.  He went to see my mother almost everyday or every other day.  He brought us to see her on a regular basis. 

This was a stressor in my childhood because my mom was in my life but not right there when I need her.  I can't imagine how stressful this was for her.  To this day I still miss my mother and wish she was here to see her grandchildren grow up.

Children in China live in a very stressful world.  There is the stress and pressure from school and from their parents to do well.  There is a high suicide rate among post-secondary school-agers.

The stress can be related to China's one child rule.  Parents put everything they have into their one child.  China sees that there is a problem with stress in children but at this point have not found ways to help resolve it.

Reference
 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/7027377/Third-of-Chinese-primary-school-children-suffer-stress-study-finds.html

Immunizations

Childhood immunizations are very important for children all over the world.  Every country has different requirements for what immunizations children should have when they are born.  Immunizations can help protect children from many common infections. These infections can lead to serious and even life threatening complications.

I believe immunizations are very important to keep children healthy.  Most immunizations have been around for years and have been through many years of research.

I work with child care providers.  It is required for providers to have up-to-date immunization records on each of the children in their care.  We make sure they have the most recent immunization information.

In Bolivia and Brazil it is required to be immunized for yellow fever, typhoid and rabies.  These are immunizations that are not required in the United States. 

Birth Experience

Two weeks before my due date, I went to my sister-in-laws wedding.  After the wedding, we went home for a little bit before going to the reception.  I started getting contractions about 2 minutes apart.  I quickly packed a bag for my almost 4 year old son and dropped him off at my fathers.  On the way to the hospital we passed my sister in laws limo!!  About 1 mile from the hospital my water broke.  We parked the truck in the circle in front of the hospital.  My husband went in and got a wheelchair.  I got up to labor and delivery and in less than 5 minutes I gave birth to a 6lb 11 oz baby girl.  We were excited as we didn't know what we were having so now we had a boy and a girl.  My husband called the reception hall to let everyone know we had the baby.  My father brought my son down to see the baby and he came in the room and wanted to know where his pink baby was!  It was so cute!!

I chose this event because it was pretty interesting that I had her in between the wedding and the reception.  Plus it was a very quick delivery compared to my son's.

I believe that events that happen at birth play a huge role in a child's development.  There are some dramatic things that can go wrong that will affect a child forever.

The Ngöbe are among the poorest of Latin America’s people.  The women give birth in their straw huts far away from medical clinics.  All pregnancies are classified as high risk due to the extreme poverty.   It is also common for women to have 9-10 children.

I can understand how the lack of medical care in rural areas can play a huge part in  how children are born and children's development.