Saturday, November 27, 2010

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

Saturday, November 13, 2010

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. 

Saturday, November 6, 2010

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.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Three meaningful ideals

To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training. (NAEYC 2005, Code of Ethical Conduct).  I think it is very important to continue to partcipate in any trainings being offered that will expand your knowledge in early childhood.  I believe that as a professional, you need to seek out training opportunities.

To advocate for and ensure that all children, including those with special needs, have access to the support services needed to be successful. (NAEYC 2005, Code of Ethical Conduct).  I believe that all children deserve to have the opportunity to be successful.  Teachers need to look at each individual child to determine the child's own needs.  So a teacher might need to teach in a few different ways in order for all children to be successful or determine that some children need extra help.

To listen to families, acknowledge and build upon their strengths and competencies, and learn from families as we support them in their task of nurturing children. (NAEYC 2005, Code of Ethical Conduct).  I believe that is important for early childhood professionals to listen to families and help them  work on goals for their child and their family.  It is also important for the family to feel involved with their child's day and to encourage them to come into the classroom.  If they are unable to come to the classroom they can read or do activities at home to help the child succeed.

Reference:  Article: NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitmenthttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Additional Resources

Disconnected Kids: The Groundbreaking Brain Balance Program for Children with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Other Neurological DisordersI just went to a Facilitator's training and this book came highly recommended.  I plan on getting it soon and reading it.  I will post a comment to give my opinion. (http://www.amazon.com/)

Product Details

This is another book that was mentioned at the training.  It is another one I look forward to reading.  (http://www.amazon.com/)


Another resource that is worth checking out if you haven't yet is
www.ellynsatter.com

She has wonderful ideas on feeding children and the division of responsibility.

I work with child care providers in CACFP (food program).  I had Connie Ever's come out and do a presentation in nutrition for my program.  She has a book out called "How to Teach Nutrition to Kids" by Connie Evers .  She was a great speaker!  It is a good book if you are working with children to teach them about nutrition.

Course resources


Saturday, October 2, 2010

An excerpt from Dr. Ann Turnbull

"But our greatest hope is that its not just the responsibility of parents and inividuals with intellectual disabilities to be advocates and ambassadors but the classmates, the co-workers, the neighbors, the members of religious communities."




Resource:
"Attitudes Toward the Intellectually Disabled." Talk of the Nation, Washington DC, August 11, 2009