Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

          I remember when I was a little girl living in Virginia.  I lived in a middle class neighborhood that was filled with many different families of different backgrounds.  My best friend was Regina.  She lived down the hill.  She was a white family.  It never crossed my mind that we were different.  We were inseparable.  We spent countless nights in each other's homes and we loved each other.  One evening while playing outside of her house her older brother who isn't but a few years older than us spit in my face and called me a nigger.  I had no clue that what he did was racist. I knew that it was mean and wrong.  When I went home and told my parents they were furious.  They did not allow me to play with my best friend any more.  I was no longer allowed to go to her home and she was banned from my house.  My parents explained to me that what nigger was and why people use it.  They explained to me that some people hate black people because of the color of our skin.  That my friend's brother had been taught that kind of hate.  My mother explained to a tear filled 7 year old that I could not play with Regina any longer.  I could not imagine that the family I spent so much time with could hate me.  My feelings were shattered.  That halloween, my other friends and I set out to go trick or treating and several of the white families did not open their doors to us.  However, we watched them open for the white children.  Their hatred taught me a lesson.  It created a memory.  It birthed a bias.  It was a lesson that I hate that I learned so early.  It was an experience I wish I never had.  I always kept that experience in the back of my mind.  My mother always kept us in neighborhoods that were diverse and I had friends from many different backgrounds.  However, I always believed that the families of my white friends hated me.  I had a distrust of white people.  " Racial bias can be internalized as early as age 2. By age 12, many children become set in their beliefs"(Knopf, 2017).  As I matured, I chose to investigate this distrust and traced it back to these incidents from my childhood.  It makes me think about the impact that racism can have on children in our society.  I think about the impact that racism had on me as a child.  I have worked diligently to silence the distrust that the 7 year old Hope had created.  

         I find it compelling when I read about life in Africa.  Especially for the life of little girls in parts of Africa.  The African girl can find themselves at a crossroads between cultural norms that work against them and the demand to survive in the patriarchal war torn communities, which forces girls to enter a "formal work place" which also can include prostitution at a very early age.  This happens as a result of poverty amongst other things.  Girls tend to face severe challenges and difficulties at a very young age.  In addition, poverty in Africa represents a generational discrimination passed on from mother o daughter; and this long term impact of economic devastation is felt by a generation of children who have had little, or no education.  "While the situation varies from country to country and between rural and urban areas, overall 56% of the out-of-school children are girls" (Kuwonu, 2015).  This has greatly create an implication on the life of the female children and as females these girls are culturally socialized to be submissive from childhood.  
   
        The Universal Declaration of Human Rights came into place 67 years ago emphasizing a right to education.  Many African countries apply this movement to their male children and not the female.  Female children, long before they are adults have lived through numerous sufferings and burdened with many responsibilities.  While the African Charter on the Rights of Welfare of the child act discusses non-discrimination, societal practice continues to discriminate, harass and undermine the female children of this continent.  

    The breakdown of traditional customs that protected children and adolescents has given rise to these gender inequalities among the children and raising the number of child abuse events.  The increase in alcohol consumption among men and boys have furthered increased sexual violence and abuse where the female child mostly become victims, creating a scar in their lives and affecting their social lives and development.   53 countries in Africa have chosen to ratify the Charter on the Rights of Welfare of the Child Act in order to protect female children from being discriminated against and receive an education as well as punish those who inflict harm upon them.  "A Global Campaign for Education sponsored by the UK charity, Oxfam, previewed these remarks: “Schools should be free and safe for girls. This will ensure that girls have the opportunity to stay and learn in school up to primary completion and progress to secondary and tertiary levels"(Kuwonu, 2015).

References

Knopf, A. (2017). Talking to children about racial bias. Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter, 1-2.

Kuwonu, F. (2015, April). Millions of girls remain out of school. Retrieved from African Renewal: http://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/april-2015/millions-girls-remain-out-school

  

Child Development and Public Health

      As early childhood educators the topic of immunizations is a constant debate.  Some believe that immunizations are necessary while other people would argue that immunizations lead to other major developmental disabilities.  I am an advocate for immunizations.  I personally believe that immunizations are the reason that many deadly communicable diseases have been eradicated.  I choose to believe that immunizations keep children safe from possible deadly diseases.  

      Immunizations can save your child’s life. Because of advances in medical science, your child can be protected against more diseases than ever before. Some diseases that once injured or killed thousands of children, have been eliminated completely and others are close to extinction– primarily due to safe and effective vaccines. Polio is one example of the great impact that vaccines had have in the United States. Polio was once America’s most-feared disease, causing death and paralysis across the country, but today, thanks to vaccination, there are no reports of polio in the United States. 

       Vaccines are only given to children after a long and careful review by scientists, doctors, and healthcare professionals. Vaccines will involve some discomfort and may cause pain, redness, or tenderness at the site of injection but this is minimal compared to the pain, discomfort, and trauma of the diseases these vaccines prevent. 
Immunization protects others you care about.  Children in the U.S. still get vaccine-preventable diseases. In fact, we have seen resurgences of measles and whooping cough (pertussis) over the past few years. Since 2010, there have been between 10,000 and 50,000 cases of whooping cough each year in the United States and about 10 to 20 babies, many of which were too young to be fully vaccinated, died each year. While some babies are too young to be protected by vaccination, others may not be able to receive certain vaccinations due to severe allergies, weakened immune systems from conditions like leukemia, or other reasons.

     Immunization protects future generations. Vaccines have reduced and, in some cases, eliminated many diseases that killed or severely disabled people just a few generations ago. For example, smallpox vaccination eradicated that disease worldwide. Your children don’t have to get smallpox shots any more because the disease no longer exists. By vaccinating children against rubella (German measles), the risk that pregnant women will pass this virus on to their fetus or newborn has been dramatically decreased, and birth defects associated with that virus no longer are seen in the United States.

      As it stands, whether you choose to vaccinate your children is a personal decision and no one can make you do it.  There are benefits to immunizations.  But like every great debate there are pros and cons of everything.  

       Germany is a country that has recently mandated that all families vaccinate their children.  Every family must show proof of immunizations before entering Kindergarten.  This is German law.  The reason..  From the beginning of 2017 to May 7, Germany has reported 634 cases of measles, compared with just 62 cases over the same period in 2016, according to a report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.  

Maybe the law is necessary.  Maybe this law prevents the further spread of measles.   Maybe not.  In my opinion it is better to be safe than sorry.  It is YOUR choice to make.

HHS.gov. (2017). Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate Your Child. Retrieved from Vaccines.gov: https://www.vaccines.gov/more_info/features/five-important-reasons-to-vaccinate-your-child.html

Scutti, S. (2017, June 6). How countries around the world try to encourage vaccination. Retrieved from CNN.com: http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/06/health/vaccine-uptake-incentives/index.html

Childbirth In Your Life and Around the World

We had a birth this weekend.  HOW EXCITING!!!!

        Yesterday a baby boy was born.  We have been waiting on this baby for the longest time.  One of my long time parents had a beautiful baby boy and I was there to witness it.  In the years that Her family have been a part of my center, we have become friends.  In January we celebrated as she married her love and the children received a new father.  Not long after the wedding we found out she was pregnant.  We were overjoyed.  As we mustered through the spring and summer, she finally began showing signs of the end.  She began having Braxton Hicks contractions.  I helped her pack her bag.  Last week the doctor said she was 2 centimeters dialated.  We thought if we walked and kept active we could help her body.  Thursday's appointment the doctor said she was 5 centimeters and she should prepare herself because the big event could be any day.  WELL babies come when they are ready and not a moment before or later.  Early Friday morning she called me and said she was on the way to the hospital.  I jumped out of the bed and ran to the hospital.  She was calm and the contractions were coming non stop.  Shortly after my arrival she had to start pushing.  My job was to keep her focused.  Not to let her go negative.  So I kept telling her she is strong she is a conqueror and a breather of life.  These are the things we discussed while she was pregnant.  She was strong and determined.  And with 7 pushes a most beautiful baby boy took his first breath and let out a scream that could be heard from heaven.  She was in active labor for 2 hours.  It went so quickly.  She and the baby were released and resting home Saturday afternoon.  She had a healthy baby in just over 24 hours.  Isn't that amazing?  Superwoman, Supermom!! 
      I could not fight back the tears as the new father embraced his son and I watched as he tried to contain his tears.  I don't know if any of you have ever witnessed the love a man shows to his wife after she delivers his child.  I could not contain my tears.  I made myself available for another few hours running errands and doing whatever my friend needed.  I left the hospital around Eleven O'clock A.M. and went to the center.  Everyone was waiting on baited breath for the news and details of our new baby.  I said a healthy baby boy 6lbs 8 oz head full of hair and showed the picture with moms permission.  It felt like everyone had a baby.  As community we are excited to be a part of this new baby.  I am excited to love this new life.

      As I was reading about births in other countries I was most intrigued by the birthing experience in The Netherlands.  A preferable birthing plan are home births.  Actually a little more than 20 percent of their births are home births.  It may seem like a low number but it is the highest percentage of home births in the western hemisphere.  The mothers often choose to go to a midwife or a family doctor instead of visiting an Obstetrician for the prenatal needs.  The doctors are in contact only in case of medical emergencies.  Most of the women do not receive epidurals.  Giving birth naturally is prominent choice for the majority of Dutch women.  If a mother gives birth early in the day without complications, she and the baby may go home in as little as two hours. Then the unique Dutch system of kraamhulp (maternity home care) is set into motion. For seven days we had a nurse come to our home, a benefit covered by insurance. Not only did she provide medical care, but she also cleaned our apartment, cooked, and instructed us in basic parenting skills.
      Here in the United States, women are beginning to become more open to other alternatives for their own birth plans.  Many women choose to deliver their babies at home with the aid of a midwife or doula.  Others choose nontraditional birthing center instead of hospitals.  Whatever they choose, having a baby is a blessing and privilege that not all women get to experience.