My Supports

When I hear the word support I think of numerous definitions. Support means to bear or hold up; serve as a foundation for, to sustain or withstand without giving way; serve as a prop for, to undergo or endure, especially with patience or submission; tolerate, or to sustain under trial or affliction, to maintain by supplying with things necessary to existence; provide for, to uphold by aid, countenance, one's vote, etc.; back; second, to maintain or advocate. 

There are numerous things that I come in contact with that support me whether it be family or things around the house that support me.

My study room supports me in helping me remember what my goals are for my life. Here in my study room I have a vision board that have different clippings or images and scriptures about the things that I want to do and the direction I want my life to go. It also has a calendar posted that have due dates listed everywhere to help keep me on track with my assignments and tests.

My grandma and godmom are a part of my emotional and financial supports. My grandmother makes sure that I am financially ok and that everything that I need is taken care of. My godmother is very emotionally supportive - she makes sure that she is always there for me whenever I may need her to listen or to just give me advice. 

Church and prayer is a part of my spiritual support. I was brought up in a church going family so therefore I do believe in God and everything about Him. When I attend church on Sundays I feel so much better about starting the upcoming week I also feel 100% refreshed and relaxed. Whenever I run into trouble that my god mom or grandmother cannot fix I always turn to God and prayer and He will see me through whatever the situation may be. 

My supports are a big deal to me and I absolutely wouldn't know what to do if they were gone. The benefits of my supports are that they help keep me sane and not to stress out about things that are not of major importance. It would be very difficult for me to go on in life without my grandma and godmother but I am sure that I would learn how to cope and to go on in life without them because that is what they would want me to do. I definitely couldn't go on without my God- that's just silliness.

My Connections to Play

"Play is our brain's favorite way of learning - Diane Ackerman"

"When children pretend, they're using their imaginations to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand. A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero. -Fred Rogers"

When I was a child play was highly encouraged. Whenever all of my cousins and other family members were over to the house the kids already knew that we couldn't stay in the house we were always told to go outside and play with the other children and to be back before dinner time or sometimes we would just go into the backyard and play. From what I can remember play was always a part of my education life, personal life and all other aspects of my life when growing up. 

Play is definitely different today then how it was when I was growing up - when growing up most of our play took place outside at the park, in the backyard or on the front porch with children from the neighborhood or family members. Children today consider play to be playing with their iPad/iPod/iPhone, Playstation 4, Wii or WiiU, Xbox or spending time surfing the internet. As a child I had no idea what a cellphone was or any of the gaming systems that are out now - children today do not understand the quality of playing outside instead they want to consume their time with technology - I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of children do not know how to ride a bike, play hopscotch, hide and seek, double dutch/jump-rope and other fun outside games.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are very important to me and to everyday life. A relationship is a connection, association or involvement with others that you care about and that care for you as well or it could be a professional relationship where you guys work solely with the business to become successful.

I have more than several positive relationships currently in my life:

1. My grandmother MeMe
2. My god mother Yolanda
3. My uncle GG
4. My close girl friends Destini and Ashley

My grandmother is my heart there is not a thing that I wouldn't do for her because she has done so much for me and she is still there whenever I need her help financially or just some advice for things that are going on in my life. My grandmother is loving and she motivates me to accomplish all of my dreams no matter the amount of time that it will take because the time will pass anyway. My grandmother loves me unconditionally.

My god mother is the bomb dot com. Yolanda is so sweet and near to my heart, I can come to her about any and everything and she will listen to me and give her own personal opinion - she is very honest with me she doesn't just tell me things that she thinks I want to hear but the things that I NEED to hear and most importantly she never judges me based on the things that I have done or the mistakes that I may have made. She is my spiritual queen and we can always relate on things that may be going on in our lives. I just love her to pieces.

My uncle GG is a great man. He has always been there for me since I was born - he is like my dad. He is not really the lovey dovey mushy type he is the type where he just wants to fix the issue so if I am sad he wants to know what the problem is and what he can do to fix it. He is funny and playful so whenever he is around its all laughs and good times.

My close friends Destini and Ashley are awesome! They are my sisters day in and day out - even though we don't talk everyday or see each other as often as we used to I know that we are all here for each other whenever one of us is in need of advice or anything. I have been knowing these lovely ladies for the past 10 years and they have never done anything to betray my trust and love. I love them! 

Destini and I                                                                           Ashley and I

I value all of the close and positive relationships that I have with the people that were named above and I love them all very much and glad that they are in my life.

Empowering Children

"Behind every young child who believes in himself is a parent who believed first. - Mathew L Jacobson"

"Listen earnestly to anything your children want to tell you, no matter what. If you don't listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won't tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of it has always been big stuff. -Catherine M. Wallace"

"Every child deserves a champion: an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists they become the best they can possibly be. - Rita Pierson"

Viewing Children Holistically

When viewing children holistically there should be many things assessed when doing so and I would like to name a few that I believe in:

1. Age range. The age is important when viewing children because you would need to know if a child is acting, learning or understanding as they should for their specific age. For example, you can't expect a six year old to be performing on a 20 year old level.
2. Disabilities. When you are viewing children you will need to make sure that there are not any disabilities that can go unseen and the parents have no idea that their child has a disability whether it may be physical or learning.
3. Strengths and Weaknesses. I believe that everyone strengths and weaknesses were assessed as young children
4. Physical Development. We need to make sure that children are eating the correct and nutritional food to make sure they are healthy and we need to also make sure that children get enough physical education and physical activity to ensure that they do not become obese. 
5. Emotional Development. We should want to make sure that children are not suffering from any neglect or abuse that is affecting their emotional behavior. If a child is suffering from abuse then we would want to seek appropriate help for the child and parent.
6. Relational Development.Children should learn how to work and play together while discovering new things and ideas (learn together). We should make sure that children know how to build strong and lasting relationships with others as they will need this skill later on in life.
7. Intellectual Development. Everyone deserves an education and everyone has the opportunity to further their education after high school. A great education develops minds and provides opportunities for employment that will benefit the children throughout their lives.

The best child development imaginable happens when children grow in the context of a loving, healthy and empowered family. Parents' participation in the development of children is very important. We should encourage all parents to be active in their child's life encouraging them to be the best that they can be and to shoot for the stars.

References

Holistic Approach. (n.d.). Retrieved from Nazarene Compassionate Ministries: http://ncm.org/learn/childdevelopment/approach/

Stressors

Fortunately I do not know anyone neither have I experienced any of the stressors in the list that was presented to the class. So I decided that I would just do some research on how children or adults cope with stressors in a different country.

According to the text excessive cortisol (the primary stress hormone) may flood the brain and destroy part of the hippocampus. Permanent deficits in learning and memory may result as “children exposed to traumatic or stressful events have an increased probability of developing major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity”. Since developing brains are fragile, “prolonged physiological responses to stress and challenge put children at risk for a variety of problems in childhood, including physical and mental disorders, poor emotional regulation and cognitive impairments” (Berger, 2014).

In Nigeria there is stress dealing with women’s mental health and work/family conflict. Mental health can be described as the ability to respond to many varied experiences of life with flexibility and a sense of purpose. There arises a strain on Nigerian women’s mental health as they struggle to balance the multiple competing demands on their time and energy. This strain or conflict often occurs as the Nigerian women employees try to meet the needs of their spouses, children, elderly parents, community and employers. This situation is referred to as work-family conflict. This situation can lead to fatigue and other mental health problems in the Nigeria women.

Studies have shown that a good social support network can help to alleviate most of these mental health effects of these stressors. High levels of social support may be an important prognostic factor in recovery from mental health problems suffered by women.

I think that plenty of women can relate to the same stress issues here in the United States, especially the work/family conflict. Some women overwhelm themselves by making sure everyone else is taken care of except for themselves, that to me is the definition of selflessness (unselfish, self-sacrificing) and at some point you do have to take care of yourself (physically, mentally, emotionally) – if you don’t who will? When women or parents neglect the well-being of themselves and worry only about the children things can become a little stressful and some parent become irritable which can lead to abuse towards the children because they are not in their right minds because of the stress that they are under. Then when the child is enduring abuse it can lead to many other issues that can have long term effect on the child and the parent.

References

Berger, K. S. (2014). The Developing Person Through Childhood. New York: Worth Publishers.

Oluwole, D. A., Hammed, A. T., & Awaebe, J. I. (2014, September 27). Patterns of Stress, Social Support, and Mental Health among Nigerian Women. Retrieved from Advancing Women In Leadership Journal: http://advancingwomen.com/awl/awl_wordpress/patterns-of-stress-social-support-and-mental-health-among-nigerian-women/

Malnutrition

Malnutrition

Malnutrition is when a person is not getting enough food or not getting the right sort of food. Even if people get enough to eat, they will become malnourished if the food they eat does not provide the proper amounts of micro-nutrients - vitamins and minerals - to meet daily nutritional requirements. A malnourished person finds that their body has difficulty doing normal things such as growing and resisting disease. Physical work becomes problematic and even learning abilities can be diminished. For women, pregnancy becomes risky and they cannot be sure of producing nourishing breast milk. There are two sides to eliminating malnutrition: 

1. sustaining the quantity of food a person eats; and
2. ensuring adequate health care and a healthy environment.

This topic is meaningful to me because I once worked with a child whose family had fallen on hard times and it was hard for them to know what they were going to eat each day and I remember feeling really sorry for them and wanting to help them out but of course it would be conflict of interest to help just that one family out when it could be plenty of other families at the school that was having a hard time making ends meet. So what I would do is secretly put money on the child's school account whenever I had extra money to spare and making sure to tell the cafeteria staff to let the child know she could get a more healthy meal and not just peanut butter sandwiches. When I see children who are malnourished I begin to feel really grateful for everything I have and for every piece of food that I have in my refrigerator because I could be that child that does not know what I am going to eat the next day. 

**Malnutrition in Haiti**
In Haiti one in 10 children die before the age of 5, malnutrition is the leading cause of death in children, one third of 1 year old show signs of severe growth retardation, forty percent of all 5 year olds have stunted growth and brain development and malnutrition contributes to 60% of all deaths in children.

The information I have learned can definitely impact my future work because I have the possibility of running into children and families that are malnourished because the lack of money to buy the correct foods or just because their family exhibit poor eating habits. 

References

Malnutrition . (n.d.). Retrieved from World Food Programme: http://www.wfp.org/hunger/malnutrition

Malnutrition in Haiti. (n.d.). Retrieved from Consider Haiti: http://www.considerhaiti.org/learn-about-haiti/malnutrition-in-haiti/

Birthing Experience

Personal Birth Experience

Since I do not have any children and my mother does not remember anything from my birth besides that it was very painful and she was in labor for 17 hours I will discuss about the time I was a part of my little sister's birth. 

My sister Brandi was born on March 20, 2003 and I was 12 years old, I remember being at home with my mother and we were getting some gas logs installed into our fireplace and I just remember her asking me to call our grandmother to tell her, "It was time!" and to come pick her up. I remember being very happy because I was about to have a baby sister and I just love me some babies! I had to help my mom finish packing the rest of her hospital bag and getting her ready to go, when my grandma arrived we were basically standing outside waiting. At the hospital everything happened so quick - I know my mom did have the baby before her doctor arrived and she was very quiet, I didn't even hear her make a noise - I remember thinking "this is not what it is like on TV." After the nurses and doctors had to do everything to my baby sister I finally got to hold her and help my mom take care of her - best day of my life! My sister is 11 years old now and we are closer than ever, it’s almost like she is my baby because I will do anything for her and I spend tons of time with her. 

The way a child is born can affect its development in many different ways - if the child has a difficult time during the birthing process that can affect the child later as the child is growing up. If the child didn't receive all the nutrients or the correct amount of air in the womb that can also affect the child in its development. So the birthing process should be taken seriously and done carefully to make sure that the child develops the correct way and the right time/age. 

Birthing Experience in Mexico

In rural Mexico, midwives still attend almost 50% of the births and are preferred over the doctors because they themselves are women; because they charge less; because they go to the woman's home, are available, speak the same language and share the same culture; and because they treat women with warmth and emotion. Nevertheless, traditional midwives recognize their limitations in intervening in grave situations of obstetric emergency. Most traditional midwives are of advanced age.

I find that very interesting that they do not use the hospitals as much to have their babies - here in the United States you don't hear too much of women using midwives to help assist in the birth of their baby. I don't think my mom would have ever used a midwife just for the simple fact she would want to make sure that the person delivering the baby knows what they are doing and plus that is not  a common thing here in the USA. 

Note of Thanks and Support - Kudos to everyone!

I would like to take the time out to send out congrats to everyone in Group 2 for all of the effort that was put into every blog post and discussion post about some very interesting and important topics - I really enjoyed every bit of it. I also would like to thank our professor, Dr. Parrish, for all of her support and patience and her responses to our discussion posts with questions that made us think outside of the box and dig deeper into what we were afraid to find out about ourselves. In particular I think our group, Group 2, are very selfless and caring individuals that will do anything to make sure that children are being treated as they should and to make sure that they have the education that they deserve. I pray that everyone in this class, including other groups, complete the entire program with a bang and make huge differences in their communities and find a career that they are in love with. Good Luck to Everyone!

Code of Ethics

DEC - We shall demonstrate in our behavior and language respect and appreciation for the unique value 

and human potential of each child.

• This is important because you never want to make a child feel like they are not smart enough or good enough to complete anything that they have their minds set on. You should want to make every child feel like they are capable of completing every task that is set before them. I have witnessed many parents degrade their children by telling them they are not smart enough to join a certain competition or group and that just hurts their feelings along with mine. 

NAEYC - Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall not participate in practices that are emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating to children. This principle has precedence over all others in this Code. 

• I am a huge advocate of no child abuse - none whatsoever- it is not worth the consequences. I believe you should treat others no matter race, age, gender or relationship the way you would want to be treated. I think this should be a code for every organization in the world that deals with the well being of children. 

NAEYC - When we have reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or neglect, we shall report it to the appropriate community agency and follow up to ensure that appropriate action has been taken. When appropriate, parents or guardians will be informed that the referral will be or has been made. 

• I 100% believe that if a child tells you or shows you that some type of abuse is being done to them at home you should speak to CPS or the police, never just brush off what the child is telling you because you may think the child is lying because if something bad happens to the child and the police finds out that the child told you and you as the adult didn't take appropriate action to prevent the abuse furthermore you are in world full of trouble. 

Additional Resources

http://www.rdikids.org/docs/FamCon.pdf

http://www.familyhomelessness.org/children.php?p=ts

Life in Early Childhood Education

“The Very Busy Spider” by Eric Carle

“The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister

Course Resources

Part 1: Position Statements and Influential Practices

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
• NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
• FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://community.fpg.unc.edu/sites/community.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/documents/FPG_Snapshot_N33_EvidenceBasedPractice_09-2006.pdf
• Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42-53.
  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Part 2: Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being

• Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
• Websites:
• • World Forum Foundation
    http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
    This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the media segment on this webpage
  • World Organization for Early Childhood Education
    http://www.omep-usnc.org/
    Read about OMEP's mission.
  • Association for Childhood Education International
    http://acei.org/
    Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.

Note: Explore the resources in Parts 3 and 4 in preparation for this week's Application assignment.

Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• National Association for the Education of Young Children
  http://www.naeyc.org/
• The Division for Early Childhood
  http://www.dec-sped.org/
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
  http://www.zerotothree.org/
• WESTED
  http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
• Harvard Education Letter
  http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
• FPG Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
• HighScope
  http://www.highscope.org/
• Children's Defense Fund
  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
• Center for Child Care Workforce
  http://www.ccw.org/
• Council for Exceptional Children
  http://www.cec.sped.org/
• Institute for Women's Policy Research
  http://www.iwpr.org/
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
• National Child Care Association
  http://www.nccanet.org/
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  http://nieer.org/
• Pre[K]Now
  http://www.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067
• Voices for America's Children
  http://www.voices.org/
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

Tip: Use the Journal option under Search & Find on the library website to find journals by title.

• YC Young Children
• Childhood
• Journal of Child & Family Studies
• Child Study Journal
• Multicultural Education
• Early Childhood Education Journal
• Journal of Early Childhood Research
• International Journal of Early Childhood
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Studies
• Maternal & Child Health Journal
• International Journal of Early Years Education

Barbara T. Bowman Famous Sayings

"Although good early childhood programs can benefit all children,they are not a quick fix for all of society's ills - from crime in the streets to adolescent pregnancy, from school failure to unemployment. We must emphasize that good quality early childhood programs can help change the social and educational outcomes for many children, but they are not a panacea; they cannot ameliorate the effects of all harmful social and psychological environments. "- Barbara T. Bowman

Horace Mann's Famous Sayings

Personal Childhood Web

Grandmother - "MeMe"

I would love to introduce to you guys none other than my wonderful grandmother whom I call "MeMe." My grandmother is my EVERYTHING! My grandmother has always been there for me no matter how bad I was being a spoiled brat. My grandmother and I have a bond that no one can break - she understands me and I understand her. She, too, is an educator; growing up my grandma was an elementary school teacher and I think her career had an impact on my life in a positive way because I also want to be an educator and change children's lives for the better. My grandma has always supported me through my many decisions of what my career path would be - from medicine to education back to medicine then back to my final decision education. Her favorite saying as I was growing up was, "Britney, whatever you do in life don't be no fool!" - :) My grandma has always made me feel special no matter what - to be honest she spoils me, anything I ask for that is reasonable till this day she will give it to me. I love my MeMe!

Personal Childhood Web

Mommy

 I was born on a Tuesday, August 21, 1990 to Gerrye Elaine Anderson. My mother was pretty young when she had me but she didn't let that bother her. My mommy has always been there for me emotionally, physically and most importantly financially. We had good days and our bad but I wouldn't trade her for the world. I love her so much!

Children :)

Children Are:

AMAZING, acknowledge them

BELIEVABLE, trust them

CHILDLIKE, allow them

DIVINE, honor them

ENERGETIC, nourish them

FALLIBLE, embrace them

GIFTS, treasure them

HERE NOW, be with them

INNOCENT, delight with them

JOYFUL, appreciate them

KINDHEARTED, learn from them

LOVABLE, cherish them

MAGICAL, fly with them

NOBLE, esteem them

OPEN MINDED, respect them

PRECIOUS, value them

QUESTIONERS, encourage them

RESOURCEFUL, support them

SPONTANEOUS, enjoy them

TALENTED, believe in them

UNIQUE, affirm them

VULNERABLE, protect them

WHOLE, recognize them

XTRASPECIAL, celebrate them

YEARNING, notice them

ZANY, laugh with them 

My favorite children's book is, "Where the Wild Things Are" I like that book because it focuses on a little boy that had a very huge imagination. I love anything that challenges the mind and makes you think outside of the box. Wonderful book and movie!