Sharing Web Resources

• What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?

The section regarding Child Care seems very relevant to my current professional development. More infants and toddler than ever are spending some portion of their day with adults other than their parents - either a relative, neighbor, babysitter or child care professional. As a professional it is always good to know what parents are looking for in a daycare and its employees and ways that a parent can prepare their baby or toddler for the transition to child care. 

• Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?

There was a statement made stating that the early years of life is filled with joy, excitement, learning and growth. But for most babies that is the case but as for others it is not. Some children are exposed to maltreatment and the rates of child maltreatment are highest for the youngest children, with children most at risk in the earliest weeks and months of life. And in some other case children can be subject to trauma. Trauma can be defined as experiencing or witnessing an event that cause or threatens injury or death. Child maltreatment and other interpersonal violence 2 can be a source of trauma. 

• What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

There is a section that helps me understand how neuroscientists relate to the early childhood field. Brain development is vital during the first three years of life -during this time there is incredible growth in all areas of a baby's development. A newborns brain is about 25 percent of its approximate adult weight. But by age 3, it has grown dramatically by producing billions of cells and hundreds of trillions of connections, or synapses, between these cells.

• What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?

I have gained the sense of knowing how important it is for a child to connect with it's parent(s) to encourage a healthy childhood mental health. Responsive relationships with consistent primary caregiver help build positive attachments that support healthy social-emotional development. These relationships form the foundation of mental health for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.