Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

The stressor I'm going to discuss is "Natural Disater". I have experienced my first Natural Disater last month around Halloween time, when Hurricane Sandy; approached, hit, and destroyed many areas in my state of New Jersey. You always see of things as such happen on the news from places far off; however, you never can really "feel the pain" until it hits home and you've become a victim of it. Although other areas (closer to the shore- Atlantic City) received much worse damage and turnmoil than I did, I experienced it as well. I never witnessed an Hurricane before, so not knowing what to really expect going into it, except from what the news reporters were saying. I just kept hearing it's going to be a bad storm, prepare, stockup, relocate, and etc. As days got closer certain areas were being told to vacate their areas because their lifes were in extreme danger.

Well Sandy came and it destroyed. We were displaced for exactly 1 week, coming back to check the house each day to see if the power was back on, if the trees that fell on our house, yard, and middle of the streets had been removed, if there were any leaks and water damage. Each day was a negative to all of the previous questions. Being out of work for a week, not having access to the internet to do school work; it was all becoming my norm as the days moved forward. Luckily we had a bag packed and were prepared as warned, we had clothes to wear and take with us. On the 8th day, we found out the power came back on, to only notice that the heat now was an issue. Another 2days of being relocated until the heat was fixed, and then having to deal with the next stressor of losing all of our food, about a good 7-8hundred dollars worth, and a refridgerator that completely shut down and never came back on. Fema sets up a local station in my area to over assistance to those affected by the hurricane, to only find out we're unelgible because we didn't lose our house. So was this Natural Disater a stressor to my family and I; it definetly was/is.



On June 2, 2011; Springfield, Massachusetts also experienced a Natural Disater, by way of a tornado. Many many people were injured by this devastating event that took place. There were roofs, homes, and even a steepple to a church that were all apart of the damaged property. Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown joined Governor Deval Patrick on a helicopter tour to survey the entire area, and the three agreed that Springfield looked like a "blast zone" Those affected by this disaster had to endear the tragedy for days, weeks, and even some for months. Schools were closed, shelters and emergency personnel; such as red cross were made available, as well as federal disaster aid.

Down below is a picture from that particular event in Massachusetts.



Resource:
Singer, S. (2011) Massachusettes Tornadoes Leave People Dead and Towns Damaged.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/02/massachusetts-tornadoes-aftermath_n_870175.html

Child Development and Public Health

Choose one public health topic from the list above (or one that you think should be added to the list).

 

 Access to Runnint Water- Haiti 

Describe in what ways this topic is meaningful to you.

  This topic is meaningful to me, because I work at a Head Start facility; which is an state funded program for families that are from the low income group. My families may have several situations that may prevent them from being able to uphold a household as a traditional family would be able to.

 

Find information about this topic from a different part of the world, and include this information in your Blog.

Haiti has experienced struggles in obtaining clean running water and sanitation for some time now. The local government there has been attempting to strengthen the ability for the island to have access to clean running water. Haiti has improved their water source by 60% in the rural area, in comparison to 56% in the urban area. However, the urban area has a better department of sanitation standing at 28%; whereas the rural area is still lacking at only 14% in health and sanitation.

According to Wikipedia, the earthquake that occured in 2010 left millions of people without; their home, food, clothes, and or running water.

 While researching the island of Haiti, and the lack of running water, I came across a non-profit organization that has been created to assist those from Haiti with necessary essentials. The organization is called: Clean Water for Haiti, which is a faith-based volunteer group. Clean Water for Haiti's mission is "to provide the people of Haiti with affordable access to clean water in their homes through the use of Biosand water filters." (2011, Clean Water for Haiti)

 

Share ways the information you have learned may impact your future work

•  This information will inform all those who work in the educational field, or similar too; to educate, teach, and model the children the importantce of running water; ways to use it properly, and the fact that it is apart of keeping them healthy and clean.
• I have children at my school, who you can tell are not being guided, taught, nor modeled too; about using running water. It really hurts my heart to see children who come to school and you can just tell they have not had a bath in days. Children, not only in foreign countries or far away, but also in our own backyards would be considered "the end of the world" to just be able to have and use claen running water.
• We as professionals should also encourage the parents and provide them with resources about using it for giving the children baths, drinking water because it carries flouride in it and will help protoect children from getting cavities easily.
   

 

 

 

Resources:

July 2012, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Haiti

 

2011, http://cleanwaterforhaiti.org/

Childbirth in Your Life and Around Your World

Write about a personal birthing experience. It can be your own birth, your child's birth, or one you took part in. What do you remember about the event? Why did you choose this example? What are your thoughts regarding birth and its impact on child development?

-I'm going to talk about a birth that I have been told about; being that the three suggestive questions do not pertain to me. I'm going to describe my brother's birth, who is 2years older than I am. My brother's name is Jeff, and he was overdue by 1week. My mother had a docter's appointment on a Monday and she was told that if she didn't go into labor over the weekend, that she should to the hospital 6am Monday morning. My father took my mother in on that Monday morning so she could be induced. My mother can't remember if she asked not to know, or if the sex of the baby was unavailble; but at that time of being induced, she had not been told yet as to what she was having. Sometime that afternoon, after being induced, she birthed a son. My mother experienced a very hard labor, and the pain medicine was not very effective. The baby was larger than expected which caused a very stressful labor. At birth, the baby weighed 8lbs, 15 oz. and had a very large head!
-I chose to write about this experience, because this was my mother's worst labor and her only late baby of three children. My mother was having other health complications; such as gestational diabetes, and very bad swelling of the legs and feet; which caused her having to use crutches. My mother's other two children, my sister and I were normal deliveries and didn't cause too much pain. :)
-The birth of a baby at times can produce it's ups and downs. But after the end results of some happy and sad times, a beautiful baby is born.

Choose a region of the world or a country, other than the U.S., and find out how births happen there. Write about what you learned, and the differences and similarities with your experience (in the personal example you provided). What additional insights, if any, about the impact of the birthing experience on development, did you gain from this comparison?

-I have selected Bermuda to research and find out what similiarities and differences do they share with the USA, when it comes to women giving birth. In Bermuda, it is common for women to go to the hospital; one in particular: King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. KEMH allows the new mother to recover depending on private insurance companies and what is covered. The new mother is also allowed to have visitors during specific hours of the day as well as some down time during the "quiet hours" of the ward. 1 piece of information that I did find interesting is that all Maternity Nurses are both RN's and registered nurse midwives. I think that is an plus and if families decide to change their mind and or are sent home because of a false alarm; the same maternity nurse that have been dealing with will also be able to be their midwive because of the duplicated education.
Resources:
Bermuda Hospitals Board, 2012; http://www.bermudahospitals.bm/womens-services/maternity.asp