My Supports

 

Support to me means having someone there in your corner through it all to help you get through the complexes of life as well as sustain you during life happy times.  It is so important to me that someone is always there to embrace me and reassure me when I feel like I can’t go on.  It is equally important to me that someone is always there to cheer me on during life blissful times.  I feel that support is very much needed and is essential for healthy development. Without support I would feel like a ship without a sail, a plane without a pilot, a train without a conductor, just reckless.  I feel like support keeps me grounded.  I’m a single parent who works full time and attend school so it is vital to me that I have someone there in my corner when it gets overwhelming trying to balance it all.  So, support definitely keeps me focused.   My support system consisted of my family and friends without them I couldn’t imagine what my life would be like-I’m so grateful for the love of God and the people he have placed in my life to be my “support system.”  I have faced many obstacles and challenges in my life but with God and the support system he has provided me with- I made.  I’ve also seen many happy moments as well and my support system was there to help me relish in those times as well.

My Connections to Play

 

Quotes

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.”

Fred Rogers
 

“Children have always learned and created places for themselves through play.”

Donna R. Barnes

 

 

Growing up the oldest to three sisters play was a very big part of my life. 

 

 

 

Play was my escape from reality; it was my main source of entertainment.  Through play I imitated people, reenacted events and pretended to go places far, far away.

 

 

 

 

 

  My sisters fostered my desire to play because they were a big part of all my play experiences. 

 

 

They allowed me to be different characters, relive various events and escape to far-off places.   I feel play today is very different from play during the time in which I grew up.  I feel that when I came up play was viewed more as a recreation where we had fun rather than gained valuable skills essential to our development.  In contrast play today is how children learn and develop crucial skills that’s vital to their development such as social skills, language and communication skills.  Essentially I do feel that we attain the same skills through play during my era and today it’s just that we were not aware of the benefits at that time.  It is my wish that young children continue achieve outstanding skills that are necessary for health development and enjoy themselves while during it.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships/partnerships are vital because they are a healthy part of development.  The relationships/partnerships I have with my family (father/sisters/nieces/nephews) and friends (boyfriend/co-workers) are the most valuable facets of my life. My relationships/partnerships defines who I am as an individual and grounds me.  These relationships/partnerships are so vital to my development because they have become a source of existence for me.  Without the bonding and  nurturing I don’t think I would be the person I am today.  The bonds that have been formed because of these relationships/partnership have sustain me through some difficult times and has help me enjoy the good times.  But also at the same time it is important that we know what relationships/partnerships are genuine and those that aren’t.  However the unauthentic relationships/partnerships are also apart of healthy development so don’t fret once they are unmarked because it is those genuine relationships/partnerships that will help get you through this process.  In essence maintaining healthy relationships/partnerships serves as a basis for healthy growth.  I feel that in order for strong relationships/partnerships to be formed one must share some common interest, be able to get along, and have one another’s best interest and well being at heart more importantly.  Healthy relationships/partnerships serves  as a source of support and foster positive outcomes.

 

Child Quote

 

"Children are our most valuable resource."

Herbert Hoover, 31^st U.S. President

My Birthing Experience

I have never experience a personal birthing experience nor have I ever taken part in any one else’s birthing experience. But I do often wonder what it feels like and will I ever get a chance to experience it. However I do look at a lot of birthing reality television and from what I observe it is an amazing exciting time but at the same time the actual birth can be pretty painful. I am very eager to read about my fellow peers birthing experience and maybe I can get a vivid picture of what to expect it I ever do get the opportunity to experience birth. But I can share with you how I become a mother even though I didn’t get to experience all the joy and excitement that comes with the anticipation of birth. But I do get that joy and excitement from being a mother even though it wasn’t in the nature way. Even though I didn’t give birth to my daughter I do truly feel blessed to have her in my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I personally do feel that birth plays a role on child development however I think environment and upbringing plays a greater role.

The country that I chose to learn about their birthing experience was South Africa. I was horrified to learn that pregnant mothers are abused by health care staff and receive little care and have a high risk of injury and death that could be avoid had they received proper care. In some instance women have gone to the hospital in labor only to be turned away and told that they are lying and then sent outside into the street. In other instances women are pinched, slapped, taunted, and sent home without medication. It was heartbreaking to learn about these horrified deeds of cruelty shown to these pregnant women. It made me appreciate living in America to say the least. I saw no similarities and one major difference that was evident was the treatment of pregnant mothers.

Child Development and Public Health

Child Development and Public Health

The topic of my choice was “mental health of mothers, father, and families in general. I chose this particular topic because I think in order to produce a healthy child and be a healthy family one must be stable and be able to maintain an established, secure, warm and loving abode. I feel that it is gravely necessary to be mentally ready for all the challenges of parenthood. I also believe that if you are mentally unstable you are not able to give your child the best because of your underlying issues. I also feel that if you do chose to became a parent and you faced with mental health issues it will only be transferred to you child/children because children are a product of their environment. Personally I believe family structure has an overwhelming influence on children’s experiences and life path.

Mental illness is a universal problem that affects families all over the world. I did not find any specific research on how it affects families of different countries. However, I did find research that suggests that the effect parents with mental issues have on children’s well being and family life is considerable. Research says that children with parents who have mental issues are more likely to develop social, emotional and /or behavioral problems. Their upbringing influence their emotional and developmental well being as much as their inherited make-up. Mental health problems, including mood disorders, alcoholism, and personality disorders are some other illness that children of mental ill parents are at jeopardy of obtaining. Research advise that in spite of all these challenges children of mental ill parents are faced with the are resilient and able to flourish despite genetic and environmental vulnerability. This amazes me because it lets me know that you do not have to become a product of your environment.

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

I can truly say as a child growing up during the 70’s and 80’s I didn’t encounter any of the stressors listed.  It’s so amazing to me that I didn’t stumble upon any of theses stressors coming up during a time when resources were not readily available as they are today.   I believe I avoided these stressors by having two working parents who made sure my siblings and I had everything we needed in order to flourish even though resources were limited.   I truly think that during the era I came up people had morals and values and were truly concern about one another and we didn’t face all these different stressors that we are faced with today.  I’m not saying that people now don’t have morals and values but today people are faced with so many things that didn’t existed during my time.   During my time it was a village that raised a child nowadays that’s nonexistence.  I may not have had all that I wanted but I did have what I needed. 

 

 

Unlike the upbringing I had children of today are faced with many stressors.  One stressors that children of South Africa are faced with are having HIV-positive parents.  In addition to this children are faced with other stressors as well such as poverty and crime, which places them in danger of psychosocial adjustment problems and vulnerability to HIV-infection. Financial and economic deprivation has an effect on access to schooling, food and health, which leads to poverty, and increased vulnerability to HIV-infection

amid children as a result of commercial sex work and sexual exploitation.   South Africa is described as one of the most violent countries of the world adversely affecting child outcome causing attention problems, depression and aggression.  It saddens me to know that children have to deal with stressor of this magnitude it really makes me appreciate my upbringing even more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Testing for Intelligence

 

Evaluating children's performance is a fundamental part of education. Children’s growth and development are greatly valued by watching them engage in activities in their everyday setting.  I definitely feel it is important evaluate all areas of development.  Evaluation is a wonderful means to diagram a child’s development over time, offer feedback to parents or help with classroom organization and control. Frequently, we prefer to engage in assessment because we see troublesome or risky behavior, and/or because we see “usual behavior displayed in unsuitable contexts.  The most important reasons for evaluation recognized are to screen for disabilities; to assist in developing curriculum and daily activities; to evaluate the effectiveness of a program or a project; and to provide feedback to parents.  In essence I feel assessments are a huge part of measuring children growth and development. I believe informal assessments are the best way to evaluate children growth because they are more relaxed and children are not aware that they are being assessed and mostly likely would perform better.   However any approach is only as good as the person performing it.  Therefore, evaluations are most suitable when every attempt has been made to ensure impartiality.

I did my research on testing in South Africa.  I didn’t find any evidence of testing early on the only evidence of testing I found was something called the “matric exam or matriculation exam.”   This is the final year of high school exam and the minimum requirement for college exam.  “Once it is passed students are said to have "matriculated".    This is much different from testing here in my state beginning in the 3^rd  grade  until graduation students are tested each year and in order to meet the requiremenrts for graduation senior must passed this exam.  Its amazing how different countries measures their students abilities.