Impacts on Early Emotional Development

This assignment asked us to do some research through UNICEF to discover challenges that children face around the world. This really opened my eyes and put my own life into perspective, making me feel as if my life is extravagant, which is very well is in comparison to the millions of children living in poverty and poor health conditions around the globe.

For my research, I chose to take a look at Latin America and the Caribbean. I chose this region because I am somewhat familiar with this region, as I have had extended stays in both Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. My stays there really shined a light onto the way that these people live. Through my experiences and conversations with the natives of these two places, hunger and poverty are no stranger. It is not uncommon for people to travel hours to a job, work 12-14 hours, and then travel hours home. Most homes in these very hot places do not have air conditioning and all of them do not have safe drinking water. My love for these beautiful countries and the amazing people that I encountered really sparked a passion in me and caused me to want to help these people and their beautiful homelands. I donate regularly to organizations that go to this region and stay there, building safe homes for families. I try to stay up to date on relevant issues in this region and donate my time, money, etc. to helping out when I can.

With Latin America and the Caribbean being the most unequal regions in the world, it is to no surprise that the residents live in extreme poverty and hunger. Achieving primary education is an accomplishment, as only 1 in 4 children in the poorest 20% complete primary education. Safe drinking water, sanitation, health care, and safe homes are among the problems that families and children face. In fact, there are about 60 million people in the region that do not have access to safe drinking water, and about 100 million without sanitation. Natural disasters are also a problem, leaving more than 100,000 residents homeless just last year. (Source: UNICEF)

With all of these struggles that families and children in this region face, how in the world do we expect these children to develop into healthy adults? A lot of these children are going hungry, have no access to clean drinking water, and are not receiving immunizations, leaving them suseptible to things like malaria. When looking at their lives, education is the least of their worries, they are simply trying to survive. Facing these types of struggles leaves these children suffering. Their brains can not properly develop when they are starving. Their bodies are dehydrated due to a lack of water. They are often sick and have no access to health care.

As an American, I am obviously very privileged. I have a full time job, a car, a house, and food in my kitchen. I have more than enough clothing and am often wasteful without even realizing it. I think that anyone who is privileged should really open their eyes to what goes on in the rest of the world. We can help these children and make a difference. We need to shine a light onto these issues and get people involved. If we are in a position to help, why wouldn't we? Innocent children should not suffer because they happened to be born in a poor country. I think that it is important that we advocate for ALL children, all around the world.

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

This weeks topic is something that, for lack of a better phrase, really lights a fire under my behind. It is something that strikes a nerve with me and makes me want to run out into the streets to try to change it right this second. It is the topic of the sexualization of young children.

Next time you are taking a stroll through the mall, take a few minutes and just people watch. See how many "couples" walk by holding hands and try to guess their age. Are they 13? 14? See if you notice any little girls, I'm talking 8 and 9 year olds, wearing pants that have saying on the back such as "juicy" written across the butt, thus drawing attention. Walk into Victoria's Secret and look for the thongs designed for tweens, ages 12-18, because they are there. Things like this are not only showcasing sex, but promoting it!

Children living in a highly sexualized environment is more than just inappropriate, it is detrimental to healthy development. Levin and Kilbourne (2009) sum it up nicely when they write that [children] living in these highly sexualized environments "...can seriously harm their ability to grow up to have healthy attitudes about themselves and their bodies and to have caring relationships in which sex is an important part" (p.4).

While this is a topic that I am very passionate about, it is something that a lot of people pay no attention to. Recently, when walking through the children's clothing section of my local Kohl's, a friend pointed out how cute a pair of jogging pants were. They were hot pink with the word "cute" written across the butt. I mentioned that I thought it was inappropriate and she responded that it was only inappropriate because people like me point things like that out, and that we should let kids be innocent. While I do agree that children should be innocent, I still believe that it is our job to always protect them. Flashing words across their rear ends draw attention to them, and whether we want to talk about it or not, there are pedophiles everywhere. In fact, "as many as 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 7 boys will be sexually abused at some point during their childhood" (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009). This is a staggering statistic that I think is very important for parents everywhere to realize.

Reference
Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

I admit, growing up a Caucasian American has granted me many privileges in my life that others do not have. However, I have experienced, and continue to experience -isms in my life. Growing up with a single mother, I was often ridiculed by children because I didn't have a dad. I was also made fun of because I lived with my grandparents. Kids would say that I was too poor to have my own house and made fun of my glasses and clothes. Because of this, I could never be one of the "cool kids." Now that I'm an adult and understand the way that the world works, I strive not to judge others and in turn, hope that I am not judged, as it is very hurtful. Even still, I experience -isms. One that comes to mind quickly is sexism. Being a woman in today's society is certainly much better than it has ever been before, but we are still not treated as equals. I mean, we get 77 cents to every male dollar for crying out loud! I experience sexism when going about my every day life. For example, a couple of weeks ago my cousin drove her car over to my house and said it was running funny. I checked the oil and discovered that it was almost completely out of oil. We drove the car to the closest store to buy oil, which so happened to be Target. I decided to go ahead and put the oil in the car in the Target parking lot, because I was nervous to drive it with it being so low. In the time that it takes to lift the hood and put oil in a car, I had three separate men come up to me and ask me if I needed help. While I appreciate the kindness, do I really look that incapable? Or is it simply because I'm a woman and we shouldn't know how to do things like that?

With all of that being said, it is obvious that I am affected when I experience -isms. It upsets me, outrages me. Sometimes I feel sorry for ignorant people and other times I'm just plain irritated. It is hard to experience these emotions and maintain a calm, typical demeanor. Therefore, I feel that should I experience these -isms on a daily basis and come to work with children, I feel that the children would definitely pick up on my emotions. The children might also feel upset, angry, or irritable. We all know that bad moods are contagious, and the last thing that we want to do is rub our bad mood off onto our children. Looking at this from the outside, I think that it is important that we talk about emotions with our children, as well as ways to manage our emotions. I think that by practicing these things inside of our classrooms, we will be better equip to handle these types of situations. Discussing emotions also teaches the children that we all have good and bad days, and that it is okay to feel however you are feeling, but that we just need to learn to deal with it appropriately. 

Observing Communication

This week we were asked to observe an adult and young child communicating in a real-world setting and reflect on the experience. For this assignment, I observed one of the toddler teachers, Mrs. Susie, and her interaction with the children in her classroom. Susie's classroom consists of 12 children, ages 2 - 2 1/2. She has a co-teacher that assists her during the day. Here is what I observed:

Ben and Alyssa, both two year olds in Mrs. Susie's class, were lined up outside, getting ready to come inside and wash their hands. Ben got restless and started pushing on Alyssa. Alyssa obviously did not like this and began pushing Ben back. They were going back and forth for a few seconds, pushing each other and squealing, when Mrs. Susie immediately intervened. Susie walked over to the children and took Ben's hand, leading him away from Alyssa so that he could not touch her. She squatted down to their level and spoke with both children, stating "pushing our friends is not okay because it could hurt them. If we put our hands on our friends, it should be to use gentle touches, like giving a hug. Ben, can you show me what a gentle touch looks like? Good job! Alyssa, can you show me what a gentle touch looks like? Great! Let's practice together, Ben, can you give Alyssa a gentle touch? Awesome! That is exactly the way we should touch our friends, through gentle touches. If someone is putting their hands on you and you don't like it, you should use your words and say "please stop - I don't like it!." Let's practice saying that. Great job Ben and Alyssa!"

Reflecting back on what I observed from Mrs. Susie, I can not think of one single thing that needs to be done differently. It is blatantly obvious that Susie is a master at what she does and using DAP language and techniques. Getting down on the children's level and explaining the situation were excellent. Having the children demonstrate what you expect of them and reinforcing it with praise, even better. I don't think that there is anything that Susie could have done to make the communication more effective. I am proud to have her as a teacher at my school.

Observing Susie at any given time is always a joy and educational for me as a young professional. It is very apparent that she is highly educated (she has a MA in family counseling and child development) and that she genuinely enjoys what she does. I feel that her communication with the children has positive affects on the children and helps to build up their sense of worth. She is constantly redirecting, modeling her expectations, and praising the children in her class. She celebrates little accomplishments and makes the children in her class feel important and special. She is an amazing teacher with superb communication skills. I constantly learn from her better ways of handling situations and often consult with her on situations that I find difficult. She is not only a teacher at my school, but she is a mentor for many.

Comparing my personal communication skills with children to that of Mrs. Susie, I can see that I do have some room for improvement. I sometimes do not show the level of patience that Susie has and try to always be mindful of that. I also strive to always maintain the constant, calming tone of voice that Susie displays. I am continually working on myself, trying to improve for the sake of the children that I work with every day.

Creating Affirming Environments: My Family Child Care Home Center

Louise Derman-Sparks & Julie Edwards, two early childhood professionals and anti-bias education experts, highlighted the fact that toys, materials, equipments, posters, and furniture all influence how children learn. An environment that is rich is anti-bias materials invites children to explore and discover, and encourages them to ask questions. Therefore, it is very important to celebrate diversity inside of the classroom. "What children do not see in the classroom teaches children as much as what they do see."

If I were to open up my own family child care home center, I would ensure that my center is very warm and welcoming to families. I would do this by having small, child friendly furnishings and warm, home-like touches. Having a family tree wall in the classroom would be a great way that I could incorporate pictures of all of the families in the center, while giving the children a place to see pictures of their families when they need some comfort.

Aside from incorporating photos of existing families, it is important to display pictures of diverse families as well. Posters of photos of different family structures and of families from around the world, including different races and clothing types, would be very beneficial to the children. Displaying different types of homes/houses around the world would be good as well.

I think that it is also important to show pictures of diverse individuals, such as individuals with disabilities, individuals of different races, individuals wearing clothing traditional to their culture, and individuals with physical differences. Children are more likely to ask explore and ask questions when information is given to them in a place where they feel safe.

The materials that I use in my family child care home center are just as important as the environment. Providing books on different topics and highlighting diversity are important because they not only instill a love of reading but also show and discuss human differences and similarities. Music is important as it incorporates the children's home culture while introducing new cultures. Dolls and puppets allow the children to freely explore racial diversity while dramatic play props, such as multicultural food and clothing, allow the children to act out roles and relationships. All of these things are equally important because they are exposing children to differences while allowing them to freely explore and ask questions in a non-judgmental environment.

One other thing that I would do in my family center is to celebrate as many holidays as I could, without diving too deep into religion. Too often children are only exposed to Santa Clause and I think it would be so much fun to research and celebrate Diwali and the Chinese New Year with the children as well.

To sum it all up, my family child care home center would showcase the families and cultures within my center, while highlighting diversity as well. The children would get the opportunity to learn from each other while discovering more about their own culture, as well as other cultures. Diversity would be celebrated in my child care center.

Source:
Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.