Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

The one stressor that comes to mind is natural disaster. A friend of mind experienced a hurricane as a child while in school. This was a very traumatic and devastating experience for all of her classmates. Experiencing a hurricane is a frightening and devastating experience that can be long lasting and distressing. In many cases an entire community can be impacted, further undermining a child’s sense of security and normalcy. Their school was destroyed and some of the students were hurt which really took a tool on her. Hurricanes present a variety of unique issues and coping challenges, including issues associated with the need to relocate when their home and/or community have been destroyed. This was indeed the case with her. Her family lost everything and this was very distressing on the entire family. The family was without a place to live, food, water, clothing, and just had no idea how they would make it. 

She compensated by looking to adults in her life for guidance on how to manage her reactions after the immediate danger was over. There were also teachers and caregivers who played a role in helping her cope with the aftermath. They reassure her that everything would be okay. One of the things she remembered most was that everyone was supportive and they helped each other as well as the children understand and cope with their reactions. The school played an important role in providing a stable and familiar environment. Because of this the children were eventually able to return to normal activities and routines which enabled them an opportunity to transform from a frightening event into a learning experience. If it had not been for the adults in her life she has no idea what she would have one. The school contacted a mental health professional to assist children exhibiting significant changes in behavior, including being exposed to the actual event, personal injury, loss of a loved one, level of parental support, being dislocated from their home or community, the level of physical destruction, and pre-existing risks, such as a previous traumatic experience or mental illness. 

The children were encouraged to talk about the disaster. I think that children need an opportunity to discuss their experiences in a safe and accepting environment. It is also important that we provide activities that enable children to discuss their experiences. This may include a range of methods (both verbal and nonverbal) and incorporate varying projects (e.g., drawing, stories, music, drama, audio and video recording). Seeking the help of the school psychologist, counselor, or social worker if you need to will also help with ideas or managing the conversation. It is good to promote positive coping and problem-solving skills. Activities should teach children how to apply problem-solving skills to disaster-related stressors.  Encourage children to develop realistic and positive methods of coping that will increase their ability to manage their anxiety and to identify which strategies fit with each situation. 

The country in the world that I would like to know more about for which I have special affinity for is Haiti. A major stressor affecting Haiti’s children is they are starving. Two out of three Haitians face devastating hunger. The most recent food crisis to hit Haiti is hurting its children the most, and entire families are suffering from severe hunger and chronic malnutrition. Three-year-old Sael, (pictured here), hadn’t eaten in over a day at the time of this photo. His mother, Charitable, who sometimes goes months without money for food and must beg from neighbors, tried to soothe his hunger by giving him an empty, plastic spoon to suck on.

Haiti has experienced recurring natural catastrophes in the past which have strongly dented the country's development. Due to its large coastal areas, the country is extremely vulnerable to hurricanes. And Haiti lies on the border between the Caribbean and the North American continental plate – a region that's extremely prone to earthquakes. On January 12, 2010, a quake near the capital Port-au-Prince killed an estimated 220,000 people. Almost a third of the country's population was affected by the disaster. Three years on, many people continue to suffer the consequences. From the estimated 1.5 million who became homeless after the quake, some 350,000 people still live in refugee camps. The reason Haiti was so badly hit by the disaster and is only slowly getting back on its feet also has to do with the fact that the country suffers from chronically high levels of poverty and malnutrition.

                                                              Haiti after Hurricane Sandy

Some of the most harrowing stories coming out of the devastation in Haiti are those of children, alone, scared and severely injured. Already the country faces the highest rates of infant and child mortality in the Western hemisphere with diarrhea, respiratory infections, tuberculosis among the leading causes of death. Children in Haiti also suffer with HIV/Aids with very few drugs available to treat them.

Children in Haiti face are incredibly vulnerable to injury, illness and trauma. There is a lot of dust around, the air quality is poor and there is a high risk of hepatitis A and E, typhoid fever and diarrhea diseases, which are made worse because of a lack of water. It is important that they be provided with the emotional support and improving their coping skills. Since children don't yet have the intellectual skills to distance themselves like adults the more it's in their face, and the more people talk about it -at home and at school it starts to overwhelm them. They don't know what to do or how to handle the enormous feelings and fears that arise.

Minimize impact by minimizing exposure, especially for young children. While teens do have the intellectual skills to make better sense of it, minimizing exposure is also in their best interests. As adults we have trouble integrating what is happening, and we've had many more years of experience. For a child it's nearly impossible, and for a teen it's extremely challenging as well. For all children it is important to allow them to talk about their feelings and what they are experiencing.

Foundation for the Promising Children of Haiti, (FPCH) has made it their ministry to rescue the orphans of Haiti immediately following the devastating earthquake in January of 2010.  Over the past three years FPCH has taken care of over 100 orphans by providing food, a safe environment and education which has also enabled basic reading skills.  In addition to providing for the orphans, FPCH enables to means to educate children from the surrounding communities as well. I am very passionate about the children and families in Haiti.

References:

Malkin, E. (2012), Yet Another Blow to Haiti From a Natural Disaster – Retrieved on November 23, 2013 from:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/world/americas/yet-another-blow-to-haiti-from-hurricane-sandy.html?_r=0

Foundations for the promising children of Haiti, Inc. Retrieved on November 23, 2013, from: http://haitichildrenfoundation.org/about/

Child Development and Public Health

The public health topic that I find to be of interest and very meaningful is nutrition/malnutrition. This topic has meaning to me because I am very much concerned about the problem of nutrition/malnutrition. In addition there are many deaths as a result and many of these are young children. The fact that many of these deaths are young children disturbs me a great deal. Nutrition/Malnutrition continues to be a significant problem all over the world, especially among children. Poverty, natural disasters, political problems, and war all contribute to conditions of nutrition/malnutrition, epidemics of malnutrition and starvation, and not just in developing countries. Individuals are malnourished, or suffer from under-nutrition if their diet does not provide them with adequate calories and protein for maintenance and growth, or they cannot fully utilize the food they eat due to illness. People are also malnourished, or suffer from over-nutrition if they consume too many calories.

Malnutrition is linked to nearly half of all childhood deaths. Prices for basic food like rice, maize, wheat, oil, sugar and salt are skyrocketing, threatening food security, and forcing millions of the world's poorest children into severe malnourishment and starvation.

In much of the world, children with full bellies are still lacking the nutrients and vitamins they need to grow to their full potential. A malnourished child is less able to fight off illness, less likely to get the most out of schooling, and often becomes physically and mentally stunted. Malnutrition keeps children trapped in the cycle of poverty. Over the past 20 years alone, the number of stunted children under the age of five in the world has fallen by 88 million from 40 to 26 percent, or a one-third reduction. However a new Lancet article from June 6, 2013 shows that progress is not fast enough, so what is needed now is strong, global commitment and leadership to accelerate efforts.

The Sahel and Horn of Africa regions in West and East Africa are experiencing the worst food crisis. in recent years. About 23 million people in 11 countries in the regions are affected by food insecurity and are facing malnutrition. Survival of millions of children across the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is threatened by a deadly combination of high food prices, armed conflict and crop failure.

It is estimated that as much as seventy-five percent of Haiti’s population lives in poverty. Because of this, much of Haiti is severely malnourished. Many factors can explain such high numbers: poor agricultural conditions, violence, an unpredictable political environment. This combination of unfortunate circumstances makes Haiti the poorest country in the world. It is clear that the rural and urban indigent populations of Haiti suffer malnutrition because of the country’s economic policies. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, about 3.8 million. Haitians don’t get enough to eat. In addition, about twenty-three percent of all children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition, putting Haiti’s future in jeopardy.

In Haiti, 22 percent of children aged 6 to 59 months experience chronic malnutrition, with the highest rates in the poorest areas. One way UNICEF is tackling this health challenge is through nutritional interventions, like community meetings to inform families on what foods they can plant in their gardens and eat to help balance their diets. An important part of this initiative is the distribution of a multiple micro-nutrient powder. Using this powder can increase children’s chances of survival, especially during the first two years of life. Early childhood malnutrition has a large and important direct impact on cognitive performance that persists into adulthood. But the incidence of the malnutrition needs to be early enough for this effect to take hold.This information will impact my work with children in many ways.

It is important to first improve nutrition. By improving the awareness of nutritious meal choices and establishing long-term habits of healthy eating this will have a positive effect on a child's cognitive and spatial memory thereby increasing a student's ability to process an retain academic information. Since children spend a great deal of time in school and this is where they receive their education then it is important to start there in preventing any form of malnutrition. This will enable them to choose foods that are healthy during childhood and later on in their adult life. Starting early is better especially before the age of two, have the highest gain. Malnutrition tends to be most common and severe during the periods of greatest vulnerability that is, at pregnancy and the first two to three years of life and, if it persists into the second year of life, stunts cognitive development and is difficult to reverse.

 3 month old baby

   

It is my job as an educator to help stop the cycle of malnutrition.

Resources:

Nutrition & Food Security, Retrieved on November 9, 2013 from: http://www.unicefusa.org/work/nutrition/

UNCIEF, Retrieved on November 9, 2013 from: http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/

  

Malnutrition in Haiti: Its Economic Causes and Effects, Retrieved on November 9, 2013 from: http://www.worldfoodprize.org/documents/filelibrary/images/youth_programs/research_papers/2005_papers/CedarRapidsXavierHighSchool_4D735333A8142.pdf

P. Glewwe and E. M. King, “The Impact of Early Childhood Nutritional Status on Cognitive Development: Does the Timing of Malnutrition Matter?” World Bank Economic Review 15(1): 81-113, 2001.

Alderman, J. Hoddinott, and W. Kinsey, “Long Term Consequences of Early Childhood Malnutrition.” Oxford Economic Papers 58: 450-474, 2006.

P. Glewwe and E. M. King, “The Impact of Early Childhood Nutritional Status on Cognitive Development: Does the Timing of Malnutrition Matter?” World Bank Economic Review 15: 81 – 113, 2001.

Childbirth In Your Life and Around the World

The personal birthing experience that comes to mind is the birth of a coworker that I took part in. The employee began to go into labor and started to panic. This was her first child and so I found myself in a position of assisting her with breathing and so forth. I had to hold her hand because she was just so scared. I was with her in the labor room acting as her coach. The baby born to her was premature and very low weight. The baby remained in the hospital for quite some time before coming home. What I remember is how the baby looked and she was so tiny. She weighed less than 4 pounds and they were not sure if the baby would survive. I chose this because I would constantly wonder if the fact that she smoked, drank, did not eat properly, or take care of herself had a lot to do with the early and premature birth.

My thoughts regarding birth and its impact on child development is that as children develop from infants to teens to adults they go through a series of developmental stages that are important to all aspects of their person hood including physical, intellectual, emotional and social.  The proper role of the parent is to provide encouragement, support and access to activities that enable the child to master those key developmental tasks. Since parents are their child’s first teacher throughout their lives it is important that we expose them to challenges that are age appropriate and that will encourage development allow them to explore and learn from interacting with their environment. I say this because the premature birth as well as the parent’s inability to take care of herself has effected this child’s development in many ways. This child has experienced physical, intellectual, social, and emotional problems as well her cognitive abilities.

This calls to mind what is said in the publication The Developing Child in the 21^st century A global perspective on child development. “Development is thought to be continuous and cumulative and the early years are almost always described as vital to late development. For example children who have a difficult start in life are often expected to be less likely to succeed in life (Smidt, 2006). I can personally attest to the fact that this is indeed the case with this particular child. What you do can impact your child’s development. In Uganda they have a high number of babies born premature which strains the health budget and retards
development.Of the 1.5 million children born in Uganda every year, 210,000 are born premature. This implies that 14% of Ugandan babies are born before their due date which results into death of some, while others grow up with many health problems.

Uganda has the highest number of babies born premature and the highest number of deaths due to the complications from premature birth. Many of them have undeveloped lungs which causes breathing difficulties along with other health problems. The economy also is affected because premature babies are vulnerable to illnesses that are very expensive. Some of the babies are born blind or end up with some form of disability.

I learned that due to the illnesses they are affected by this can in turn affect the child's development. One big illness is Malaria and children on't survive. In my personal experience this parent's actions was a result of her child's premature birth and development problems. In this case the environment and other factors not directly related to the mother had an effect. It is also important that mothers practice good hygiene and complete the required visits that are so needed in detecting premature birth.

Resource:
Smidt, S. (2006). The developing child in the 21st century: A global perspective on child development. New York, NY: Routledge.

Premature birth rate continues to rise in Uganda, Retrieved on November 1, 2013 from: http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/637400-premature-birth-rate-continues-to-rise-in-uganda.html