My Connection to Play

The essence of childhood, of course, is play, which my friends and I did endlessly on streets that we reluctantly shared with traffic.

~ Bill Cosby

 It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them.

                                                                                                                                ~Leo Buscaglia

Play Items

   

       My friends

When I was growing up, I played mostly with my siblings and cousins.  We would play marbles, make rings and bracelets out of wire, draw the game Hopscotch in the sand and throw a rock in the blocks as we hopped on one leg.   I remember playing Red Rover, Ring Around the Roses, and Hide-and-Seek.   We spent a lot of time outside playing when I was growing up, because this was during the time adults used the term “Children should be seen and not heard.”  If we were not doing chores, we were outside playing.    

Compared to my upbringing, play is much different today.  According to Almon (2002), "Children no longer have the freedom to explore woods and fields and find their own special places.  Informal neighborhood ball games are a thing of the past, as children are herded into athletic leagues at increasingly younger ages. Add to this mixture the hours spent sitting still in front of screens - television, video game, and computer - absorbing other people’s stories and imaginations, and the result is a steady decline in children’s play" (p. 1).  Play has taken on a whole new meaning today than it had during my era.  For starters the economy is better now so families can afford to buy their child almost anything they want.  We on the other hand had to make up games to play and make do with what we had.  We also didn’t have the luxury of cable television, Wii games, cell phones, IPods, computers, etc during my time.  Children today have so many choices to choose from that little time is spent outside.  A lot of children today become what we consider couch potatoes; thus displaying health issues such as childhood obesity.   I wish that every child could experience the childhood that I did, because I appreciated and cherished this time with my family.   We didn’t take things for granted like children and families do today.   I remember one year, my dad bought me the biggest red bicycle you would ever want to see (at least that is how I saw it) and I remember feeling as if he had just bought me a brand new car.  I feel that the pure essence of play is something all children should be given the opportunity to experience, because without it, they risk the chance of missing out on a world of valuable information that otherwise may not be obtainable.

Article: Almon, K. (2002). The vital role of play in early childhood education. Gateways, 43. Retrieved from http://www.waldorfresearchinstitute.org/pdf/BAPlayAlmon.pdf

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Definition:

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) = A situation in which a seemingly healthy infant, at least 2 months of age, suddenly stops breathing and dies unexpectedly while asleep (Berger 2009).

Why is it Meaningful to me and how it has impacted my future work:

SIDS is important to me because just a year ago, one of my employees lost her infant to SIDS.  It was such a devastating time for the parents and the staff.   Each of my employees are now required to have annual SIDS training so that are using developmentally appropriate practices  at home and at work to ensure the safety of the children are enforced and maintained at all times.   Our goal is to empower our staff with the knowledge and skills needed to meet the needs of individual children and their families by providing a safe and nurturing environment.

 Research:

 Infant mortality has dropped worldwide over the past few years.   Studies show the United States as having the least amount of infant fatalities compared to other countries such as Chile, India, Mexico and Poland.  I believe this is due to identified causes and early intervention.   Infants are diagnosed with SIDS when an autopsy and careful investigation cannot identify the cause of death.  

In 1990, there were about 5000 reported cases of SIDS in the United States averaging 1 in every 800 infants.  Similar rates were reported in Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and bout European and South American nations.  Surprisingly, research identified ethnic differences: Asian babies were less likely to become victims of SIDS compared to European or African descents.   Even before the worldwide campaign to reduce risk of SIDS, only 1 baby in 3,000 in Hong Kong died of SIDS, compared with 1 baby in 200 in New Zealand ( Berger 2009) and (Byard, 2004).  Some researches believed that low socioeconomic status (SES) increases the rate of SIDS, but further research found this to be an untrue hypothesis.   Researchers began focusing on infant care practices and found that placing infants on their backs to sleep decreased SIDS. 

While SIDS can occur outside of cribs, it's also known as crib death because it happens most often during sleep, usually between the hours of 10 p.m. and 10 a.m.  It occurs most frequently during cold-weather months.  About 20 percent of SIDS deaths happen in childcare settings, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics in 2000

Some experts believe that SIDS happens when a baby with an underlying abnormality sleeps tummy-down or in an area with soft or loose bedding, or is faced with an environmental challenge such as secondhand smoke during a critical period of growth.                                                         
                                                                          
References

American SIDS Institute (1983 - 2009). Welcome to the american sids institute. Retrieved from http://sids.org/

Berger. K. S. (2009). The developing person: Through childhood. New York. NY: Worth Publishers

Kidshealth (2005-2010). Sudden infant dealth syndrom. Nemours. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/

Professional Thanks

Professional Thank You…

I would first like to say “Thank you” to Dr. Jan Ferrari for her insightful knowledge and leadership throughout this course.  I’ve truly enjoyed her elaboration on the various course topics as well as her prompt responses to questions and comments.

Secondly, I would like to say “Thank you’ to my colleagues. It has truly been an awesome experience learning with you and from you.  I see you all as resourceful professionals whom I’ve had the privilege of learning from.  I look forward to growing professionally with each of you throughout this degree program.

I wish you ALL a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!                                                                                                                

When I think of Child Development…

                                              

"The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise.”

                                           ~ Alden Nowlan 

"Childhood is a promise that is never kept." 

               ~Ken Hill

"It is never too late to have a happy childhood." 

              ~Tom Robbins

"A child is the greatest joy, the ultimate Blessing."

              ~ Emily Laughton

"Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future."                               

              ~John F. Kennedy

Assessing Children

As professionals, it is important that we understand the way in which each child learn best.  In order for this to take place, we must assess the child’s abilities so that adjustments can be made to ensure learning takes place.  The problem arises when a child becomes labeled based on one or two test scores.   If a child is given a pre-assessment at the beginning of school, there is most definitely going to be varying differences between student scores, because of their diverse cultures and living conditions.  These children have not been given the same opportunities to learn.  Once they are in school where the teachers have observed and assessed each child’s learning style, they are able to foster the child’s development.  

 I think that too much attention is placed on test scores and not enough on the child’s progress.  Just like not all children learn the same, not all children test the same.   Some children do very well in school, but panics when it’s time to test.   Whenever, our children are preparing to take a placement/ assessment test, they are always instructed to go to bed early and eat a big breakfast, because “studies” show that children do better on test when these two things take place.   So what happens if these things are not accessible to some of these children?  I do think children should be assessed to provide us with a better understanding of what areas need improvement, but I think this can also be identified through the child’s classroom work and included in the overall score of the assessment results.

Asia                                                               

Millions of children living in developing countries or marginalized areas have schools that are unfunded with teachers who lack adequate training and students who may or may not reach the basic literacy and numeracy levels of development. These developing countries understand the importance of education for all children is essential for economic growth, social stability, and the functioning of a stable and equitable community of nations.  According to Friske (2000), “In order to talk seriously about educational quality, it is important to be able to define it and to measure it” (p. 9).  Student’s achievement is measured by test and other assessment devices.  In the past, political and educational leaders focused on the teacher’s preparation, textbooks availability, and class size, but this data was difficult to measure.  They needed to look at something that was measurable, so now they focus on output and results (Friske, 2000).

Friske, E. B. (2000). Assessing learning achievement. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001198/119823e.pdf

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Childhood Stressor: Poverty

I chose poverty, because one of my dear friends grew up in a single parent home with 10 siblings.  She often went to sleep at night hungry and afraid.   She had to sleep on the floor because she didn’t have a bed to sleep in.  A rat bit off the tip of one of her and her younger brother’s fingers one night while they were asleep.  They did not have money or medical insurance, so their mother improvised by making a home remedy to treat their wound.  The electricity was constantly shut off because her mother could not afford to pay the bill.  All of her older brothers had to drop out of school in order to work in the fields so that the family could have food on the table, while her older sister stayed at home to help her mother cook, clean and raise her and her younger brother.   

Poverty in Ethiopia:

Ethiopia is one of the world’s poorest countries.  About 44 per cent of the population lives under the poverty line, more than 12 million people are chronically or at least periodically food insecure.  Most of them live in rural areas with agriculture as their main occupation.

 With about 80% of Ethiopians dependent on agriculture as their main livelihood, severe arid conditions due to persistent lack of rainfall coupled with civil disputes have worsened Ethiopian poverty. There has been a recent increase in poverty due to the sharp increases in food and fertilizer market prices.  These increases have made it very difficult for the already poor households in Ethiopia to secure an adequate supply of food. Even though Oromiya cultivate inset, acts as buffer storage at the time of drought and dearth, there is still not enough food. People lack coping mechanisms for facing drought-induced famines, and contingency planning is inadequate.

Poverty Stressor Impacts child development in Ethiopia:

Due to the increase level of poverty in Ethiopia, only 34 percent of the children attend school.  Many of the others have to work to support themselves and their families. According to the United Nations Children's Fund 'State of the World's Children Report 2008', 12 percent of Ethiopian children die before they reach the age of five.  Close to 75,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition and 4.6 million people experiencing food shortage.

 According to Bekele Tefera, policy co-coordinator of Save the Children in Ethiopia, children deserve special attention from government particularly at times of economic crisis and drought, but unfortunately, this assistance is minimal. Zelalem Adugna, HIV/AIDS advisor to Save the Children, says Ethiopia has a lot to learn from countries like Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Namibia which have successfully implemented policies for children. 

  

References:

Adebe, S. (2008, September). Understanding Poverty Impact on Children.  Inter Press Service News Agency. Retrieved from http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=43836

Maps of the World. (1999-09). Poverty In Ethiopia. Retrieved from http://finance.mapsofworld.com/economy/ethiopia/poverty.html

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Definition:

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) = A situation in which a seemingly healthy infant, at least 2 months of age, suddenly stops breathing and dies unexpectedly while asleep (Berger 2009).

Why is it Meaningful to me and how it has impacted my future work:

SIDS is important to me because just a year ago, one of my employees lost her infant to SIDS.  It was such a devastating time for the parents and the staff.   Each of my employees are now required to have annual SIDS training so that are using developmentally appropriate practices  at home and at work to ensure the safety of the children are enforced and maintained at all times.   Our goal is to empower our staff with the knowledge and skills needed to meet the needs of individual children and their families by providing a safe and nurturing environment.

 Research:

 Infant mortality has dropped worldwide over the past few years.   Studies show the United States as having the least amount of infant fatalities compared to other countries such as Chile, India, Mexico and Poland.  I believe this is due to identified causes and early intervention.   Infants are diagnosed with SIDS when an autopsy and careful investigation cannot identify the cause of death.  

In 1990, there were about 5000 reported cases of SIDS in the United States averaging 1 in every 800 infants.  Similar rates were reported in Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and bout European and South American nations.  Surprisingly, research identified ethnic differences: Asian babies were less likely to become victims of SIDS compared to European or African descents.   Even before the worldwide campaign to reduce risk of SIDS, only 1 baby in 3,000 in Hong Kong died of SIDS, compared with 1 baby in 200 in New Zealand ( Berger 2009) and (Byard, 2004).  Some researches believed that low socioeconomic status (SES) increases the rate of SIDS, but further research found this to be an untrue hypothesis.   Researchers began focusing on infant care practices and found that placing infants on their backs to sleep decreased SIDS. 

While SIDS can occur outside of cribs, it's also known as crib death because it happens most often during sleep, usually between the hours of 10 p.m. and 10 a.m.  It occurs most frequently during cold-weather months.  About 20 percent of SIDS deaths happen in childcare settings, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics in 2000

Some experts believe that SIDS happens when a baby with an underlying abnormality sleeps tummy-down or in an area with soft or loose bedding, or is faced with an environmental challenge such as secondhand smoke during a critical period of growth.                                                         
                                                                          
References

American SIDS Institute (1983 - 2009). Welcome to the american sids institute. Retrieved from http://sids.org/

Berger. K. S. (2009). The developing person: Through childhood. New York. NY: Worth Publishers

Kidshealth (2005-2010). Sudden infant dealth syndrom. Nemours. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/