"My Connections to Play"

 

“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.”

    Joseph Chilton Pearce

I can relate to this quote personally. I remember being this shy kid in front of my family and teachers. When I was outside playing with my friends, I was a totally different person. I would run wild all day just screaming and having fun. I did not have a care in the world. Playing with my friends helped me explore and identify who I truly was.

“A person's maturity consists in having found again the seriousness one had as a child, at play”

Friedrich Nietzsche

When I was growing up my family would always tell my parents that I was too mature for my age. When they would come over my friends and I would be dressed up in my mom clothes and heels. We loved to play dress-up. I always played the role of the mother as we played because I was very bossy and liked to give orders.

 

 

As a child my mother always encouraged me to go outside and play. She never wanted me or my sisters to stay in the house. She would always tell us to go outside and get from under grown folks as her friends were always at our house. After we got tired of playing outside, we would go inside and play dress-up. My mom clothes and shoes were all over the place as we looked for outfits. Playing dress-up with my friends bring back so many memories. We felt so free. It’s funny that I was always chosen to be the mother. My friends called me bossy. Even in my adulthood many of them still think that I like to take lead to and be in control.

The children in today’s society do not engage in the type of play that I engaged in when I was a child. As a child I enjoyed playing dress-up with my sisters and friends. I would be skeptical about letting my children play dress-up in this day and time because they may get the wrong message. They may feel that it is ok to dress a certain way not knowing that it is a time a place for everything. My mom always told me that how you dress and carry yourself represent who you are. That stuck with me in my adulthood and I take pride in my appearance.

I also enjoyed hanging outside with my friends. We would jump rope and play hop-scotch. There is not much outside play with children in today’s society. They are more consumed with staying inside playing video and computer games I hope that the children in today’s society do not lose sight on life because they do not engage in activities that help them explore themselves.

Play allows self discovery. Through play one can learn who they really are. The type of play that I engaged in as a child allowed me to grow as an individual. I am a very out spoken person. I am not afraid to lead. Playing the role of the mother with my friends contributed to my take charge capabilities. As a future mother and educator, I want to lead and steer my children in the right path so that they can be productive citizens of society.

Immunization

Immunization

Immunization is “A process that stimulates the body’s immune system to defend against attack by a particular contagious disease” (Berger, K.S. 2009).

Immunizations can protect children from vulnerable diseases.  Immunization is important to me because as a premature baby I have a very low immune system. Due to low iron and calcium, my mother would always take me to my routine checkups so that I could receive my vaccination shots. I think that it is very important for parents to keep their children vaccinations up to date because it’s a defense mechanism against all types of airborne diseases.

I chose to talk about the vaccinations in Africa. Researchers suggested that “the end of smallpox vaccination in the mid-20th century may have caused a loss of protection that contributed to the rapid contemporary spread of HIV” (BioMed Central, 2010, May 18). The study indicated that “smallpox immunization was gradually withdrawn from the 1950s to the 1970s following the worldwide eradication of the disease, and HIV has been spreading exponentially since approximately the same time period” (BioMed Central, 2010, May 18). I found this article to be very interesting because prior immunization with vaccine virus may provide an individual with some degree of protection to subsequent HIV infection or any other airborne diseases.

The information that I have learned about immunization will impact my future work because I will work with children and their families to ensure that parents keep their children vaccinations current. There will be some children in the classroom with low immune systems that would be vulnerable to any sickness that may spread throughout the classroom from other students. I will make sure that all children utilize hand sanitizer to fight off bacteria and germs. Those who are sick will be sent home until their parents provide a doctor’s release. I will make my classroom a very germ-free environment so that children can comfortably learn.

Resources:

BioMed Central (2010, May 18). Did the end of smallpox vaccination cause the explosive spread of HIV?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 15, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/05/100517204405.htm

Berger, K.S. (2009). The developing person through childhood
(5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Best Wishes!

"A mother understands what a child does not say."Author Unknown"

"Pretty much all the honest truth-telling there is in the world is done by children."Oliver Wendell Holmes"

I chose the first quote because it goes hand in hand with non-verbal communication. Parent's read the facial expressions of their infants that can't talk and are able to address their needs. The second quote was very funny to me because children have the tendency to tell the truth. They will tell you what others are afraid to tell you. 

Tashana,

I would like to say that your blogs where very interesting. I enjoyed reading your blogs. I really enjoyed your blog about “Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development “. It reminded me how not to take small things for granted as our ancestors worked hard and paved the way for us to get where we are today. I had many struggles in my past, but I use them as foot stools to build me up. As we move forward in our studies I wish you the best of luck. We are on the road to success and as we continue our journey keep in mind that the best is yet to come!

Christine,

I must say that your post were very interesting. Each week I reviewed your post and was truly amazed. I really enjoyed you article “Comparison of Childbirths”. It was such a blessing for you to be a part of your friend’s birth experience. My sister is a mother of six and I never got to witness any of her births because I was either away at college or at home watching her other children. I have learned a lot from you in so many ways from your blog posts. Thank you for sharing some of your experiences with me.  I wish you the best as we continue in our studies. I will not say good bye. I rather say see you later because I look forward to running into you again in another course. May God bless you and good luck on your future endeavors.

Assessing a child's leaning ability

I believe that early child hood professionals should no longer do standardized test to measure a child’s mind. I feel that each individual child should be assessed at the beginning of each lesson. If a child excels on the pre- test that child should move along to the next assignment while the educator work with those students who are behind. If the child has not grasped the concept of the lesson with the assistance of the educator, parent conferences should be held to engage the families in the child’s learning process. Some children lack support at home so it is essential that educators encourage parents to become more involved with their child's education. Once all children are on the same page I feel that an educator performed their job because no child was left behind. Children vary in learning styles so to place them in categories because of their learning style is very disappointing to me. It makes the child become less eager to learn. As educators we should come up with a curriculum that will allow us to determine each child’s level of success periodically so that we can focus more on the areas that they do not grasp to ensure that each child reach their fullest potential and no child is left behind.

Adolescents in Canada performed below average in math and science in recent testing indicating that these students may be struggling to succeed in the educational system. TIMSS 2007 Grade 8 assessment was used to administer the children’s learning ability. The student’s math and science scores were very low. “Unlike schools in Canada, both curriculum and instruction in schools across these countries emphasize rote memorization” (Queen Univeristy, 2010). I believe that remote memorization can hinder a child because they focus more on the repetition of the subject matter rather than actually understanding what is being taught.

Source: Queen's University (2010, January 13). First-generation immigrants to Canada struggling in education system. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 11, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/01/100113111915.htm

Poverty Affects Child Development

As a child my sisters and I suffered from poverty. We were raised on government funding. My mother received a welfare check once a month and she could barely afford to pay all of her bills. She also received food stamps so that she could purchase food for my sisters and me.  We hardly ever went shopping. The only time we got new things was at the beginning of the school year. It was kind of embarrassing when you hung around children who always looked and dressed nice. We never got the opportunity to do extracurricular activities because my mother did not have the money. My mother was a homemaker while being married to my dad, but after their divorce she never went to work. My household was very stressful. At times I hated being there because it was not much to do. I didn’t excel in school because I was too stressed out about things that were going on in my household. I went to school and built a relationship with my teachers. One of my teachers took me under her wings and treated me as if I was her own child. She would pick me up every weekend and take me to kid friendly places. Going to school and hanging out with her was like a safe haven for me. Even though my grades were poor my teacher still promoted me to the second grade. At that point my mother noticed that I was not so bright. She felt that I couldn’t comprehend and didn’t see how I made it through the first grade. She felt as if my teacher was hindering me so she held me back in the first grade. I went to after school tutorials so that I can get additional help with my lessons. As an educator I want to be very involved with the children and their families. I feel that it is very important to go to the home environments so that educators can get a better understanding and be aware of issues going on in the household that can hinder a child’s learning ability.

The article that I chose will look at whether being poor necessarily results in low self esteem or feelings of shame and whether welfare policies are counterproductive when claimants are stigmatized (University of Oxford, 2010). “Researchers  interviewed with children and their parents  from UK, Norway, China, India, Pakistan, Uganda, South Korea and Germany and discussed  how being poor affects the way they feel about themselves and the way they are regarded by their own community” (University of Oxford, 2010).  In the UK some parents went with out to provide for their children to ensure that their child does not feel shame at school. “In China, for example, it might be more important for adults, even in poor families, to maintain "face" and to uphold their own sense of dignity. In parts of India and Pakistan it is possible that loss of "family honour" adds to any sense of personal shame” (University of Oxford, 2010).  The researchers plan to work together with policymakers and agencies to deliver policies that tackle poverty effectively while simultaneously recognizing the importance of promoting dignity and a sense of self-respect. This article was very inspirational because the mothers unselfishly gave to provide for their children. In today’s society some parents do not acknowledge their children needs because they are more focused on themselves. It is important for a parent to provide for their children and effectively communicate with their children to address any issues or concerns that they may have to ensure that it is nothing hindering their child academics.

Source: University of Oxford (2010, September 5). Are shame and poverty closely linked?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 27, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/09/100905164823.htm

Immunization

Immunization is “A process that stimulates the body’s immune system to defend against attack by a particular contagious disease” (Berger, K.S. 2009).

Immunizations can protect children from vulnerable diseases.  Immunization is important to me because as a premature baby I have a very low immune system. Due to low iron and calcium, my mother would always take me to my routine checkups so that I could receive my vaccination shots. I think that it is very important for parents to keep their children vaccinations up to date because it’s a defense mechanism against all types of airborne diseases.

I chose to talk about the vaccinations in Africa. Researchers suggested that “the end of smallpox vaccination in the mid-20th century may have caused a loss of protection that contributed to the rapid contemporary spread of HIV” (BioMed Central, 2010, May 18). The study indicated that “smallpox immunization was gradually withdrawn from the 1950s to the 1970s following the worldwide eradication of the disease, and HIV has been spreading exponentially since approximately the same time period” (BioMed Central, 2010, May 18). I found this article to be very interesting because prior immunization with vaccine virus may provide an individual with some degree of protection to subsequent HIV infection or any other airborne diseases.

The information that I have learned about immunization will impact my future work because I will work with children and their families to ensure that parents keep their children vaccinations current. There will be some children in the classroom with low immune systems that would be vulnerable to any sickness that may spread throughout the classroom from other students. I will make sure that all children utilize hand sanitizer to fight off bacteria and germs. Those who are sick will be sent home until their parents provide a doctor’s release. I will make my classroom a very germ-free environment so that children can comfortably learn.

Resources:

BioMed Central (2010, May 18). Did the end of smallpox vaccination cause the explosive spread of HIV?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 13, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/05/100517204405.htm

Berger, K.S. (2009). The developing person through childhood
(5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Child Birth Experiences

I don’t have any children so I will discuss my own child birth experience. I was born at six months. I recall my mother telling me the events that took place that lead up to my premature birth. My mother had a lot of complications in her pregnancy due to stress. My mother was in her third month of pregnancy when my dad decided that he no longer wanted to be with her. At the time my mother was more concerned about financial issues that will occur because of my dad leaving rather than her health and well being. My dad no longer being apart of the household created a stressful environment. My mother told me that she would cry daily and just ask God to get her through this pregnancy. On some occasions she did not eat. One morning she woke up due to chronic pain so my grandmother rushed her to the hospital. By the time mother got to the hospital the doctors advised her that the bay was ready to come.  Several hours later I was brought into this world weighing only one pound. I was hospitalized for six months. I eventually gained two ponds and was released from the hospital weighing three pounds. I chose my own birth experience because it made me realize that a mother’s health during her pregnancy can have a tremendous impact on her child’s development. Because I was a premature baby I ‘m anemic, have very low iron, and have asthma. After hearing what my mom experienced during child birth, It made me realize how important it is for a mother to get adequate nutrition, prenatal care, and not stress. I will not let things that are out of my control consume me. I want to provide a safe, healthy, and caring environment for me and my unborn so that their development is not effected by my negligence.

The country that I chose to research was the United Kingdom.  A lot of mothers in the United Kingdom experienced premature birth. “One in 14 babies in the UK which averages about 49,000 a year, are born underweight or premature” (Medical News Today, 2003). It was said that “social class differences were a factor, with the most low-weight babies born to single mothers and manual worker families” (Medical News Today, 2003). I can relate to this because my mother grew up poor. There were always a lot of stressful circumstances leading up to her unhealthily delivery. During my mother pregnancy she was diagnosed with diabetes and the trait was passed to my sister and me. Some facts that I discovered from this article were:

·         Low birthweightscan lead to health problems either immediately, in childhood or later in life.

·         Low-weight infants are also more likely to be shorter, have increased blood pressure, suffer diabetes, and have higher rates of heart disease, stroke and lung disorders.

 I found this article to be very interesting because it saddens me to know that the United Kingdom don’t have enough staff to handle the increasing premature birth rate. Some mothers are sent all over the country so that they can receive adequate care. This can results in a lot of untimely deaths. I believe that a country with some many premature births should have a plan in action so that doctors in the United Kingdom could better assist mothers. Some mothers can even suffer from depression.

MediLexicon International Ltd  (2003, September. 14). UK - Premature births reach record levels. Medical News Today. Retrieved November 5, 2010 from

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/4301.php