Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Psychological Abuse.

Growing up, there was a lot of psychological abuse. I lived in fear most of my childhood and it spilled over into my adulthood. And it comes up from time to time. All though my father loved us, He would yell and scream all the time. One minute we would be relaxed and playing and the next minute he would be screaming at us. We never knew what to expect from Him. We were always on edge.  This experience affected me in school. I was always afraid to speak up in school when I was having difficulties. I would tell no one. I affected my confidence and turned me into an introvert and as a child I was very shy. A child psychological well being is important because it impacts every thing they do in adulthood and as educators it is our job to lead children to be productive citizens and the best individual they can be and that cant happen if they are not psychologically well. 

Poverty in the region of Africa

Today, growing up in a rural region in Southern Africa often means growing up without a decent education. Rural people are often caught in the vicious cycle of having no access to the services and opportunities that might lift them out of poverty; education, gainful employment, adequate nutrition, infrastructure and communications. Poor health such as eye problems, undernourishment and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome cause problems. Although the government’s feeding scheme is of great help, it’s the only meal of the day for some learners. Therefore it’s just not sufficient to feed all children properly. Poverty and illiteracy remain overwhelmingly rural phenomena. Education for rural people lies at the heart of rural development and this is fundamental for reducing poverty worldwide.

A crucial issue is that the curriculum must be relevant to rural people’s needs. One approach is to develop curricula that combine core content with local content. It is especially important that the content of education is closely related to local conditions to enable learners to apply the knowledge and skills learned. Linking school with the community will enable teachers to improve the quality and relevance of the education they are providing. It is an accepted fact that rural people with basic education are more likely to adopt new technology and become more productive, and can deal better with change. However, there are no quick fixes for providing education to the rural poor; this requires a long-term effort and commitment on the local, national and international level.

Child Development and Public Health

Malnutrition- There is three forms of malnutrition: Wasting, stunting and protein-calorie malnutrition. Protein-calorie malnutrition occurs when a person doesn't consume enough food to enable them to grow normally. This can cause various illness, severe weight loss and death. Stunting is when you don’t grow normally due to server end chronic malnutrition. Wasting is when a child’s age and stage of development because of malnutrition.

According to UNICEF, 2011 Figure 5.9 stunting in children under 5 occur more frequently than in North America. The worst is in south Asia, stunting in children under 5 occur almost fifty percent of the time. North America is less than 5 percent and the lowest number besides North America is Latin America/ Caribbean which occurs less than fifteen percent of the time.

This topic is meaningful to me because, although I was never malnutrition or deprived of food in any manner. I have one memory as a child that I have never forgotten. I ate breakfast at school every morning because my mother worked before I had to be to school. My father woke us up late one morning and by the time I got to school breakfast was over. I cried half the morning and I didn't feel better until I ate lunch. That one experience taught me to have empathy for children who don’t have enough to eat. One of the reasons children who don’t get enough to eat have trouble in school because they can focus on school work due to the hunger pains amongst other factors.

This will impact my future work because I will make sure every child I educate has something to eat everyday. If a child comes to school hungry I will make sure they have breakfast or some sort of snack to hold them over until lunch time. In addition, if necessary I will make arrangements for the family to become connected with a food program in their community to help continue with healthy nutrition at home. 

Childbirth In Your Life and Around the World

Unfortunately I have no personal birthing experience. I have no knowledge of my own birth other any when and where I was born. I have no children and I have never given birth to any children and I have never witnessed a child being born. It is difficult for me to give my thoughts regarding birth and it’s impact on child development for personal experience.

In Africa 1 in 39 women die as a result of pregnancy or childbirth in Africa compared to 1 in 4,300 in industrialized countries. Maternal death rates are particularly high in Africa because of the lack of skilled midwives, obstructed labor, unsafe abortions, anemia, and malaria. Pregnant women in Africa are especially vulnerable to malaria as their immunity is low and they often do not have the knowledge or the means of prevention.  

Obstructed labor is a significant problem for young women who give birth when their bodies have not yet sufficiently developed. Some countries in Africa have the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in the world – up to 40 % of girls give birth before they are 14.