Childhood Isolation

To start, I apologize for my very late posting - I have been dealing with illness.

I decided to do some research on childhood isolation. I can't say that I experienced isolation during my childhood, but my husband has had times in his childhood where he felt lonely, whether he was really by himself or not, particularly at school. He had a difficult time making friends during his childhood years, as he was growing into himself and through an awkward stage. He got involved in sports teams after school and on the weekends, but never really had a good friend to rely on and play with.
Since he felt an extreme lack in his life, he compensated for his saddess in a few ways. One of the most powerful struggle was his cognitive need to seek approval from his peers and a need to look "cool" to his classmates or teammates. This need for approval carried with him through his schooling and, now looking back, even into high school and college, he found it difficult to step out this emotional need. He also spent a lot of time crying himself to sleep to get an immediate emotional release as well as learning new instruments and releasing through music. After some time, he became very interested and busy with music and sports that his isolation actually grew so much that his daily schedule was all about him doing activities by himself.

According to studies done in the UK, there have been a few reports of children raised in isolation and studied for the effects on normal development. In the UK, courts have seen cases in which caregivers or parents have been charged with gross neglect, manslaughter, or actual bodily harm. In these cases, children are not only experiencing isolation, but also physical or emotional abuse. One of the most unbelievable facts that stood out to me was that 18 of the 24 cases dealing with gross neglect included mothers who left their child(ren) for long periods of time to work or SHOP; and those children were only 1 week of age or older. When children are left alone, without adult supervision or care, their is absolutely going to be biological, cognitive, and emotional damage happening, especially at such young ages when an immense amount of growth is occurring.

Reference List

Rogers, Sinclair (1976). Isolation in Early Childhood (ED 128073). US Department of Education. 14pp. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED128073&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED128073

Nutrition: A Public Health Measure for Child Development

I believe that nutrition and malnutrition a a vital aspect of child development and physical, cognitive, and emotional growth. As members and instructors in the early childhood field, it is our responsibility for educators and caregivers to assist families in providing healthy choices for children as the growth through those early years. In an article published by the New York Times, "malnutrition is the condition that occurs when a person's body is not getting enough nutrients" and may result from inadequate or unbalanced diet, improper digestion, or medical conditions. One of the most significant problems of malnutrition is the lack of certain necessary vitamins that children require during growth that will impact all forms of growth, physically and mentally. Specifically, children and families dealing with poverty, natural disasters, and other problematic conditions are at risk of poor diet. Children living in third world countries take the greatest hit. Urvina states that there will be enough food for everyone worldwide, but still 500 million people were malnourished (Urvina, 1984). Councils and organizations are continuously working toward providing food aid to these countries and prevent people from starvation, but the money and energy required to spend toward this cause remains overwhelming, and many people and children suffer the diseases and effects of associated with malnutrition.
In Kenya, it is common for both adults and children to have many infestations, including hookworm, diarrhea (leading cause of death associated with malnutrition), measles, and parasitic infection. Studies have shown that 50 percent of Kenya's public school pupils are found anemic. 
Children cannot fend for themselves, nor do they have the proper knowledge of what nutrients their bodies need. As an administrator in a child care facility, I can help our families by ensuring proper nutrition for our students and campers during school and camp meal times, including nutritious choices.

(2010). Malnutrition Overview. The New York Times. Accessed 5 November 2010 at http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/malnutrition/overview.html?scp=1&sq=malnutrition%20overview&st=cse

Urvina, Sally (1984). Malnutrition in Third World Countries. Christian Century, pp 550. http://www.christiancentury.org

Birthing Experience

I do not have any children yet (although it is a goal of my husband and mine), and I have not participated in the process for another woman, so the only story I have any sort of insight on is what I've heard of my mother's experiences giving birth to me. I can't personally recall any information about the event, but among stories I've heard include my father casually dropping my mother in labor at the front doors to the hospital to go park the car, it was a natural birth, probably with an epidural, the overall process took 17 hours long, and I came out with a no hair and a head that you could shine like a bowling ball.

I think that the birthing process has a huge impact on a child's physical and mental development. One example that I heard recently in the child care facility where I work was about a mother that has three children here. During the birthing process of her oldest son, there became a strong need to get the baby out as soon as possible and the doctor chose to use clamps to pull him out. A few years later, she found out that due to the physical strain that was placed on his head and neck during birth, he now has Torticollis - a twisted neck in which the head is tipped to one side, while the chin is turned to the other side. While the urgency may have overwhelmed the situation, I think this really shows how vital the birthing process, along with adequate prenatal care, can be to a growing child.

I found an article (link below) living in Bamako, the capital of Malian in West Africa. The typical age of pregnant women in this area is 15 years old. There is an extreme lack of education for these women, poverty, and poor health care and prenatal care. The statistics that accompanied a story of a young girl who died giving birth were shocking. About 1200 women become pregnant each day, 230 have complications, and 20 women die in the birthing process. There seems to be an underlying ignorant regarding the need to improve care for pregnant women in Malian. It would cost only $79 to help save a life during birth, but instead African leaders would rather pay $500 - $1000 for a girl's funeral.

There are so many differences between women who give birth in America - like my mother - and women who give birth in Africa. The biggest difference is the that Africa is still a developing country. The range of health care is so vast between the two countries that women often receive no care at all. After birth, a lot of children in African countries do not survive past only a few months old because they don't have resources for the treatment that infants require. I really feel a sense of comfort to be living in a country where women can receive necessary medical attention before and after birth; but at the same time, my heart goes out to young girls in developing countries that lack these valuable tools and are often placed under such strict ruling and minimal choice to become a mother in their teenage years. Statistics will show that the babies conceived and birthed by these women will have more stress in their youngest years and many don't have the chance to live much longer after that.

Reference:
Fighting for life in birth. (2001, May 11). BBC News.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1325293.stm