My Supports

The people who support me on a personal level include my husband, my mother and my friend.

My Husband

My husband provides emotional support when I am having a bad day, when I am stressed, when I am happy or excited about something.  He is truly my best friend, my rock and I depend on him for almost everything emotionally. He also provides great advice and insight to any situation.

My Mother

My mother is a spiritual person who keeps my grounded. She provides me with wholesome advice that truly inspires me. She loves my children and is a wonderful grandmother. She is also an awesome mother who loves her children.

My Friend

My friend supports me in a fun-loving and true support. She tells it like it is and holds nothing back. To me that is her best quality!

On a professional level the people who support me include the Education Specialists from the Corporation I work for and the Education Coordinator from the Corporation.  

The Education Specialists

The wonderful Education Specialists provide support by attending PLC meeting and giving sound advice from their previous experiences. Jackie has been working for Head Start for 15 years. Joanne has a wealth of knowledge from her diverse experiences. She has data processing and computer program experience in addition to teaching experience.

Living without these support people in my life would be extremely difficult because that bring me balance and security. My children are very important to me and spending time with them is a must, so having a support system aids me with finding and enjoying time with my children.

My Connections to Play

“Play is a child’s Work.” ~Jean Piaget

“Play is our brain's favorite way of learning.”~ Diane Ackerman

“Play fosters belonging and encourages cooperation.” ~Stuart Brown, MD

I was supported in play with encouragement, love and positivity.  Play was an outlet for me as a child. I was one of six children and sometimes life was chaotic.  When I played, I was able to use my imagination, gross motor, fine motor, and language skills. I did not go to preschool, so my playmates were my siblings. We would build a fort, go on a tip to the beach and play “school” without leaving our backyard.

Today play is very different compared to when I was a child. Safety is a serious concern for families. My mom would let us play for hours outside or at a friend’s house with very little worries. Parents today have to watch their children very closely.

Play is very important to children’s social/emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Especially, social development because children need to know how to get along with one other. Social skills are ones that will be used for life.

“Play is so important to optimal child development that it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child” (Ginsburg 2007).

Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD, MSEd (2007). The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. PEDIATRICS Vol. 119 No. 1 January 2007, pp. 182-191 (doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2697)

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me because they offer a support and a foundation for a particular situation. Having someone to lean on can make even the bitterest of life's blows tolerable and the happiest just that more wonderful.  In addition, there is strong evidence that healthy relationships correlate strongly with people’s health and well-being. Conversely the health risks from being alone or isolated in one’s life are comparable in magnitude to the risks associated with cigarette smoking, blood pressure, and obesity. Clearly one important way to take care of yourself is to take care of your relationships.

There are many types of relationship that affect people in different ways.  The strongest and dearest relationships in my life are to God, my husband, my children, my mother and siblings, a few close friends, and my dog.

The relationship I have with God offers hope, calmness and a sense of being. The relationship I have with my husband offers true love, happiness, respect and passion.  The relationship I have with my children offers unconditional and pure love, respect, happiness, pride, and an emotion of being a mother in which I cannot explain.  Mine and my mother’s relationship provides love, security, and comfort.  The relationship I have with my siblings is fun-loving and brings a sense of belonging. The relationship I have with my friends offers support, a shoulder to lean on, and fun. Finally the relationship I have with my dog offers goofy love that only a dog can provide.

http://www.thenewmedicine.org/health_planner_info/relationships/understanding_relationships_are_important

Assessment, Development, and Testing?

I believe assessment should measure development and milestones verses growth.  Developmental assessments screen progress towards the stage of development. In addition, developmental screening is a procedure designed to identify children who should receive more intensive assessment or diagnosis, for potential developmental delays. I think developmental screening are important because many children with developmental delays are not being identified early. Statistics suggested that in the United States, 17% of children have a developmental or behavioral disability (www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/child/devtool.htm 2011).

Education in the Netherlands go-between the ages of four to twelve, children attend elementary school (basisschool; literally, "basic school"). This school has eight grades, called groep 1 (group 1) through groep 8. School attendance is compulsory from group 2 (at age five), but almost all children commence school at age four (in group 1). Groups 1 and 2 used to a separate institution akin to kindergarten (kleuterschool; literally, "toddler's school"), until it was merged with elementary schools in 1989. From group 3 on, children will learn how to read, write, and do math. In group 8 the vast majority of schools administer an aptitude test called the Cito Eindtoets Basisonderwijs (literally, "Cito final test primary education").

I think assessments need to stay just that "an assessments" not a test. I understand schools need to know how much a child has learned. However, the education system has a hard balancing between "testing" and  "assessments" and which is the best for our students. They need to have a purpose and plan for the children who receive them.

Information retrieved from:

www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/child/devtool.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org

Poverty among children:

In recent years, about one in five American children—some 12 to 14 million—have lived in families in which cash income failed to exceed official poverty thresholds. Income poverty is the condition of not having enough income to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. Because children are dependent on others, they enter or avoid poverty by virtue of their family’s economic circumstances. Children cannot alter family conditions by themselves, at least until they approach adulthood.

I have been a product of poverty. My parents had six children to cloth and feed. However, we were happy and healthy. Fortunately, my parents took us to the doctors on a regular basis and we were showered with love. There were times we did not have enough to eat.

In addition, I work in a head start program and there are children enrolled that do not have enough to eat. We are offer healthy meals and give seconds to help combat this issue. In addition, our family service office offers referrals to family we may need food and clothing.

Compared with nonpoor children, poor children in the United States experience diminished physical health as measured by a number of indicators of health status and outcomes. Children living below the poverty threshold are 1.3 times as likely as nonpoor children to experience learning disabilities and developmental delays. Educational attainment is well recognized as a powerful predictor of experiences in later life. A comprehensive review of the relationship between parental income and school attainment, published in 1994, concluded that poverty limited school achievement but that the effect of income on the number of school years completed was small. In general, the studies suggested that a 10% increase in family income is associated with a 0.2% to 2% increase in the number of school years completed.

Reference:

https://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/07_02_03.pdf

The Importance and Benefits Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is one of the most natural and beneficial acts a mother can do for her child.  Striking health benefits have been proven to pass from mother to child through breast milk.  For example, antibodies, which protect an infant at birth and the nutrients in mother's milk, have been shown to prevent a number of childhood diseases.

Other Health Benefits to Babies Who Breastfeed include:

ü  Children have fewer incidences of vomiting and diarrhea in the US (20-35 million episodes of diarrhea occur in children under the age of 5, resulting in over 200,000 hospitalizations and 400-500 deaths in the U.S.)

ü  Protection against gastroenteritis, necrotizing entercolitis

ü  Reduced risk of chronic constipation, colic, and other stomach upsets

ü  Reduced risk of childhood diabetes

ü  Protection against ear infections, respiratory illnesses, pneumonia, bronchitis, kidney infections, septicemia (blood poisoning)

ü  Reduced risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) Statistics reveal that for every 87 deaths from SIDS, only 3 are breastfed.

Health Benefits to Moms Who Breastfeed

ü  Reduced risk of breast, ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancers

ü  Reduced risk of anemia

ü  Protection against osteoporosis and hip fracture later in life

ü  Reduced risk of mortality for women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been associated with total time of lactation

ü  Helps the mother's body return to its pre-pregnancy state faster - promotes weight loss...1/2 of calories needed to manufacture milk is pulled from fat stores... can burn from 500 - 1,500 calories per day.

ü  Helps delay return of fertility and to space subsequent pregnancies

ü  Develops a special emotional relationship and bonding with her child

Breastfeeding also reduces the cost of healthcare by promoting healthier children and mothers..........If all WIC babies in the U.S. were breastfed, our economical savings would be $33,000,000 per month ..........In 1993, 90,000 babies were hospitalized for RSV at a cost of 450 million dollars. Currently, the U.S. spends over 1 billion dollars a year on Otitis Media (ear infections)
Information gathered from: http://www.motheringfromtheheart.com/Benefits.htm

www.womenshealth.gov, points out that "Fathers, partners, and other people in the mother’s support system can benefit from breastfeeding, too. Not only are there no bottles to prepare, but many people feel warmth, love, and relaxation just from sitting next to a mother and baby during breastfeeding" (online 3/10/11).
Breastfeeding is universal. None of us would be here without our mothers before us had not breastfeed.

Breastfeeding in Cuba

Cuba's constitution has contained a provision officially recognizing and supporting breastfeeding. Article 68 of the 1975 constitution reads, in part: During the six weeks immediately preceding childbirth and the six weeks following, a woman shall enjoy obligatory vacation from work on pay at the same rate, retaining her employment and all the rights pertaining to such employment and to her labour contract. During the nursing period, two extraordinary daily rest periods of a half hour each shall be allowed her to feed her child.

What it means to Me:

I think breastfeeding is beneficial to the child and the mother and needs to be supported. From personal experiences, I have seen how negative remarks and banter can hurt a new mother and make her question whether or not she is doing the right thing.  My mother-in-law thought it was preposterous that I breastfed my children and was always making remarks, such as "I don't think you are producing enough milk" or I don't think it's fair to breastfeed because you are leaving the dad out and you are always with the baby". She did not breastfeed her children and she was not educated to the benefits of breastfeeding.

Childbirth––In My Life and Around the World

I have given birth to three boys. The labors and deliveries were different. All my births occurred in a hospital. My first labor started with my water breaking and it was 10 hours long. I was 37 weeks pregnant and he weighted 8 lbs. 0 oz. and was 19 inches long. My second child was born in four hours and the doctor had to break my water. I was 38 weeks along and he weighted 7 lbs. 11 oz. and 17 inches long. My third child was born in 2 hours. We checked in to the hospital at 2:18pm and he was born at 2:48pm! I am thankful that we did not stay home any longer than we did. I was 38 1/2 weeks pregnant. He weighed 9 lbs. 6 oz. and 21 inches long. By far my third labor and delivery was more traumatic than the other two. It happened so fast and I was very scared.  My husband was a great partner during the labor and delivery process! We have three wonderful boys that we love VERY much.

I think that after birth mom needs to be sure to take of herself because if mom is not able to take care of the baby then that will affect the newborn. Development domains start forming the moment a child is born.

I researched Italy's child birthing practices and found out that Italians have free state-run health care.  Childbirth in Italy usually takes place in a hospital, where a stay of three days is normal, although it can be longer if complications arise. Maternity wards usually have two or three beds; mothers must provide clothing and accessories for their babies, although medical supplies are provided. A gynecologist, an obstetrician, a nurse and a medical specialist who looks after babies during the first four weeks (neonatologo) supervise childbirth. Husbands usually attend births; although mothers can ask for any relative to do so. Italian women do not generally give birth at home and if you want to do so, you must arrange (and pay) for a private obstetrician to attend the delivery.

 The birthing experiences in the US and Italy are very similar.  The main difference is we do not have access to free state-run health care.  In addition, we do not have a medical specialist who looks after babies during the first four weeks (neonatologo).