Stress on Children’s Development

Racism in the United States has been a major issue ever since the colonial era and the slave era.  Today it continues to be one of America’s “hot button” issues. The issue is not whether people experience racism, but how they experience it.  The lack of respect that many reports gives to our President clearly shows that racial issues are in the forefront of many American citizens. 

 Although many parents believe their children are oblivious to racial differences, research indicates otherwise. Dr. Katz writes, infants as young as 6 months old recognize racial cues, even before they develop language skills (Burnette, 1997).

It is believed that children develop racial attitudes similar to those of their parents.  They observe the positive or negative response of their parents.  Another way we     in our children. 

Frances Aboud at McGill University indicates that remaining silent (as in the "color-blind" stance) on racial issues suggests to children that talking about race is off limits. This silence piques a child's curiosity and can contribute to development of negative attitudes or a feeling of unease around people whose race is different from the child's.  (Aboud & Doyle, 1996).

 Many educators and psychologists have developed programs to address racism.

Children are assigned to a racially mixed group, and discussions about racial issues continue. Parent groups meet once a month to discuss racism and learn how they can discuss racism with their children.  This approach, bringing children together in small groups to work together on a specific task, is commonly known as cooperative learning.

Children come to see themselves as teammates, as "insiders" rather than "outsiders." They learn to encourage each other's participation, to listen to each other's ideas, and to disagree with respect instead of derision

One way parents can open discussions with their children is by reading children's books about other cultures. In Nappy Hair, by Carolivia Herron, Brenda's family talks about her hair, which is the nappiest, curliest, and twistiest hair in the whole family. This book about an African American family can lead to a discussion about differences in appearance.

 In Bird Talk, by Lenore Keshig-Tobias, the discussion focuses on how a Native American family deals with a little girl's feelings when her schoolmates tease her about being Indian.

In Everybody Eats Rice, by Norah Dooley, a young child is sent out to call her brother to dinner. She visits many homes in her neighborhood as she searches for him, and sees the ways families from different cultures prepare rice for dinner. She learns that not only Asian Americans eat rice. This book can lead to a discussion about food across cultures.

 Arnold Adoff's book Black Is Brown Is Tan is about two children in a multiracial family.

In addition to actively seeking children's books about other cultures, parents can also begin looking critically at characters in their children's favorite television programs and children's books.

These characters often reflect stereotypical ways of thinking.  For example, in Clifford's Halloween, Clifford the Big Red Dog is shown wearing an Indian headdress and smoking a peace pipe. Parents can open a discussion with their child and help them understand that, today, Native American children wear jeans and sneakers, ride bikes, and play computer games.  Children are not color blind; they recognize differences. Children develop racial attitudes based on their observations of their parents and society in general.

www.nhaeyc.org/newsletters/articles/Racism_in_Childrens_Movies.pdf ·

www.associatedcontent.com/article/407029/how_to_prevent_racism_in_your_chld.html

Child Abuse in India - Sexual Abuse and Child Trafficking

India remains the country with the highest rate of violence against women and children and the highest rate of child prostitution and child trafficking.

In India, parents are often reluctant to admit child abuse and sexual abuse of children involving family members is almost always hushed up.

Besides physical and sexual abuse, the statistics on emotional abuse and neglect of girls is difficult to get confrmation.

The country also has millions of child workers.

http://wcd.nic.in/childabuse.pdf

http://cozay.com/CHILD-ABUSE-IN-INDIA.php

http://www.unicef.org/india/child_protection_3045.htm

Child Development and Public Health

            After watching a show about homeless children in Orland Florida I chose to learn more  about Nutrition and Malnutrition.

Malnutrition occurs when the body does not get the right amount of protein, calories, vitamins and other nutrients.  

According to the U.S. Department of Health all children need a balanced diet and physical activity in order to grow, learn, build strong bones and muscles to name just a few of the benefits.  How do we as parents see to it that our children have these needs met?  Get them immunized, feed them food from the food pyramid, cook with less fat, and limit sugary foods and drinks.  We are all familiar with this list.  What happens to those who don’t have the means to meet the need? 

Statics show between twenty and thirty percent of homeless families surveyed said they had gone without food for part of the previous month (Burt, Aron, and Lee).  Poverty, the number one cause of malnutrition.  

People who don’t get enough food often experience hunger, and hunger can lead to malnutrition over the long term.  However, a child can become malnourished for reasons that have nothing to do with hunger. Even people who have plenty to eat may be malnourished if they don't eat food that provides the right nutrients.    

In developing countries 12 million children under five are dying due to malnutrition.  Lack of food, infection, inadequate care and unsafe water all play a role.

Niger, a West African nation where one in five children under the age of 5 suffering from malnutrition, according to the World Food Programme. 

http://motherchildnutrition.org/malnutrition-management/index.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/06/030630110813.htm 

 
http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/feeding/hunger.html

Giving Birth In India

I'm in the middle of reading Autobiography of a Yogi so I thought I would learn about giving birth in India.
The article i found most interesting stresses time and again that child birth is a natural process.  I think in the last sixteen years or so the US has been stressing the same thing.  Ultra sounds are not used to determine the sex of the unborn child.  As a matter of fact prenatal sex determination is illegal.  Where as in the U.S. it seems that every parent uses the ultrasound to determine the sex of the child.  Modern hospitals have to be seeked out.  If you are able to give birth at a modern hospital epidurals are used and the husband is allowed to stay with their wives for delivery.  Surprisingly the C-section rate is almost as high as 65% in private hospitals.  The US has been accused of performing them to quickly but we are tiring to cut back on the surgery.




http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles_various/child-birth.asp