The Stress of Poverty on Children

Poverty and the Effects on Children

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For my blog this week, my focus was how poverty affects children. Poverty is directly linked with poor nutrition, lack in academic achievement, lack of proper shelter, and inadequate child care. In my childcare center, the majority of our families enrolled receive some type of government assistance. 70% of our families receive child care assistance to help them pay for daycare. These are single parent families that rely on this help from the Indiana CCDF fund so they are able to work and go to school. These families live paycheck to paycheck and worry every day about whether they are going to be able to make ends meet.

As a childcare provider, we try and keep a list of resources for families that might not be aware of help that they could qualify for such as child care vouchers, food stamps, Women, Infants, Children (WIC), and local food banks. We keep a list of local resources posted on our parent communication board. I have found in my experience that parents will come to us and ask about some of the resources because they have that trusting relationship with us as providers for their children.

Poverty causes stress on the parents as well as the children. Some children come in hungry and tell us they ran out of food at home. Children being hungry can affect their behavior, attention, and learning.

Children and Poverty in South Africa

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Poverty has been defined as “the inability of individuals, households or entire communities to command sufficient resources to satisfy a socially acceptable minimum standard of living” (Plessis, P.D. & Conley, L., 2007, p. 50). 66% of children in South Africa live in poverty. South Africa has a high rate of infant mortality due to poverty. There are also numerous cases of children infected with HIV/Aids. South African children and their families do not have enough resources available to them for these children to have proper nutrition, shelter, and medical care. Poverty is preventing these children from being able to get an education. Because of lack of nutrition, children in South Africa do not grow and develop properly. High levels of unemployment in South Africa are listed as a main reason for such high poverty rates. Sometimes one child works and supports their entire family. Children have extra responsibilities that children in America don’t have. This puts a lot of unneeded stress on these South African children.

References:

(Effects of poverty, hunger, and homelessness on children and youth). Retrieved November 22, 2011, from American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/pi/families/poverty.aspx#

Plessis, P. &. (2007). Children and poverty in South Africa: The right to social security. Educational Research and Review , 2 (4), 49-59.

Nutrition/ Malnutrition & Child Development

This week I chose to talk about nutrition and how it affects a child’s development. So many children today are not getting the nutrition that they need to be healthy and have healthy development.  Nutrition is one factor that is important to a child’s cognitive development. Lack of nutrition or being malnourished can hinder a child’s development. Children that are malnourished tend to be sick more than children that are eating healthier. They miss more school thus they fall behind their peers academically. Nutrition is not only a parent’s responsibility, but also child care providers and the school system.  While researching I found that poor nutrition between 12-36 months is associated with poor mental development and this can lead to problems later in life.

In other countries most children only consume grains such as rice and maize. Children do not have access to fruits, vegetables, and proteins. Less than 1% of aids to these countries are spent focusing on malnutrition of children and their families. I focused on the country of Bangladesh where child malnutrition rates are one of the highest in the world.  UNICEF has a program in place to help children receive vitamin A supplements each year to help with their malnutrition. A lot of children die from curable diseases such as pneumonia because they are so under nourished. Their bodies are frail and they have stunted growth.

In order for children to grow and develop like they should they need to have good nutrition. Good nutrition habits need to start with the mother when they are pregnant. Schools, child care providers, and parents all need to work together to make sure that children are eating healthy so they can have optimal success in life.

Resources on Nutrition:

http://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/Child_and_Maternal_Nutrition.pdf

http://hungerreport.org/2011/report/chapters/one/nutrition

http://www.pediatriconcall.com/nutrition/adult_health.asp

http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=4&tax_level=3&tax_subject=358&topic_id=1612&level3_id=5949&level4_id=0&level5_id=0&placement_default=0

http://www.brightfutures.org/nutrition/pdf/ec.pdf

The Birthing Process

My Personal Birthing Experience

For this blog I chose to write about the birthing experience with my son Layton. Layton was born December 26, 2006. I chose this birthing experience because I had to have a C-Section. My older two boys both were born vaginally and this was my first experience needing to have an emergency C-Section. I went into the hospital at 8:00 am and my water was broke and I was given pitocin to help my labor and dilation progress. I was doing great until I hit 5 centimeters. After this point I was not dilating anymore. The doctor gave me a little more medicine and wanted to give me some more time. At 10:30 I was still only a 6 and he decided that we needed to do a C-section because Layton was starting to become distressed. At 11:57 p.m. I delivered a beautiful 9lb 12oz baby boy. This was a scary experience for me, but I knew it was necessary for the safety of my child. I was concerned about the distress causing problems for Layton later on.

Birthing in Japan

I chose to focus on the birthing process in Japan for my assignment. Japan is similar to the United States in that they use hospitals, doctors, and nurses. I found it interesting that women giving birth in Japan do not like to use painkillers. In Japanese culture they feel the pain associated with the birthing process prepares women for motherhood. Another interesting fact I found is that fathers are only allowed to go into the delivery room with the mother if they participate in prenatal classes. Another custom in Japan is the mother and baby not go home after leaving the hospital, but they go to the mother’s parent’s house for 21 days. During these 21 days the new mom stays in bed with the newborn for bonding time.

I found it interesting that mothers in Japan have their parents help for the first 21 days. This gives new moms time to bond with their babies. In the United States you have many single parents that are sent home with no one to help them after the birthing process. This can be overwhelming for a first time mother and could play a role in post partum depression.

References:

Japan. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2011, from American Baby: http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/?page=4