Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

I opted to choose my husband's childhood developmental experiences. His developmental experiences as a child have had a profound effect on his entire life. Although the assignment required that only one of the more common stressors be chosen, they are all collectively interrelated. After discussing this assignment with my husband he openly shared his experience from his point of view. He felt that it was extremely difficult to focus on one stressor. His main focal point was on abandoment. He stated that within the boundaries of his childhood he experienced many stressors. He began by talking about how chaotic his life began from birth. Neither one of his parents wanted the responsibilty of taking care of him. His father was already married and his mother was looking for love/companionship. This situation resulted in him being placed with family members and friends on his mother side. He felt his life was a natural disaster. No love, no affection, no stability, and no attention which lead to isolation. He was being exposed to sexual explortation,illegal drugs, gambling, and gang activity. He told me that until he met me that his life was empty and that he hungered for love, affection and direction. His mother suffered from the disease commonly known today as chronic alcoholism. As a result of her drunken behavior , he was constantly at war with many men that violently had there way with his mother. At the age of eleven he was sent to live with his father. There he met his sister who was two months younger than him, a step brother four years older, and a step mother that did  not want him there. His siblings had no prior knowledge of his existence, how ever they accepted him. His father would constantly tell him to come out of his shell. My husband said he felt like a tortoise and frequently retreated inside his shell to avoid the noise and maltreatment inflicted by his step mother. He had an aunt who lived in the area and she loved him dearly. When he visited her and she hugged him he would take her hugs home with him and used them when he needed affection. To cope he would bite his nails, eat until he became stuffed. His chaotic childhood led to low self esteem, no ambition, worthlesness, obesity, high blood pressure and finally kidney failure. At the age of 59 my husband began to actively and openly ask god to help rid him of his childhood memories and his unforgiving nature. Believe it or not my husband has finally found peace in his life.

                                                            
                                                                 India and Children's stressor

Many children in india are called street children. They truly live on the street. These children are repeatedly exposed to maltreatment ranging from child labor, child trafficking, sexual explortation and many other forms of violence and abuse. Many of the street children in metro cities in india fall victim to substance abuse. The drug of choice is what we call correction fluid. More than half the children on the street are illiterate. Most of the street children in big cities belong to migrant families from small places. The families are hoping to find employment. Child right activist have censured the indian goverment for its lax policies regarding neglected children including the national policy on child labour. They said the government has failed to do enough to stop the growing epidemic of homeless children. Some of the children were interviewed and they stated the reason we use drug including correction fluid, shoe polish, tobacco and whitener is because it help us with the stress of living on the street. It numbs us and helps us relieve tension.

Reference

PressTV. (7/19/2013). Nearly all street children in India face abuse, study shows. Retrieved From http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/07/19/314515/study-india-street-kids-face-abuse.

EBSCO Host Industries.(2013) Substance abuse among street children in Mumbai. Retrieved From http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/detail?sid=522508.

Breast Feeding

  Breast feeding is a chance of giving your child immunity to so many diseases. The way this is accompolished is that the baby  gets the mothers antibodies and that protects the child. Both of my children were breastfeed the first year of their lives. This life sustaining act of nursing serves multiple purposes. The most important purposes to me was that my children were healthy the first year of their livesand continue to be. Breastfeeding allowed bonding to take place, synchrony and a secure attatchment was definitely there.
  Mothers in South Africa are encouraged to stop breast feeding their children if any problem appear and they are told to start giving formula. The health care providers lack the skills needed to give support and offer advice. If the mother is HIV positive there is more uncertainty. Some counselors are confused about what the correct practices regarding HIV and feeding practices. Until recently the world health organization (WHO) advised HIV-positive mothers to advoid breastfeeding if they were able to afford, prepare and store formula milk safely. Research have since emerged in south africa that a combination of antiretroviral and breastfeeding can significantly reduce the transmission of HIV to babies. The antiretroviral drug has to be taken throughout breastfeeding and until twelve months old. This drug allows the child the benefits of being nursed. It is still a challanged to change the engrained culture of formula feeding in south africa. The general idea of people in South Africa is that there is no need to breast feed when you can give formula. South africa is one of the countries that gives formula away free. The organization giving away the formula thought they were doing a good deed trying to stop the spread of HIV.The unforseen consequences was that mother that were not affected by HIV started to use formula also. In south africa there is a belief that formula was superior to breast milk. The marketing campaign clams that formula contains special ingredients that improves the babies health. After four months of maternity leave mother that are working outside the home are not encouraged to pump there milk so babies can still get the best nutrition.
    I was enlightened concerning the practices of breastfeeding in South Africa. I can not do much about the situation in South africa. I can try and encourage breast feeding even more than I do know. In my family child care program I can get material for my parents to have. I will also become more knowledgeable about the and speak to all that will listen.

References
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/88/1/10-030110/en/

I was in labor for quite a few hours. My contraction were coming every fifteen minutes or so. A few hours later they were a little bit closer and off to the hospital we went. Upon arrival at the hospital they did a couple of test. My water had not broke and I had dialated only two centmeters. They sent me back home. The next morning about 5:30 the contractions were stronger and closser together. Off to the hospital we went again. More test were done my water still had not  broke and I had not dialated any more. I was in labor for another six hours. My son became distressed he had turned his self around and the umblical cord was wrapping around his neck. I was told at that time that i had to have an emergency c-section. When I heard that news i cried. We had taken classes preparing to have a natural birth. On march14,1979 a 9lb 2ounces baby boy was born.It was one of the happiest days of my life.That is why I choose this birth my first child. I feel birth has a great implact on child development. Beside having to have a c-section the birth was great. I believe if he was not taken he may of had developmental delays. I also feel if the mother takes care of her self the child has a better chance of developing properly. The region of the world i decided to compare was china. In China during the pregnancy all of the furniture has to be left alone and no pictures should be hung on the wall because they belive it can bring harm to the baby.The first born childs birth the father is not allowed to be present or plays any role in labor or delivery. The father is allowed at subsequent births. The pregnant womans mother is present at the first birth.They do not give any pain medication instead they drink a special tea to help with the pain.They are taught to breath and are given messages to help reduce pain. It is believed if you eat only hot foods and beverage it keeps the balance of Qi (life force or spiritual energy).
The difference is that we encourage dads to be part of the labor and delivery process. We are also taught how to breath during labor to help relax you. I feel the chinese culture has a lot in common with our birthing techniques. Using other methods instead of drugs is wonderful.