Reflecting on Learning

As an early childhood professional it is my deepest hope that I can develop a strong partnership with families to provide a sturdy early childhood foundation for their children. To develop success it is important to know that it takes everyone. Therefore, one of the first things I intended to do is get to know the families. Letting them know that the environment is open and supportive as it is appropriate. I inspire to help children reach within themselves and strive to be the best that they can be with the support of their parents. Every child in any situation can learn. Knowing that children are impressionable at this time in their lives it is crucial to their success to provide them with respectful, safe and nurturing environment that truly supports them and their families. With that in mind it is my inspiration to provide the care and educationally services needed to generate more productive citizens in the community. I strongly feel that at this stage is where we as early childhood professional can make the biggest different in the lives of young children and their families.

I would like to take this time to graciously thank each of you for your contributions both on the blog and discussion boards. You have help to provide much insight into the field of early childhood for me. I really appreciated each of your comments as they were an inspiration to me. I wish each of you the best in your future endeavors and look forward to working with you all again.

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The area of the world I chose was Haiti. I chose this area because since the 2010 earthquake the United States has being a very strong supporter of this country. In addition, during that time Haiti was covered on news very often I recalled being quite disturbed by the images I saw of families and children and they attempted to recover from that devastation. It took back to Hurricane Katrina but much more in-depth. Living in the Mississippi area I was not directly affected by Hurricane Katrina in the manner of having to regroup and find shelter but it did affect the whole world indirectly. As a result of that I related devastation of the earthquake in Haiti and Hurricane Katrina and their effect on the world as similar.

Many children in Haiti began life with great challenges like the lack of love, care, nurturing, health and safety that they need to survive and grow because their caregiver lack the basic surrounding to sustain this. Poverty prevents caregiver from providing the minimal basic need for children. In most cases their environment does not provide enough resources to support their needs with regards to health care, nutrition and learning. The children and their families are left to live in inadequate housing and shelter.

Unfortunately as a result of this many of these challenges place barriers on children before they can develop. Children that are provided with the essential needs of life in the early stages develop healthy. Children that do not will be susceptible diseases and illness that compromise their development in their thinking language emotional and social skills.

As I learn more of the living conditions in Haiti as an early childhood professional my heart really aches for the children and their families living in these conditions. However if I encounter children within my environment facing these types of challenges I am committed to assisting with as many resources that I can find to support the family unit and the children. Knowing that this is a critical period in children’s lives for growth and development not only educationally but for life this insight has really made me further want to explore additional sources to support and nurture families.  Hurricane Katrina did not leave the United States in this turmoil. It was event that even today we are still struggling to overcome. The children and families in Haiti live this every day and for traumatic event to come forward only sets them back even more. Considering all of this I want to find ways to help the children in Haiti I had no real idea of their conditions and at the same time I am really committed to giving children a chance despite their challenges and circumstance. If they are able to overcome these struggle and make it into an early childhood community they deserve that much.

Reference

UNICEF(2012).Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

My thought regarding the topic of the sexualization of early childhood is it is unfortunate that this is a topic that has to be addressed so early in a young person life. However I view it as a necessary evil. One of the points made in the article is that children have always been curious regarding sex and sexuality early and though it is subject that many of us are uncomfortable discussing it crucial to young children as parents and teacher to answer the question honestly and age appropriately (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009). Children today are persistent in obtaining response to their curiosity with that in mind that they will get answers to their question but it may be more information than they need at their age or the wrong information.  I feel that we should not shy away from responding to their questions to control how much information they are exposed to at one time or another.

One of the first examples that come to mind was a four year reenacting one Michael Jackson videos. Amazing enough the child never missed a beat and was on point when it was time to grab or hold on to his private area as commonly done by Michael in his videos and dance routines. The next example took place in an early childhood environment when a little girl and boy about five years old were having a discussion as little kids do. Then the little girl told the little boy he was gay. The little boy not understanding what the little girl was saying to him asked his mother as soon as she picked him up what was gay. I could see the discomfort on her face however her response was we will discuss we get home. The next day the parent met with the director of center regarding the incident. The final example that further illustrates the exposure of young children to a highly sexualized environment is some of the dance moves that little girls are required to do in dance class. I recalled my daughter feeling uncomfortable regarding a dance move that was somewhat I would say explicit in a sexual manner. Apart of her concern was I have stress respect for yourself in everything you do. We watch video together and I pointed out things with her on the video that I feel are not appropriate. Feeling that it was inappropriate she was not comfort doing that move in the dance routine. Long story short she participate in the routine in a child friendly way that was respectful to her after careful discussion.

The implication this may have on children’s healthy development is children may be confuse by what is acceptable and unacceptable in terms of sexualization. As an early childhood professional it is important to address children concerns and question regarding sex. However I strongly feel that this should be a team effort with the parents because if the teacher and the parent are on different accords regarding what is social acceptable among children with concerns of sexualization; the final outcome is could lead to deviant behavior for the child or children as they grow into adulthood. Open and honesty is the most important factor anyone can offer a child or children regarding this topic and avoid making children feel like this something that is nasty and bad. Teach them to be proud and respectful of every aspect of their body and their nothing inappropriate about their bodies, but inappropriate things that can be done to their bodies.

This week I realize the need to discuss good touches and bad touches with children early. Prior to explore the topic this week I would not have considered discussing this topic with an early childhood age child. I feel that in order to adequately inform children on sexualization this is an area that should be included. Unfortunately children are being exposed to sexual explicit material regardless of how we attempt to keep it away from them. With that thought in mind we must age appropriately inform them on of what is consider good touches and bad touches so that they want become a victim of a pedophile. Children are very innocent and though their behavior may imply sexualization many of them are not aware of what their behavior implies. Therefore as we address their curiosity with regard to the different version of sexualization we have also inform them of the good and bad touches reduce their probability of becoming a victim.

Reference:

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf