Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Poverty

    As a child growing up the process is difficult enough without other complications, which would be called stressors, to make it a little more challenging. Poverty at some level is very prevalent in most societies, and children are under stress though they may not know at such a young age. Poverty can be a combination of nowhere to live, no money or just enough to get the necessities, little food to each etc. Children living in poverty are dearly affected because they may not be getting what is needed to excel at school, develop physically, their hygiene may not be the best which can affect their social activities. I have seen children who are greatly affected by poverty, it causes them not to have school uniforms, attendance at school was low, and learning was not always their priority but more so to gain attention through giving trouble. Most of these children would end up not completing school or would barely get through school with little education. Then on the rare occasion some children see the need to get out of poverty and try to make the best out of their situation, and make the best out of school. The children who did not finish school may end up doing drugs, stealing, or violence, while the children who pushed pass their stressor would seek to find a job and further educate themselves while working. Though a child’s environment affects their decisions as they grow up, some responsibility is still on them for the decisions they make.

Guyana is a country within the Caribbean region; it is one of the biggest if not the biggest Caribbean country and it has great sources such as gold, bauxite, timber and sugar. Within Guyana the stressors that affect children are poor health, poverty, and the economic status of the country.  These three stressors that I have identified are a result of the economic status of the country, thereby resulting in lack of jobs for the majority of the population, and because of the poverty that arises, health care is not necessarily first priority for the majority of the population encountering poverty. The ways they have been trying to improve Guyana, is by providing opportunities to open new jobs for their unemployed population. In doing so this would improve the money flow within the economy, thereby improving the economic status somewhat. It can be said that each stressor is caused by another, not in all cases but in most, therefore when one is improved there should be a ripple effect. 

Child Development & Public Health

Malnutrition is defined as the lack of proper nutrition, which is usually caused by not having sufficient to eat or not having enough of the right foods to provide the necessary nutrients. The reason this topic is significant to me is because in today’s society everyone is either trying to lose weight or just aiming to live a healthier life. In the midst of our goals and aims, there are children out there who are not receiving enough food to allow them to live a healthy life. Also with in our schools, the children do not seem to be very appreciative of the blessing that they have called food. Majority of children do not eat a lot of food, I myself as a child did not like food, but to imagine all the food that is discarded on a daily basis meanwhile children in countries like Haiti are suffering because of the lack of nutrition.

In Haiti, where suffering seems to be an ongoing unfortunate way of life, malnutrition is very prevalent throughout the country. The following is recorded in Haiti:

·         One in 10 children die before the age of 5

·         Malnutrition is the leading cause of death among children

·         One third of 1 year olds show signs of severe growth retardation

·         40% of all 5 year olds have stunted growth and brain development

·         Malnutrition contributes to 60% of all deaths in children

A society losing their children so rapidly is a hindrance on the country’s future. The children are meant to grow up to be great citizens of a nation; instead these children in Haiti do not have the nutrition readily available in order to have normal brain development, thereby being able to provide for the country’s needs.

In today’s society children in my country, Barbados, have a privilege to food. In government nursery and primary schools, lunch is provided for a cost of $1 per week. Despite these privileges, some children do not have an appreciation or knowledge of the importance of having a balance diet. To my lack knowledge I have learnt that some Barbados children suffer from malnutrition and according to the studies this can lead to ADHD. Therefore in my future interactions with children and their parents, it would be important to emphasize the urgency of providing the child with a balance diet so they can make good use to the education provided to them. Also to encourage healthy nutrition during the prenatal stages, since this too affects the child in the long run.

  

Childbirth in Your Life and Around the World

I don't have a personal experience of birth, and I know few details of my own birth. So I am just going to relate to the pregnancy and birth of a close friend's daughter, though I was not there for the birth itself. When my friend first became pregnant I was in disbelief and happy at the same time, reason for my disbelief is because i didn't expect her and her husband to have a child just yet. It was wonderful to see the baby growing inside her, though I am not aware of all the events that took place during that period, I do know I was elated to feel the baby kick. The process of pregnancy is a sacrificial one, what a mother has to do just to be sure they have a healthy baby, such as taking iron tablets which me friend hated. On the 24th July 2007, the day my friend's baby was born, I was sure to there the evening just to see the baby and her, after their 24 hour labour process.

The country I've chosen is Haiti. Giving birth in Haiti can be an extra life or death situation more so than in other countries. The reason for this is because of the level of poverty that exists in the country, and because of the poverty very few can afford to receive the care needed during the pregnancy and thereby the care while in labour. This situation causes the women to have to give birth at home, with untrained midwives, and the use of  home remedies, which aren't always bad, but without the necessary medical attention needed some of these mothers die after giving birth. Poverty and devastation has caused upon Haiti, yet they somehow still have great hope.

The main difference between the two is the medical care received or lack there of, the access of medical care is free in Barbados, while in Haiti they have to pay though they have nothing to pay with. Therefore that's the reason for the lack of medical attention given to most expecting mothers. Since in Haiti giving birth may lead to the death of the mothers, this will indeed affect the development in more ways than one. There will be no breast feeding, no natural mother to interact with while growing up which can have devastating effects as the child grows up.