Should Young Children Be Assessed?

When considering a commitment to viewing young children holistically a child's physical health should be assessed.  I'll take obesity for example.  Technology is improving rapidly and children are shying away from running and playing outdoors or even indoors.  This play allows a child to run off the food in which they consume.  Children eat more junk food so more running around is needed for them get rid of fat that maybe building up.  Overweight children more often have asthma, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol (Berger, 2012).  Over time it gets worse:  If they stay heavy, obese children risk diabetes, heart disease, and strokes and are less likely to marry, to find jobs, ad to live to old age.  Because of obesity, some children are not able to function well in school because they maybe getting picked on and laughed at from other children.  In 2007 the Australian government announced the development and promotion of healthy eating and physical activity guidelines for children.  These measures will form part of the government's plan for early childhood and plan for tackling obesity.  One quarter of all Australian children, or around 600,000 children age 5-17, were overweight.  The 2004 Australia's Physical Activity Recommendations for Children suggest that children aged 5-17 years of age need a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day .

Sources: 

Berger, K. S. (2012).  The developing person through childhood (6^th ed.).  New York, NY: Worth           Publishers.

World Health Organisation Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, Overweight and Obesity

viewed, (6 July 2009).  retrieved from: 

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/1301.0Chapter11062009%E2%80%9310 

Natural Disaster in Our World

Where I am living now in 2007 a tornado hit this small town.  It sort of happened out of nowhere and it was pretty catastrophic damaging our hospital and put a lot of people in danger that night.  I was actually going to school at the time and living on campus.  I remember this time like it was yesterday because I was playing baseball for the school and we was suppose to have a game that next day.  I have never experienced such silence before and that next day was so sad for a lot of people in this town.  Everyone was walking around looking at the damages this tornado caused.  I always seen it or heard about it on television, never was I expecting such pain from an innocent town.  It took a while for this to build up and we have just recently gotten the hospital back in full force last year I believe.  

Two out of every three people face hunger as Haiti woes increase (Sweet, 2013).  Research shows that in 1997, 1.2 million Haitians didn't have enough food to eat (Sweet, 2013).  A decade later the number had more than doubled.  Today, that figure is 6.7 million, or a staggering 67 percent of the population that goes without food some days, can't afford a balanced diet or has limited access to food, according to surveys by the governments' National Coordination of Food Security (Sweet, 2013).  As many as 1.5 million of those face malnutrition and other hunger-related problems.  The hardship of hunger abounds amid the stone homes and teepee-like huts in the mountains along Haiti's southern coast.  The hair on very skinny children has turned patchy and sort of orange, their stomachs have ballooned to the size of their heads and many look half their age which is a true sign of malnutrition (Sweet, 2013).     

Reference

Sweet, D. (2013, June 10).  Hunger in Haiti Worse Than Ever.  Retrieved from 

http://occupyamerica.crooksandliars.com/diane-sweet/hunger-haiti-worse-ever#sthash.SkIAVGlV.dpbs

Access to Healthy Water

This topic is extremely meaningful to me because healthy and clean water is the essential part of a healthy lifestyle.  Water makes up over 70 percent of our overall body and 75 percent of our brain, 80 percent of our blood and a whopping 96 percent of our liver.  Water is included in practically every facet of our health, and drinking ample quantities of clean water each day is crucial.  Shortages can have serious effects.  A 5 percent shrinkage in bodily fluids can cause a 25-30 percent loss of energy in the average person, and a 15 percent decrease in water can cause death.  It's not just the water we drink that is significant, but also water that we are visible to over bathing, cooking, and leisure events as well like swimming or fishing.  These contacts can disturb our health. When the streams are contaminated, fish and wildlife that depend on on those water systems are also affected.  Across the globe, access to clean water has grown into a major health problem.

In 2003, in discussion with First Nations, INAC and Health Canada established the First Nations Water Management Strategy (FNWMS) to guarantee First Nations communities have access to harmless, reliable drinking water and operational waste water amenities.  The Government of Candada is devoting $600 million over five years to advance water and water waste water services on reserves.  Funding will be used to offer new and advanced systems, expand management practices and upkeep the training and certification of workers.

Resources:
Arnoldsen, K.  Huntingdon Health and Wellness Association.  The Importance of Healthy Water.
Retrieved from http://hhwa.org/natural-conncetion-articles/97-the-importance-of-healthy-water

Access to Clean, Reliable Water Essential To Healthy First Nations Communities.
Retrieved from http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100021600/1100100021604

Birthing Experience

I don't remember my birthing experience but my mother told me something very interesting.  Before I was born my older sister use to hit my mother in the stomach, not hard just playing around because she was only 6 years older than me and she was really cling to my mother.  I have a little knot on top of my head and to this day my mother, sister, and cousins tease me saying I have this because my sister was hitting me on top of the head in my mothers stomach.  Nothing came about from it because I came out perfectly normal.  My mother explained to me how she used to read to me while in her stomach and play educational songs that dealt with counting and different stories.  I believe this is why I love education so much and have always loved to read.  I believe it is very important to go about birth in a positive manner and to take care of the body.  A child can be affected by things that go on around before they even come out.  If we listen to the doctors and take every step to perfection, I honestly believe a child's development will be a success.

In China for the last 25 years they have sought to curb the growth of its vast population by restricting many couples to having just one child.  More women are taking fertility medicine to help them become pregnant (Gu Ling, director of Maternal and Child Hygiene) reported.  Seems to me it doesn't matter how many we have in the U.S. compared to China.  Having one child has been promoted as ideal and the limit has been strongly enforced in urban areas, the actual implementation varies from location to location.  In most rural areas, families are allowed to have two children, if the first child is female, or disabled.

Sources: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4708432.stm

A Professional Thanks!!!

I must say this has been a great start towards our quest to graduation.  Honestly, I was nervous coming into this online experience, but working with you all made me realize I am not in it alone.  I really appreciate all the feedback and encouraging words from all and I wish everyone the best of luck as we move forward.  Lets continue to encourage each other and collaborate as much as we can to make things easier and exciting.  Always remember,  Each one, Teach one.

Code of Ethics

I-1.3—To recognize and respect the unique qualities,

abilities, and potential of each child.

I-1.10—To ensure that each child’s culture, language,
ethnicity, and family structure are recognized and

valued in the program.

-1.1—To be familiar with the knowledge base of early
childhood care and education and to stay informed

through continuing education and training.

The reason I chose these three conducts is because I feel they are very important for a successful program to be ran.  As professional educators it is important to understand the uniqueness and difference in every child's ability.  Each child is going to be different and as educators we must respect their qualities to ensure further success.  With that being said each child will come from different backgrounds so as professional educators we have to make it as comfortable as possible so they can want to educate themselves.  I want the best for each and every child that comes my way so I need to be knowledgeable about the early childhood field and take pride in remaining well-versed through continuing learning and preparation. 

Course Resources

The Early Childhood field has great resources for families, children and even professionals in the field to view and learn about.  Through my college experience I have had tons of valuable resources to view to.  Here are three resources that I have found to be interesting.

• http://www.makinglearningfun.com/index.html.  This is a great site that can be used by teachers, children, or parents.  Has cool activities and plenty of themes to help jump start an idea.
• http://www.naccp.org/.  This is the National Association of Child Care Professionals.  They provide valuable programs and resources for professionals who are out to lead our young children as well as other professionals.
• http://www.pbs.org/parents/.  Good source for parents, teachers and kids.  I recommend this site to all that is in the Early Childhood field.