Impacts on Early Emotional Development

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

UNICEF in Latin America and the Caribbean

Throughout my life, I have occasionally observed the unfairness and treatments that we have become victims of here in the U.S, only to realize that we are one of the most privileged countries in America, unlike many others. Being young and uneducated on the harsh realities of children and families in other countries of the world, I have gained a new perspective. I am sure many of us have never been outside the U.S. to actually witness how difficult it is to survive in some countries. Gladly, I was allowed the opportunity to choose a country to elaborate on the misfortunes and challenges that would affect the emotional development of children living in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Threats to Child Survival and Development

HIV/AIDS and Children

      According to the UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund). “It is estimated that 68,000 children (less than 15 years) and 740,000 adolescents (15-24 years) are living with HIV. “, which 90% of this infection was passed from the mother (2011). The UNICEF has and is working and providing many services assist in eliminating the epidemic of the spread of HIV/AIDS as well as the awareness and affects of the lives of children.
•strengthening PMTCT services
•providing pediatric treatment
•preventing infection
•supporting children affected by AIDS
•strengthening the participation of adolescents in prevention and intervention activities
•evaluating existing services to determine disparities in access to information and services

(UNICEF, 2011)

Emergencies

         Emergencies, as of Natural disasters can leave a negative impact on the lives of young children. “In a region already prone to natural disasters, the impact of climate change is an additional threat, further endangering the lives of children and families, inflicting an insidious toll.” (UNICEF, 2011). When a young child experiences incidents such as these, it can be quite traumatizing for them. Not being able to fully understand the reason why things of this sort happens to them can leave them in a state of depression, not to mention the possibility of living in poverty, or losing a family member from death or separation.

It always breaks my heart to hear or see that children are facing trials that are usually beyond their control. Thanks for the UNICEF, they have made a way support the children and families as well.

Learning of situations such as these, should make us all become even more thankful than what we are for having what we have, because some have less than us. I pray for these children and families.

 References

UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/

 

 

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

 

 

When it comes to inputting on the topic of the sexualization of early childhood, in all honesty, I must admit that I am not shocked at all about the comments and sayings of young children and their exposure to sexuality that society has placed upon them, The most saddening part about this issue is that many of the people and companies that portray images for the sake of children are solely that are responsible for their actions. Sadly, children face so many manipulative perpetrators, who use different hosts in disguise to send subliminal messages of sex, in which they fall victim of becoming familiar with their sexuality at such young ages. "Children growing up today are bombarded from a very early age with graphic messages about sex and sexiness in the media and popular culture." (Levin & Kilbourne, 2009).

 

From a personal perspective, I can recall witnessing how young girls are dressed up by their parents, fashion designers and makeup artists just to be on live television to compete with other young girls. the lengths that these parents go and use their children for entertainment purposes is a sad case overall. the picture above in this post depicts the many enhancements that a child goes through to resemble a "beautiful woman" As you can see, this child looks no more than about nine years old. Television shows nowadays show more physical attraction than ever, even for children. kissing scenes in cartoons are just absurd and possibly give children to impression that it is ok to kiss someone you like. dating scenes with middle school children, give children the idea that they should have a boyfriend/girlfriend. Life is moving too fast with all of the sexual perceptions and children are tying their best to follow the trend.

 

The impacts on children and the sexualization in early childhood can be lead to very negative impacts, such as accessibility to pedophiles and rape, young girls becoming pregnant too early, and many other factors. when children grow up too fast, they many see the need to run away from home, drop out of school, or possibly become addicted to drugs.

 

It is very necessary to monitor our children and see that they are disengaged to such sexualization as much as possible. with the high ratings of sexuality among us now, we may see it as impossible to conquer such a task, but speaking with them and guiding them in the right path can be a first step to eliminating such an issue.

 

References

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
 

 

 

 



Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

 

Being one that has experienced many issues regarding the biases of others that failed to respect and consider the personal identity of myself, I recall suffering consequences that were beyond my control. Therefore, with being an early childhood educator and working with a multi-cultural group with diverse, personal and family cultures and identities, I can imagine the forms of biases and inequalities that these children and families.

Just to pinpoint the hardships of transnational families. I feel that they can relate to feelings that may tragically effect their well-being and social identities. “Transnational families face many of the same challenges as immigrant families— adapting to a new culture, learning a new language, locating suitable and affordable housing, seeking jobs, and adjusting to the educational and larger societal systems. (Enu Kyeong, C. Chen, D. W. & Sunghee, S. 2010).

With prejudice comes neglect and with neglect leads to inequity. When families are bypassed by receiving services due to their class, family income or language, etc., this can cause an effect in their well-being. I have witnessed families that lived in poverty-stricken environments to be left behind in the chances of seeking an education. Situations such as these can make a huge impact on the outcome of a family’s future. Religion-ism is one that I highly expect families to expect. As most of us know that Christianity is known as a dominant religion, in which America caters to, there are families of different religions and cultures which can cause a wide range of biases towards one family to the other, no respect for the values and beliefs of each other and no consideration either. “In everything they do, families communicate their cultures values, beliefs, rules, and expectations to their children” (Derman-Sparks & Olsen, 2010).

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Eun Kyeong, C., Chen, D. W., & Sunghee, S. (2010). Supporting transnational families. YC: Young Children, 65(4), 30-37. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database: http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?