My Supports

My Supports

Similar to my post about my important relationships, my husband, mother and friends provide many essential supports for me daily. My greatest support is certainly my husband. Financially, he earns the most to support our family with a home, vehicles and more. My job supports our need to have groceries, household goods, clothes and shoes as well as be available for our children. Overall, we are a team, we care for our family financially, and we do our best to meet all our children’s and each other’s needs together. Additionally, he is a jack of all trades and is able to fix or build anything we need, saving us worry and money. Most importantly, he is my emotional support; when I am feeling down or stressed he picks me up with his silliness, help and love. My mother, my in-laws and my friends are additional sources of support to care for my children, as well as emotional support. A friendly rapport, and good advice is often needed from friends to maintain sanity! I am certain that if we were in a time of need my friends  and extended family would help with my children, our meals, running around, and even financial needs. It is a blessing to know you have caring people in your life.

Our jobs provide financial comfort, providing us with the means to have all other necessary physical supports. Having a home and vehicles are essential layers of support for our family as well. We have chosen to live in an area where public transportation does not exist, so vehicles are essential for work and running errands. Around the house there is always a lot to do. Having a plan to involve all family members with keeping up the house allows me to keep my sanity. I believe sharing the household responsibilities is a necessary support within a family. There are probably a few dozen things that I could point out as being essential in my day to day life, things like my tea kettle and such, my refrigerator, beds, my computer and cell phones. Each time one of these is broken or missing I am reminded how much I rely on these tools for supporting life as I know it. The times I have been without a computer and needed to drive to the library for computer tasks I was grateful that it was only temporary. Similarly, the times I have been without a cell phone, and had to find a rare payphone or rely on the kindness of strangers, I was again grateful for those supports, and that it was only temporary.

I cannot really fathom a life without my supports. However, I do know that life goes on, you adjust to the loss, and you find new sources to support new needs. I know this because three year ago we received a life changing call to tell us my sister had lost her leg in a motorcycle accident. She spent nearly two years in military hospital recovery programs, with our mother by her side. Our mother left her career and threw financial stability out the window to care for her child. My parents ended up relying on a lot of charitable help to keep their home, while my father worked to make as much money as he could, and adjust to living alone for a while. They relied on friends, family and military supports in many ways. Meanwhile, my sister adjusted to life on one leg. First living in the hospital, then back with our parents; ramps were built, crutches, prosthetics, wheel chairs and many other devices and tools were purchased to make life accessible again. A very long journey, a many layers of support later, she is now successfully living on her own, in a home she bought for herself. In her own home she made everything as accessible as possible on her level while in her wheelchair. It is a work in progress. She had to retire from the Marine Corps, and started a new career, only to realize a desk job  really was not right for her. As she uses a service dog to support her both physically and emotionally, she decided to follow her passion and open a dog training kennel business. I am amazed daily at her drive to go on and follow her passion even though it is full of physical difficulties. Life goes on if you feel you have the emotional, physical, and financial support and mental strength to persevere. 

My Connections to Play

      These images are my connections to play. That “It’s a Beautiful Day” quote very much reminds me of how my mother would send us off to play outside. As a very young child I have few memories (I think I have a memory problem). I do recall believing I could fly if I just jumped high enough; and practicing that for hours on end at my home or my grandmother’s home. I recall playing outside unattended in the yard for long periods of time, though I am certain mom was peeking out the window occasionally. The home I most recall from my childhood was in a middle class rural neighborhood, right next to a patch of “woods.” The land had been deemed wetlands, and therefore could not be built upon. I moved into the home in third grade, immediately made friends with the girl on the other side of the woods, and we created paths between our houses through the woods.  Traveling in the woods almost daily inspired us to build a fort there. We scoured the wooded area and out homes for random bits and pieces, and with the help of other neighborhood children, we build a fort out of lumber and mattresses and no idea what else! We spent hours in those woods, very much left to our own devices. We could go to my house for a drink and food, or return home when called in for dinner. Though, most of those early years it seemed my friend almost lived at my house! Later, I recall my mom being nervous about granting my sister and I neighborhood bike riding limits; but eventually she gave in and allowed us to roam the adjacent neighborhood which still had no “main roads” with traffic. This opened us up to more friends. Then, of course we asked for further boundaries, and were eventually allowed to ride “into town” where I could visit the little shops to buy gifts and trinkets. I enjoyed the freedom of play, of being left to self-entertain, persevere, and problem solve.

(Side Note: You might be surprised to hear that I am a “millennial.” Many people do not realize that silly generation term covers a few years of the 80’s in which children were still playing plenty!)

      Fortunately, this is the way I am trying to raise my children. We also live next to a patch of wetland woods, where they play relatively freely. We live at the end of a “dead-end” street, so there is no traffic, and plenty of space to ride bikes. Soon, I think I will have to allow my oldest to venture off our street alone with her bike. For now, the neighborhood kids tend to come to us because as a home based child care there are plenty of kids to have fun with any afternoon! I am grateful to be able to provide these opportunities for my own children, my clients, and the children in my neighborhood. The social skills, cooperation, perseverance and many other skills being developed are obvious and amazing.

      Sadly, this is not the childhood of the majority of children today. Many children live in areas where free play outside is not an option. Many parents fear the dangers of leaving children to their own devices outside, or even the consequences of allowing messes inside. Honestly, I gawked the first time a five year old walked all the way across the neighborhood to play at our house. Then, I reminded myself we are in a safe neighborhood, with little traffic. As long as he is mostly with his big brother (they part ways at the top of our street to visit different friends), and they both know to walk/ride on the side, my studies have taught me that it is very important that he have the opportunity to engage in social, free play with other children.

       

       Inside is a whole other situation! As a child stuck inside, I played with creative toys such as Legos, building an elaborate town, or knitting outfits for my Barbie’s fashion show. My parents did not buy a computer until I was probably near twelve, and then it had maybe two games I would play occasionally. They did provide me with some perseverance as well because they were tough to beat! Alternatively, my husband (who is the same age,) played video games for hours beginning at age three. His grandmother thought it would give him the dexterity to become a surgeon! He does have amazing ability hand eye coordination, ambidextrous dexterity, and perseverance. No one taught him how to beat the game, he was also left to his own devices, determined to be successful.

      Today, children seem to choose inside over outside often; and fewer parents are sending children outside whether they want to or not. I know I certainly did not initially want to be sent outside all the time! Now, selecting from a variety of screen options, tablets, television, phones, video games, and computers; some choose ways to zone out, others to tackle a game and win. Either way it seems the big-picture consequences are concerning; with suicide by children and adolescents greatly increased, and the number of children on medications for mental illnesses also greatly increased. Again I am left grateful that I am providing the materials, space, and limits that I think are right for my children to allow them to develop as a whole child.

      

      I believe we learn through “play.” I believe in engaging in an activity for fun, because we want to, because we want to be successful or create something, because it provides us with a sense of peace, happiness, excitement, or pride. I believe play both relaxes and engages the mind, opening it to learning much more than when forced to focus on something uninspiring. I am certain that those adults who are inventing, designing, building wonderful new things everyday feel inspired and “at play” through their work. I would imagine each of those type of people grew up with similar play freedom as I did. For me, crafting, setting up play stations, toy towns and such is fun, and now as an adult I am blessed to be able to share that fun with children through my choice of occupation.  

The following quotes, which I love, provide more insight to my perspective on play.

Relationships

       I enjoy the support of several wonderful and important relationships; first my husband, and my mother, then several friends who are mothers going through the same general things as I am. My husband Dan is my first and foremost partner in life. Dan and I met in third grade when I moved to our now home-town. While we have various memories of childhood together, such as riding the same school bus, we were not really friends. In junior year, by chance, my small group of preppy girlfriends and I shared a long cafeteria table with a goth group of guys in a heavy metal band, Dan was among them. They were silent and withdrawn everywhere in school, except while having fun together at lunch. I was drawn to their silliness. I began spending time sitting between the two groups. Eventually, I stopped by band practice. Finally, one day (when we were sixteen) Dan got up the guts to start a conversation with me online, during which his little sister, posing as him, asked me to go out with him. I said yes, and now sixteen years later I am truly blessed to have him as a partner in life.

        Throughout the steps of becoming adults and finding who we are, we have grown together. We married nearly ten years ago, and enjoy raising our two wonderful children together. I feel strongly that it takes work to make any relationship last long term. He wants nothing but our happiness, and will seek ways to achieve that. Dan’s silliness still helps calm me or lighten the mood when the going gets tough. He is also very serious about providing for his family. When I say it takes work, I mean that we actively try to understand and support each other; we make time for each other as well. We engage in conversation about important things, life things, worldly things, silly things, child rearing things, work things, and so on. When we have a problem we talk about it, sometimes loudly, usually not. But we work through it, never letting trouble sit without a solution; never going to sleep or our separate ways without a loving goodbye. We spend most evenings together in comfortable companionship, watching TV, or him playing a game or watching sports, me working or grocery shopping online! We are both able to divide and share responsibilities, and be there for the kids. Every couple months we book a date together without the kids. Every few weeks we try to spend family time together doing something especially fun with the kids. Daddy also takes time to be with the kids himself, as I am home with them a lot. Daddy time may be the normal night of HW, dinner and bath while mommy works, or it may be a fun movie or doughnut date for the kids. We encourage the children to have a loving and considerate team relationship with each other as well. I believe Dan and I model a very healthy example of what a relationship should be for our children to see and learn from.

        My mother is one of my best friends, she definitely qualifies as a partner. She and I think a lot alike, and while I have enjoyed her company likely all of my life, I appreciate her company even more as an adult and a mother. While I tell my husband everything, he is not a talker, and I do not always like his problem solving perspective (even if he is almost always right!) I am very fortunate to be able to call my mom to talk through any problem; and she does the same. We support each other in business and school, and life’s little things. There is no reason for us to not share and help each other, as we are now both adults, often dealing with the same things. She is even in online college as well, so now we have that in common! My mother is an amazing woman, and I am grateful to have her support, honesty and love.

       My friends who are also mothers are an amazing source of support. I have formed friendly relationships with the mothers of my child care clients, and it makes business much more pleasant. I think that having those lines of communication open is very helpful. That said, my most special friendships are with a few wonderful ladies I have known for years. I am very grateful to have these women to turn to when I need help or guidance. I love that we are all just as busy, forgetful, considerate, helpful, and focused on our children at this time in our lives. We can touch base, and it is okay if it takes a couple hours or days to hear back. We can get together with the kids or just us moms. Maintaining these relationships takes effort too. One must be a considerate listener. This is a tough one because there is a difference in listening to understand and listening to respond. Most often people listen to respond, probably because we have a lot in common and want to connect to ourselves. However, sometimes just listening and being supportive is what a friend needs. My friends and I can go months without seeing each other and still grab a lunch date that turns into four hours of conversation. There is never shortage of topics to talk about with people you have this much in common with. And we will hound each other to take that mommy time because we all know we need it!

        These relationships provide me with the support to get through anything. As we are a home based child care, my relationships with my husband, mother, and friends are often exposed to the children in my care. I feel confident that we are presenting positive examples of relationships. I have positive relationships with my parent clients as well. I think the children are well aware that the lines of communication are open between all the adults (I text or talk with every parent multiple times per week if not per day.) Initially, when studying this topic I found myself wondering, was I supposed to befriend all of my child care clients? Is that professional? I am friendly, and supportive, I provide advice when needed or asked for. I even seek advice occasionally. I have not chosen to extend our friendships into activities that are not centered on our children. Thinking back however, I can see how I missed opportunities to establish better, and more child focused relationships with children and parents in my experiences as an elementary school teacher and a child care provider. While, I have touched on most of the bases, I can see room for improvement with included all of the Principles for Parent-Teacher Relationships as detailed in the piece Staying In Step within my practice (Raikes & Edwards, 2009). I feel I could do more to improve my relationship approach with the children in my care and their parents. Since reading about this approach I have already begun attempting to restructure my relationship with the children in my care, and I look forward to seeing positive results. I am also going to restart a forgotten practice of sharing a short daily report for parents to know about meals, potty time, and learning experiences each day. I look forward to having more child-focused conversation with my clients as well. Additionally, one point I especially appreciated was the authors clarifying that forming a partnership with parents does not necessarily mean forming a friendship (Raikes & Edwards, 2009). With that in mind, I feel as though I am doing well in this important area of relationship building.

References

Raikes, H. H., & Edwards, C. P. (2009). Staying In Step Supporting Relationships With Familes. Young Children, 50-55. Retrieved from: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org.

When I think of Child Development

When I think of child development… I think of the whole child, I think of learning through play, I think of reading books, and smiling together. I think of healthy food, family time, and outdoor explorations. I created a Wordle, a word cloud, by typing the words I feel are important in the practice of child development. Additionally, I have an affinity for quotes about children and reading and such, so I enjoyed searching for a few favorites and a few new ones to encompass the thoughts I find most important in regards to developing the whole child into a wonderful human being. 

Testing Children in Schools

The use of testing is a strongly debated topic. Many firmly believe in the need for standardized testing, while others stand as firmly against it. Proponents of testing insist that proper testing is imperative to monitor children’s learning for strengths and weaknesses, for all involved to be informed about the school’s achievement, and to be able to hold educators accountable (Walberg, 2011). Opponents to testing have many arguments including that testing is driving the focus of teaching, and taking away from what teachers know are the best practices for teaching and learning. Personally, I stand in the middle. I agree there should be some source of assessment data to compare states, but disagree that that data should come from high stakes standardized tests. I am very frustrated by the focus on test preparation, even for young children, and how that has in many cases stolen time for creative thinking, higher order thinking, arts, physical play, and social interactions; all of which any good educator knows are imperative to developing a whole child well.

In an attempt to gather data, a necessary item in today’s analytical and competitive society, I believe there are several ways education systems could do so without harming good teaching and student’s well-being. One example is that of the New York Performance Standards Consortium (Wallace, 2016). It is a collection of schools in New York, which draw data from teacher-created and/or performance-based assessments rather than standardized tests. These types of assessments will assess understanding at a higher and more real-life level. People often complain that students are not being prepared for real life. Maybe that is because they spend months of every year being prepared for multiple choice tests. I am fairly certain there are not many opportunities to use multiple choice test taking skills in the workforce. However there are many opportunities to evaluate, analyze, synthesize, and apply knowledge through essay writing or project completion; hence, demonstrating higher order thinking rather than only knowledge and comprehension based understanding (see Bloom’s taxonomy for details.) Teachers assess their students in many ways throughout the year, then assuming states are using strong standards and rubrics to guide their teaching and assignments, this type of organized assessment could be very successful.

The countries of the world seem to enjoy comparing their testing scores to each other. Interestingly, while these comparisons which are given much weight, in actuality it does not make much sense when you really think about. The United States compares itself as one country to other countries, when in reality the US is made up of 51 separate and very different school systems (Rosales, 2015). Each system having different socioeconomics, different cultural implications, and different standards for learning. It would make much more sense to compare an individual state to another country, or compare states with other states. More recent studies have realized this and done exactly that. Interestingly, when states with strong standards were compared with other countries, we ranked very well (Wilde, 2015). Another point to consider as to why comparing the US to other countries provides an incorrect picture, is that the US has rules to protect children of all abilities to receive a main stream education. Our inclusion of all disabilities, along with socioeconomic levels within every school system may not be matched by the countries we are comparing ourselves to. In other countries, does everybody attend school and take the tests, or just the children who can afford to attend school? Do children with disabilities, or ELL children take the tests in these other countries?

A few points really struck me while considering the data of comparing the US to other countries. While overall the US ranked 11^th in math and science when compared with other countries through TIMSS, the data gets more interesting when you look at states as individual school systems (National Center for Education Statistics , 2013). First, all 51 US school systems reached the intermediate benchmark in both math and science. Further, in comparison to the TIMSS average of 500, in math 36 states scored higher, and 47 states scored higher in science. When comparing each state with the other countries in Figure 3-A, many of our states placed 6^th, 8^th, and 10^th in mathematics on the TIMSS. For science, Figure 6-A demonstrates that Massachusetts ranked 2^nd, and Vermont ranked 4^{th (National Center for Education Statistics , 2013)}.

All of that aside, it could be beneficial to dive into the “why” and “how” aspects of the higher ranking countries’ approaches to education. Are they in school longer or less? How do their learning standards compare to ours? How does their funding compare? How much play and self-guided learning time is allotted. How do their teacher preparation programs and pay scales compare to ours? While many Asian countries hold the highest rankings, Finland is often looked toward as an example of a high ranking and seemingly happy place for learning. In Finland children start school at age seven, the entire school system follows the same curriculum, and grades are assessed only in high school (Wilde, 2015). The focus seems to be on learning as an experience. Personally, I admire many of their approaches. Still, I recognize that they are an entirely different country from ours, and their model could not translate here without a complete overhaul of other aspects of the government as well. In that regard, one other thought I have had while considering all of this is, how different are the governments of these countries we are comparing ourselves to? And how many of the countries out ranking the US on math, science or reading have socialized health care? I believe I will look into that thought soon. 

The following are a few quotes I found to be especially interesting and driving in my research. 

“Another area where Finland is homogeneous is in school funding. All of Finland’s schools receive the same per-pupil funding, in contrast to the United States where school funding is based upon a complex formula that uses a local-funding component and creates inequities between affluent and poor communities.” (Wilde, 2015)

“The United States attempts to deliver an adequate and equal education through high school to all of its citizens. India, although it produces many scientists and engineers, provides a low-quality primary and secondary education to much of its population. Just 40% of children in India enter high school.” (Wilde, 2015)

“it must be remembered that tests simply collect information and that they are only as valuable as the quality of the information collected and the way that information is utilized. Tests should not take center stage in the classroom, particularly at the expense of meaningful learning time. Schools should design assessment schedules, as well as overall schooling, in ways that maximize the learning experience and foster the positive development of students.” (Lazarin, 2014)

“Used properly, high-quality assessments can be a valuable tool for teachers to determine where students are struggling, for parents to understand their children’s progress and knowledge gaps, and for policymakers and advocates who need assurance that all students are receiving a high-quality education. We simply need to get smarter about when, where and how we use them.” (Lazarin, 2014)

Assessments built into the curriculum are a better way to monitor students than high-stakes standardized tests, said Tanis, the opt-out activist and mother or two. When you attach stakes to the assessment, it "becomes the driving force of what goes on in the classroom," she added. "When it becomes the focus, it really corrupts the nature of teaching and learning." (Wallace, 2016)

References

Lazarin, M. (2014). Testing Overload in America's Schools. Retrieved from: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED561097.pdf: Center For American Progress.

National Center for Education Statistics . (2013). U.S. States in a Global Context - Results From the 2011 NAEP-TIMSS Linking Study. Washington D.C. Retrieved from: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED544218.pdf: Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

Rosales, J. (2015, November 2). What International Comparisons Don’t Tell Us About U.S. Student Achievement. NEA Today, pp. Retrieved from: http://neatoday.org/2015/11/02/what-international-comparisons-dont-tell-us-about-u-s-student-achievement/.

Walberg, H. J. (2011). Tests, Testing, and Genuine School Reform. Hoover Institution Press. Retrieved from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/waldenu/detail.action?docID=3301882#.

Wallace, K. (2016, April 4). Testing time at schools: Is there a better way? CNN Wire. Retrieved from: http://go.galegroup.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org.

Wilde, M. (2015, April 2). Global grade: How do U.S. students compare? GreatSchool.org, pp. Retrieved from: https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/u-s-students-compare/.

Consequences of Stress Brought on by Natural Disasters

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon an article with a title that caught my attention. The article was explaining how post hurricane Harvey Texas is looking at the model of New Orleans’ Katrina recovery as what not to do. (I wish I had known then that I would want or need that article in the future, as of course I cannot seem to find it again.) But since the moment I read it I have been carrying a new weight of sadness for the victims of these huge natural disasters. The article explained how an entire generation of New Orleans’ children grew up no longer able to reach their pre-hurricane potential. This is because of the all-encompassing, life-altering amount of change and suffering that was a direct result of hurricane Katrina.

This week we were given a blog assignment to consider common stressors that impact a child’s life. Some major stressors could be neglect or abuse. Other examples of stressors include war, poverty, racism, natural disaster, isolation, hunger, noise, chaos, disease, environmental pollution, and violence. A quick reflection on myself and my immediate family members left me to realize just how blessed and privileged our lives have been. I immediately messaged my mom to express my gratitude. While there certainly was stress, and money was often tight, we never struggled in a way that I would say falls under any of those stressor categories. However the first thing that came to mind was a hurricane that came through while I was a teenager.

The hurricane damaged my (now) husband’s family’s house. We rode out the storm there at his house, watching and hoping the rising water would not come in. In the morning, as we ate breakfast splashing our feet in the water under the kitchen table, we could not quite understand how much would be impacted by some water damage. I recall going in to work that weekend, serving tables of customers their breakfast, and thinking to myself “how can they be so calm and happy when my mind is completely fearful for how much will change after this hurricane?” (And our hurricane was nothing compared to more recent ones.) In the weeks and years to come my now father-in-law would have a falling out with the brother he shared a duplex with. He would go into bankruptcy after paying to repair both sides of the duplex. Once the home was repaired they moved out of the duplex, thankfully still in our town (or my love story might not have been the same.) Their financial difficulties post-hurricane continued for nearly ten years. Thankfully my husband was old enough and supported enough to not suffer as a result. Further, it all would have been much worse had the entire town suffered rather than just a few houses. Reflecting on the situation immediately led me to that sense of sadness I am carrying for recent natural disaster victims, and for those “lost children” of hurricane Katrina (Reckdahl, 2015).

When a natural disaster strikes we all rush to help financially and with donations. Then, as weeks turn to months we outside of the situation are able to forget that the problem is still there. It is not until you really think about to that you realize the stressor of one natural disaster can bring on so many other stressors such as poverty, hunger, isolation, noise, chaos, disease, and violence. Reading the book Children of Katrina provided insight into exactly how one event creates an avalanche of stress, and the ways that impacts children. Consider the example of how mother Debra and eleven-year-old daughter Cierra were impacted. Caught in the traumatic experience of the storm within a hospital, a young child saw chaos, terror, pain, and even death. Then shuffled around shelters, eventually landing in a trailer home (provided by FEMA) in a city away from their home, isolated from all their family and friends who were also shuffled about. A mother left job-less and a child left without a school, it is easy to see how it would be difficult to meet Cierra’s basic needs in the coming months and years. But what kind of impact will this type of stress have on a child? Many studies are trying to answer just that question.

Lack of schooling is one major way children were impacted post-Katrina. According to information gathered by Fothergil and Peek, “In the two months following Katrina, as many as 138,000 students were not in school. Somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 K-­ 12 students, most of them from Louisiana, missed virtually the entire 2005– 2006 academic year following Katrina. In the following school year, 2006– 2007, as many as 10,000 to 15,000 school-­ age children did not attend all or most days of school.” The impact of this is being seen now years later with Louisiana having the highest rates of unemployed and out of school young adults in the nation (Reckdahl, 2015). It is easy to see why these children are referred to as “lost.”

According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs page on PTSD, “Disasters can cause both mental and physical reactions. Being closer to the disaster and having weak social support can lead to worse recovery (Dept. of Veterans Affairs, 2015). On the other hand, being connected to others and being confident that you can handle the results of the disaster make mental health problems less likely.” The individual stories from the study The Children of Katrina demonstrate exactly that. Children such as Daniel (one feature of the book) who were at the lowest levels of poverty and without a social support system before the hurricane, were likely to end up suffering the most on a “declining trajectory” (Fothergill & Peek, 2015); while children such as Cierra, who suffered greatly, and previously struggled with poverty were lifted out of the initial post disaster difficulties onto an “equilibrium trajectory” (Fothergill & Peek, 2015).

The stress of experiencing a major natural disaster and all the stress that follows can cause PTSD and depression, both life-long mental struggles (Dept. of Veterans Affairs, 2015). One natural disaster can set a family on a completely different life course, often a more difficult one including shelter and food insecurity. Stress can cause less supportive or comforting parenting (Berger, 2015). All of these points can result in a child who is developmentally delayed, struggles to learn, and suffering through mental/emotional problems. Some will persevere, but not all. The individual stories shared in the sources I read are heartbreaking. I urge you to read some of them. I urge us all to remember these children in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico need help now and for years to come. I urge everyone to remember that you do not know anyone’s back story, and to not judge people based on miniscule moments of their lives. For all you know, they have suffered great stress and loss.

References

Berger, K. S. (2015). The Developing Person Through Childhood. New York: Worth Publishers.

Dept. of Veterans Affairs, U. (2015, September 5). Effects of Disasters: Risk and Resilience Factors. National Center for PTSD, p. Retrieved from: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/types/disasters/effects_of_disasters_risk_and_resilience_factors.asp.

Fothergill, A., & Peek, L. (2015). The Children of Katrina. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Reckdahl, K. (2015). The Lost Children of Katrina. The Atlantic, Retrieved from: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/04/the-lost-children-of-katrina/389345/.

Public Health Concern- Smoking and Child Development.

The health of our children is subject to many harmful pollutants and other public health concerns. One public health concern that I feel very strongly about is that of exposure to smoking. The CDC states that “Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in the United States.” (Center for Disease Control, 2017) Additionally, the CDC states that “Cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans each year, with more than 41,000 of these deaths from exposure to secondhand smoke” (Center for Disease Control, 2017) While these statistics do not differentiate adults and children, further research tells us that smoke exposure has significant effects on all stages of child development. Specifically, this is a public health concern because exposure for pregnant women has been linked to reduced birthweight, increased risk of urinary tract and limb malformations and potential risks to lung function. (Berger, 2015) Additionally, exposure of young children to smoke has been linked to poor executive functioning, attention deficits, and learning delays throughout childhood. (Pagani & Fitzpatrick, 2016) Smoking is an issue I am strongly against and unwilling to waiver. For these reasons and more, it is a choice that I simple cannot understand.

While individual studies are each specific in what they refer to as exposure to smoke, often meaning tobacco smoke; I feel every type of smoking that exists falls into the public health concern category. I believe there is enough potential for known and unknown risk to each type of smoke to including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, vape, and anything else new on the smoking market, as a public health concern. I have not focused my research on the hazards of other oral methods of tobacco use; however, it is known that the risks there are much greater for the user and the biggest risk to children is that of a social reference.

First and foremost I personally cannot understand any parent today smoking anything around their children or anyone else’s child. We as an American society know enough, even with the most basic of knowledge, to recognize that this is at the very least unhealthy. Even if one were to distance the actual smoke away from children, the stench remains, and the mere visual of watching loved ones smoke is a factor in creating the next generation of smokers. In fact, a study of 3,000 children and their parents found that the risk of the child becoming a smoker was reduced by 40% when parents quit smoking, and was 70% less likely when parents never smoked. (Bricker et al., as cited in Bottorff et al., 2013) The article goes on to detail a study of 28 parent dyads and how the adults constantly revise their approaches and justifications for smoking as parents (Bottorff, Oliffe, Kelly, Johnson, & Chan, 2013). Interesting, disgusting, disturbing, and sad were my thoughts. The study included narratives of their two year old child mimicking smoking with a crayon, justified with how the child does not understand what smoking is yet, and they told them it was yucky; which is certainly a contradiction. Also, when their older children begged them to stop the unhealthy habit, they justified that by thinking that means their child will be less likely to smoke themselves (Bottorff, Oliffe, Kelly, Johnson, & Chan, 2013). Clear evidence of addiction and an extreme level of selfishness in my opinion. The entire study was full of notes of parents explaining to themselves and their interviewer how they would quit when they really needed to, but that time kept being pushed back. Another point I gathered from the study was that mothers who quit while pregnant, took up the habit after birth, and acted vigilant in keeping all second hand smoke away from the infant, all eventually slacked on their attempts to protect the child as they grew in those first three years. One example of an excuse being parents breaking the no smoking inside rule when they were hosting friends (Bottorff, Oliffe, Kelly, Johnson, & Chan, 2013).  How does that make sense? You are not willing to inconvenience your friends with a simple step outside in the cold rule, you would rather your child suffer? Honestly, I found zero actual logic, and zero understanding or empathy for these parents. The entire article made me sad and angry. 

I wonder if the parents in the above study would have finally made the choice to quit if they were given the chance to read the study of brain development and academic repercussions of exposure to second hand smoke published by Pagani and Fitzpatrick. In a longitudinal study of Canadian children from the age of five months old through age ten, they determined that exposure to smoke had negative effects on children’s classroom behavior. Specifically, those exposed to “early childhood household smoke showed proportionately less classroom engagement, which reflects task-orientation, following directions, and working well autonomously and with others.” (Pagani & Fitzpatrick, 2016) As these types of executive skills are necessary for school and adult life it is easy to imagine long-term effects. A few examples as stated by the authors are that these results can be precursors for future struggles such as dropping out of high school, as well as risky and unhealthy life choices. (Pagani & Fitzpatrick, 2016) The article is actually a wealth of information, which I wish I could share with every smoker I meet.

The American Academy of Pediatrics published a Policy Statement in regards to the need for action against this public health concern. (Pediactrics, 2015) The AAP concluded that tobacco smoke is harmful to children’s health, and that tobacco dependence is a pediatric disease; thus, to protect children’s health “Pediatricians can and should take actions to protect children and adolescents from tobacco dependence and tobacco smoke exposure.” (Pediatrics, 2015) They identify tobacco dependence as “one of the most common severe chronic illnesses of adolescents and adults.” (Pediactrics, 2015) Therefore, they emphasize the importance of the need for funded training for health care providers in treating tobacco dependence. (Pediactrics, 2015) I would love for pediatricians to take a more active role in this problem, and for them to have the ability to help smoking parents understand and then quit for the sake of everyone’s health.

As it seems for some the health concern for our children, our world’s future, are not enough incentive to make changes in regards to the public health issue of smoking, maybe the staggering financial costs of its consequences will encourage movement toward better policies as well as training, educational, preventative, and treatment programs. The American Academy of Pediatrics has gathered financial data for the extreme costs of childhood exposure to smoke, estimating medical costs in the USA to be $260 million per day (Best et al., as cited by Pagani & Fitzpatrick, 2016) Further financial costs could be determined when considering parental lost wages for school absenteeism due to the health concerns connected to exposure to smoking. (Pagani & Fitzpatrick, 2016) That is BILLIONS every year! BILLIONS!

We are on the right path. Around the world, and in the US, smoke-free legislation has been decreasing the rates of second hand smoke exposure in public places such as transportations, restaurants, parks and schools. Still, Smoking in private areas such as one’s home or car are much less regulated. (Blanch, et al., 2013) Recently, Blanch and colleagues published the results of their multi-level intervention against exposure to second hand smoke in several schools in Spain. (Blanch, et al., 2013) They determined their intervention had modest result in reducing exposure to second hand smoke at home, school, and in vehicles; and that while not a hugely successful intervention, any decrease is a positive effect for those children involved. (Blanch, et al., 2013) Their study seemed to lead them to the same conclusion as that of myself, Pagani, and the AAP, which is that we certainly have room for improvement; and now that public smoking is less prevalent, that improvement can be accomplished by targeting private smoking through education, and regulations. (Pagani & Fitzpatrick, 2016) (Blanch, et al., 2013) (Pediactrics, 2015) I could not agree more.

References

Berger, K. S. (2015). The Developing Person Through Childhood. New York: Worth Publishers.

Blanch, C., Fernandez, E., Martinez-Sanchez, J., Ariza, C., Lopez, M. J., Moncada, A., . . . RESPIR_NET Research Group, T. (2013, November). Impact of a multi-level intervention to prevent secondhand smoke exposure in schoolchildren: A randomized cluster community trial. Preventative Medicine, pp. 585-590 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.07.018.

Bottorff, J. L., Oliffe, J. L., Kelly, M. T., Johnson, J. L., & Chan, A. (2013). Reconciling Parenting and Smoking in the Context of Child Development. Qualitative Health Research, 1042-1053 DOI: 10.1177/1049732313494118.

Center for Disease Control. (2017, June 20). Current Cigarette Smoking Among U.S. Adults Aged 18 Years and Older. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/resources/data/cigarette-smoking-in-united-states.html

Pagani, L. S., & Fitzpatrick, C. (2016). Early Childhood Household Smoke Exposure Predicts Less Task-Oriented Classroom Behavior at Age 10. Health Education & Behavior, pp. 584-591 DOI: 10.1177/1090198115614317.

Pediactrics, A. A. (2015, November). Clinical Practice Policy to Protect Children From Tobacco, Nicotine, and Tobacco Smoke. Pediactrics, p. Retrived from: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/136/5/1008.

Assignment- Childbirth In Your Life and Around the World

This week in Early Childhood studies we are looking at prenatal development, the many factors that can influence that earliest development, and the potential impacts on children as they continue to grow throughout life. I have never given much thought to the impacts my prenatal care or birthing experience has had on the development of my children; except to consider that I must have done things “right” as they are wonderful, healthy children. My studies are teaching me many details that could have been impacted in ways I never realized before. The following is the story of how I brought two children into the world.

I have had the pleasure of carrying two healthy children into this world. While pregnant the first time I turned to the well-known book, What to Expect When You’re Expecting. I enjoyed reading details about prenatal growth, and I took every bit of nutritional advice to heart. Already a non-smoker and non-drinker, I made sure to avoid soft cheeses, lunch meat, too much large fish, and more. Of course I craved those things like I never had before! Unlike those in poverty, we had the benefit of having health insurance to cover all the prenatal care necessary and the finances to afford well-rounded healthy foods as well as indulgent chocolatey pregnancy cravings!

Due to a health condition I have called Chiari I Malformation, we had to have an extra ultrasound with a specialist to determine if my children would inherit the condition. Mine is a very minor level, but the condition can be very serious. Thankfully, the ultrasound was clear. Also due to my condition it was determined that I could not risk the physical pressure of experiencing contractions and labor. I would require a cesarean. Not just any cesarean, a cesarean under full anesthesia. I was disappointed, but I quickly came to terms with the concept that it was more important for me to survive to raise my child than to be awake for their entrance into the world. My scheduled cesarean went well, my daughter was born at 38 ½ weeks, 6 lbs 7 oz., 19 ½ inches. The downside was that I was very disoriented, even incapacitated at times during the first 24 hours after her birth. Thankfully, my husband instantly became an amazing father. 

In the years before becoming pregnant with our son, I read an article explaining that cesareans under full anesthesia for Chiari patients is overly precautious and sometimes unnecessary. I approached my obstetrician with this information. They felt that I should see my neurologist for a check-up before proceeding. My neurologist said my MRI scans were out of date, and insisted on new ones before agreeing to a regular cesarean. Reluctantly, I booked an MRI. I had checked to see if this would harm my unborn child. I found nothing to suggest it would. Still, I cried throughout the lengthy scan, fearing I was doing harm to my son. My scans showed that my condition had not changed for the worse, and my neurologist agreed that a regular cesarean was a possibility. Then he retired. 

I went and picked up my file before my scheduled cesarean, pleased to hand it over to receive the opportunity to be awake as my son entered the world. You know what they say about the best laid plans. Apparently, the neurologist had made no note about his latest opinion and the obstetrician had to proceed as they planned with a cesarean under full anesthesia. I found this out while in surgery prep around 7am. Extremely hormonal, I cried, uncontrollable tears. I tried to calm down as it was time to go into surgery. But while lying spread out, naked and shivering on the surgery preparation table I could not contain my disappointment and I cried more. The surgeon even noted my crying in the surgery notes. With my first pregnancy I was the first of my friends to have a child, I was told anesthesia was the only option and accepted it rather blindly. I had not allowed myself to consider what I would be missing. But with my second child I knew more. I wanted to be there, and I could not believe that even after taking my unborn child into an MRI, that I had not done enough. Looking back I can see what could have been done differently, I can see how a busy mommy brain forgot details like checking the file for the notes before my cesarean. Yet, I remind myself that the point remains- It is more important that I am alive to raise my children. After all the stress, I came out of anesthesia (much better this time) to meet my sweet son; born at 38 ½ weeks, 6 lbs 9oz and 19 ½ inches. 

With both of my children I enjoyed holding them skin to skin, as did their father. They spent the nights in a bassinet in my hospital suite for the four day stay. My husband slept on the sofa chair and helped endlessly with their care. I began nursing them immediately, though that went much differently with each child. My first, I had no milk but insisted “breast was best,” but as she lost weight we compromised by taping a tube to my breast for my husband to push a syringe of formula through while our daughter “nursed.” Eventually I had some milk, but never enough to be a full diet so we continued by supplementing formula bottles. Looking back I think my lack of milk was due to my age, my first pregnancy, and my required early scheduled cesarean. Interestingly, with my second child, I had an overabundance of milk, which came with new issues to overcome. 

My sweet children were born to two parents in their twenties; two parents with well-paid full time jobs; two parents with complete health insurance, a home, safe vehicles, and family/friends/ and funds to buy every modern thing a child could need. Now 8 and 5 years old, they are bright, curious, creative children with their whole wonderful lives ahead of them. We have much to be grateful for.

After reflecting on my own birth experiences, I chose to look at birth practices of Japan in comparison. Japan has followed a similar progression to the US; from having historically mostly home births, to medical advances resulting in majority of hospital births, to a recent revival of interest in home births with midwives. The article Post Modern Mid-Wives in Japan: The Offspring of Modern Hospital Birth, detailed the history of Japan’s approach to birth in pre-modern, modern, and post-modern time periods. (Matsuoka, 2010) The points that struck me the most was the impact of Americans on Japan’s practices, and how new medical advances post WWII were twisted to make birth a more profitable and convenient business for obstetricians; further, how those practices resulted in extensive amount of infant deaths, and disabled infants. I was more pleased to see the post-modern resurgence of interest in home based mid-wives and natural births. Not because I feel that is the only best option, but because I feel it shows Japanese women are continuing to educate each other on the process of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum rather than accepting the “status-quo” doled out to them by dominant males as was the situation experienced by Brett Iimura, an American living in Japan. (Iimura, 2005) 

In another article I found that the Japanese government also seems to be recognizing the benefits of more natural birth on both mother and child, as it has funded programs to train medical personnel, execute studies, and implement practices for the “Humanizing of Child care” and “Humanizing of Maternity care.” Still, it is typical of the Japanese culture for the women to not take a leading role in the decision making process of their child birth experience, and to lean heavily on the word of their medical personnel. (Behruzi et all., 2010) It is unlikely in Japan that a woman would approach her doctors as I did in regards to a medical condition and birth procedure.

Despite, or maybe because of, a time period of many medical interventions during child birth, Japan seems to culturally have the perspective that less intervention or medications are best for prenatal care and child birth. This is probably in contrast with the opinion of the majority of Americans, where epidurals and cesareans are the norm. Additionally, in Japan after vaginal birth mother and child stay in the hospital/birthing center for one week receiving monitoring and breastfeeding support; much different from the quick discharge in the US after a vaginal delivery. Another difference however leans toward American’s having a step up in the humanizing approach, which is the participation of fathers and family members during birth. In Japan, the culture doesn’t yet encourage or allow for family participation to support the mother’s emotional wellbeing. (Behruzi et all., 2010)  Sometimes this is simply because it is not financially responsible for the father to participate. Overall, I think there are many similarities between American births and Japanese. Contexts such as education, and economic status, and services available will similarly impact pregnant women and new mothers in both countries.

References

Behruzi, R., Hatem, M., Fraser, W., Goulet, L., Ii, M., & Masago, C. (2010, May 27). Facilitators and barriers in the humanization of childbirth practice in Japan. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, pp. doi:  10.1186/1471-2393-10-25.

Iimura, B. (2005). Birth In Japan. Midwifery Today, 60 (3).

Matsuoka, E. (2001). Postmodern midwives in Japan: The offspring of modern hospital birth. Medical Anthropology, 141 (45) dx.doi.org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1080/01459740.2001.9966193.