Remarkable Explorations

Media influence

According to the article, “How the Media Influences Children”, the media influences children at early ages. Books, television, and the internet influence how our children think and act. For instance, the media portrays blondes to be stupid, which will influence children to believe that all blondes are dumb, but as adults we understand that just because someone has blonde hair doesn’t mean that she has a low IQ. Some people even believe that blondes have more fun because of views that are portrayed through the media. Commercials also influence children sense of imagination. Most commercials only reveal the aspect of their product that will captures the children’s attention. On Barbie commercials, Barbie dolls are talking, but what children don’t understand is that the Barbie will not talk. They also show extra props that will have to be purchased separately which is very misleading for a young child. My grandson is four years old and he has a favorite movie that teaches him new humorous comments. The movie has definitely influenced his personality. He is very humorous when he speaks.

Cognitive development: age 2-6

“Cognitive development is the process by which our intellectual abilities form and evolve over time.” According to Piaget’s cognitive development theory, children are active participants in the learning process. Piaget refers to cognitive development between the ages of about 2 and 6 as preoperational intelligence. It is during this stage that language and imagination involve symbolic thought.  Children focuses on one idea, and they tend to think from their own perspective.

The pre-operational period is when children start babbling in first year of life and start producing simple two word sentences by age 2. It is also the stage where animated animals or characters are given life. When my grandson was three, his favorite character was spider-man. He would say that his spider man was reading to him and playing with him. He brought his spider-man to life through his imagination.

Biosocial development: age 2-6

Biosocial development is when the body changes. It is during this stage where children get taller and gain more weight. It is during this stage where genes, nutrition, income, and ethnicity influence growth. The brain is also developing rapidly by the age of 2 the brain is at 75% and 90% by age 5. It is during this stage that the brain changes and enables more memory, better planning, and quicker responses. Motor skills are also improved. Children began to play more during this stage. For example, my four year old grandson is four, and he plays all day long. Even when it seems as though he should be tired, he is full of energy and playful.

Psychosocial development: age 2-6

Psychosocial domains reference emotions, personality, social interactions, and expectations.  During this stage, children’s personality begins to form.

Stressors

There are several stressors that can affect the development of children. Things such as nutrition, poverty, and warfare. Nutrition can affect the way a child’s body develops. If a child does not receive proper nutrition, he or she may develop below normal if poverty is the case, the child’s growth will be delayed as well.

Berger (2009) the developing person through childhood, 5^th edition worth publication.

Teresa (n.d.) how the media influences children.

Immunization

The article written by the American Academy of Pediatrics emphasizes the importance of vaccination after measles cases reported in Indiana (2012), made me realize the importance of vaccination. One may think that an outbreak of measles would be unheard of during the 21^st century. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there was a case of measles that was diagnosed in Indianapolis. The infected individual exposed an estimated 200,000 people to the virus. Measles is a virus that is highly contagious.” It is a reminder of how important it is to maintain high immunization rates against vaccine-preventable diseases” (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012). Fortunately, there were only two people that were affected with the virus.

The topic of immunization is important because no one needs to be exposed to any type of vaccine-preventable disease.  Working in the field of education it is imperative that every child is immunized so contagious diseases will not spread throughout the school environment. 

The information that I have found, will help me to keep the importance of vaccines at the forefront of my mind and it will help me to keep a regular check on students’ vaccination records.  While reading the article, I was given time to reflect on a situation that occurred in my school environment. There was a student who has cancer, and her parents were afraid to allow doctors to administer vaccinations to the child because they were afraid that the injections would be harmful to her. But the truth of the matter is she was just as harmful to us as we were to her.

American Academy of Pediatrics Emphasizes Importance of Vaccination After Measles Cases in Indiana, (2/9/12).

The article World Health Organization First African Vaccination Week (2011) was very informative. It was interesting to note the new emphasis that Africa has placed on immunization. According to the article, the mortality rate due to the lack of immunization has decreased, but the country itself has a long way to go. “Although mortality due to the disease in the African Region was reduced by 89% between 2000 and 2008; in 2009, an estimated 3.6 million children were not reached at all by immunization services while approximately 6 million did not get all the recommended vaccinations needed to protect them” (World Health Organization, 2011).It was interesting to read how immunizations can save a child's life.

World Health Organization First African Vaccination Week to be Observed in April 2011. (March 7, 2011)

Week 1-Childbirth Experience

Child birth Experience                                                             

My experience with birth relates to my daughter and what she experienced during the time of her pregnancy. At the onset of her pregnancy, the thought of having my first grandchild, brought me much joy and excitement. But during her fourth month, the joy and excitement turned into fear and a lot of worrying. After her fourth month, she was in constant pain which caused her to be immobile. The pain was so severe that she often had shaking spells as if she was having a seizure. After her shaking spell, she was not aware of what was going on around her. The doctor informed us that she was shaking as a result of the tremendous amount of pain that she endured. Even though the doctor didn't understand what was going on, they felt as if she was having a healthy pregnancy.

When we arrived at the hospital, the doctor informed us that she was in labor, but it was slow. The doctor instructed us that she had to walk to help speed up the process. He informed us that it was going to be a long night! After walking for several hours, the nurse informed us that my daughter had been in labor long enough without medication and it was time to give her some, if that is what she wanted. We agreed. My daughter was in and out. I'm not sure if she was aware of what was going on. Hours later they prepared her for the epideral and then it was show time. As time went on it was time to push, the more she pushed the more the baby seemed to have went further up, making it difficult to push him out. The doctor and nurse finally decided that after all the pain that she endured, it was time for help. The doctor then sunctioned the baby out. I had never seen anything like that before! It was amazing and scary at the same time. I just thanked God that both mother and son made it through that long journey of 18 hours!

 We thought after she gave birth, that the trouble and pain would end, but we were wrong. After she gave birth, her muscles continued to lock up, her body was in severe pain, and the shaking spells continued. Finally, after two years of running back and forth to doctors, she was diagnosed with lupus and fibromyalgia. Doctors believed that the pregnancy brought the illnesses to the forefront.

I choose to talk about this pregnancy because it was totally different from what I experienced. My daughter's pregnancy was unique because of the unique symptoms that she experienced as a result of her pregnancy. She gave birth to a healthy baby boy inspite of the medications that she was given to help ease her pain.

It is my belief that if the mother has a healthy lifestyle free from drugs, and alcohol, and she receives the proper prenatal care the baby will develop normally with a slim chance of a birth defects.

 South Africa and Their Birthing Procedure
Women in South Africa experiences are totally different from what we experience during pregnancy. In South Africa women who are in labor are often mistreated and not given the proper care at the time of delivery. During the labor process they are physically and verbally abused. They were made to cleanup their beds after labor. They were often left unattended, not given any antibiotics or pain medication. Women in South Africa were refused admission in hospitals even while in labor. They are given c-sections without permission and was often discharged from the hospital inappropriately.

From what I have read in The Shocking Truth About Giving Birth, there is no comparison. Even though my daughter's experienced alot of pain, she received the proper care needed throughout the pregnancy. The women in South Africa are treated as if they were being punished for having a baby.

Christian Nordqvist. (2011, August 8). "The Shocking Truth About Giving Birth in South Africa." Medical News Today. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232413.php