Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Violence:Child Abuse

A very close friend of mine was born in New York to a Ghanian father and Jamaican mother. When she was six years old, her family moved back to Ghana. She lived with her parents, an uncle and her older brother. A few months after moving to Ghana, she noticed her uncle was very friendly towards her. He always bought her things and would always want her to stay near her. However, his friendliness became too friendly. After about 5 months, her uncle raped her. She did not know what to do. She told her brother but he has Asperger's and he didn't really understand. She tried to tell her parents, but they thought she was lying. So she kept it all to herself. Her uncle did it once again, but this time her father caught him in the act. After that, her father moved the family back to America. I've known my friend since I was 12 but she did not share this story with me until we were 21. The hurt and pain had caused her to be very shy around guys. It also caused her to be afraid of males. She never could stay in relationships long because she would always think that the guy wanted to attach her. After she shared with me I was so sad, but i comforted her and we prayed. She told me that this was the first time she ever shared her story with anyone. She also said that sharing with someone who wouldn't judge her made her feel like a weight was lifted off her. Since then, she has made tremedous progress in her relationships with guy. She has forgiven her uncle and is able to move on and is able to slowly trust guys.

Child Abuse in Ghana:
I could not find much recent information on child sexual abuse in Ghana which I'm praying is a good thing. I did find an srticle from about 4 years ago with statistics on child sexual abuse. The report is from UNICEF. The report revealed that sexual child abuse is a major probelm in Ghana. The rate of rape was 181 in 2002 and 345 in 2008. The numbers are increasing instead of decreasing!! The forms of sexual abuse include unnatural carnal knowledge, defilement, rape, incest, child prostitution and indesent assualt. The report also said that many times the abuse comes from lack of parental support and poverty and many of the times the children do not inform anyone.

The steps that have been taken to reduce and eliminate child sexual abuse include passage and strengthening of the legislative environment, intensification of public education through the media, identification, counseling livelihood skills training and reintegration(www.uncief.org).

They also implemented The Five Year Action Plan on Violence Against Children from 2008-2012. The Five Year Action Plan on Violence against Children is a comprehensive plan for suppressing violence with measurable targets and indicators in which every Ghanaian, at all levels has a role to play. The aim of the plan is to create a safe environment that protects children from all forms of violence wherever they occur including the home, school, institutions, work place and community. (www.unicef.org). I tried to read more about the five year plan, but could not find much once again, except one article that stated that change in legislation does not mean change in society or behavior. I hoep to find out more information on the five year plan and to see if the statistics have changed or not.
It hurts me to know that children are going through this all over the world, not just in Ghana. I pray that there has been a signifcant decrease.

Corresponding Links
http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/wcaro_WCIII_good_practice_Ghana.pdf
http://www.ghananewsagency.org/details/Features/Ghana-Must-Stop-Violence-Against-Children/?ci=10&ai=20710

NAEYC 2012 Conference

The 2012 Annual NAEYC Conference & Expo is just around the corner!
It will take place from November 7-November 10 in Atlanta, GA.
This year's theme is Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the 21st century.
I have never been, but I found out about it when I registered to become a member of NAEYC.
After going through the conference schedule and session topics I am growing more excited about it.
Also, my favorite children musicians Greg & Steve will be there!!!
If you are interested in attending please click here for more information and to register!
Hope you will all join me there!

H2O

I chose to discuss the topic of access to healthy water.

This topic is meaningful to me because I have seen people including my own family members not having access to healthy water. In America, we are very fortunate to have clean water even our tap waters are drinkable. However, in other countries I cannot say the same. In my home country of Nigeria, many people do not have access to healthy water. Whenever I travel back, my family purchases bottles of water. That is the only water that I can drink when I go back. My family is also fortunate enough to have access to clean water in our house back home. I have witnessed women and children travel far just to get water let alone if it is clean or not. Since I know that healthy water is a big issue in Nigeria, I wanted to find more information on how unhealthy the water in Nigeria is.

I came across an article on businessdayonline.com about the water in Nigeria and it saddened my heart. The article stated that Nigeria actually ranks third globally in poor water and sanitation coverage. Nigeria ranked behind China and India based on population size. This disturbed me tremendously. I know that water access is poor, but I did not know it was this bad.

Reading online, I did find that there are projects to enhance water access to more of the underdeveloped communities in Nigeria. Nonetheless, I am still worried because many things have been promised in Nigeria for many years and the promises have yet to be fulfilled.

Reading about the water issue in Nigeria, will definitely have an impact on my future work. Part of my goals is to build quality child development centers in Nigeria. Knowing how poor water is, I will make it my goal to make sure every child has access to healthy water. I want them to have access to healthy water in the schools and also in their homes. I will also want to educate parents on the importance of having healthy water. I used to wonder how I can tie in my public health degree with early childhood studies, now I know one way in which I can do this while making a difference in the lives of children and families in my country.

"Pure Water" as they call it in Nigeria. These are waters sold in plastic packages.
I am not sure how pure these waters are, but, my mother always warned me and my sisters not to drink them!

Please click following link Poor Water in Nigeria to read full article.

Birthing in Brazil

I wanted to find out more information about birthing in Brazil. What I found was actually very shocking. In Brazil, 93% of babies born to middle and upper class families are born via Cesarean Section (C-Section). The reason being fears passed down from generations.
1. There is a fear of the pain of childbirth
2. Vaginal birth will damage their bodies
3. Most obstetricians believe that cesarean delivery is safer than vaginal delivery
Most of the mothers actually want a normal birth, but agree with their doctor to having a C-section. 

In comparison to my personal birthing experience, this is the complete opposite of what I experienced. My aunt did not have a C-section, neither did she want a C-section. She was advised to have a vaginal birth for all 3 of her children. I personally have been terrified of C-sections especially after seeing a lady in my church suffering from an infection from a C-section. 

An additional insight I gained, is that birthing varies cross culturally. I never that that people had fears such as the Brazilians when it comes to vaginal birth. I am sure that Brazil is not the only country facing these fears and more. It was very interesting to read this. 

Birth in Brazil (article I read)

I also found this interesting video on Youtube. 
A pregnant woman from Bazil's perspective on C-section vs. vaginal birth

Personal Birthing Experience

I haven't taken part in many births, but one birth I vividly remember was the birth of my little cousin. Majority of my family is in Nigeria, so I did not have many cousins to play with growing up. However. in 2000 two of my aunts were going to give birth I was so excited. I would have little cousins to play with, care for and love. My first cousin to be born in America was due in February. My aunt stayed at my house a lot before her due date since the hospital she would deliver her baby was close to my house. I remember that she craved Burger King a lot. Almost everyday she asked either myself or my sisters to buy her a whopper! On her due date, I did not go to the hospital, but my mother came back informing us that she delivered a girl. I was so excited i wanted her to have a girl. I got to go to the hospital the next day and I remember holding my little cousin and it was such a precious moment, she was so beautiful. Today she is 12 and every year on her birthday I remember the first day I held her I was 12. I chose this experience because it is the first time I ever held a newborn baby. (A few months later I held my second cousin born, second time I held a newborn baby!)I believe birth is a beautiful thing. From the way a baby is formed inside a mother and the bond that is automatically created. Birth has a big impact on child development. There can be many risks and complications if proper health and care isn't taken which can affect a child's physical, social and cognitive development. Nonetheless, some or just un-explanatory. I hope to one day (very soon) write about my own birthing experience!

Me on my wedding day 2 weeks ago with my two cousins!
(the one on the right was the first was born)