PLAY DURING EARLY CHILDHOOD IS NECESSARY!

Play  during early childhood is necessary if humans are to reach their full potential  https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=606725958741575962#editor/target=post;postID=7401553333293654715

My Commentary

I have learned so much about play and interplay. My greatest wish is that adults truly look at infant play and advocate for  our smallest citizens  while praising them on the hard work  to communicate their silent language of cues.
Mister Rogers was wonderful and  I have quoted him on play, yet  even in his powerful role of influence he missed the opportunity to shared about the wonders and excited joy our infants have in discovering their world:-)

One quote about children

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/fredrogers193081.html#BZl4GiPrDwRpLwZM.99

 

Fred Rogers AKA Mister Rogers:-)

 

 

 

Testing for Intelligence

Testing for Intelligence

 

 Child: plural noun: children

1.    a young human being below the age of puberty or below the legal age of majority https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=what+does+child+mean

 

 Holistic;

1.    characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.

                         2.  Medicine characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the physical symptoms of a disease. https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=what+does+holistic+mean

 

 

When I think of the whole child and an asked what is my opinion on how a child should be assessed?  My answer, is not only testing in academic achievements which on paper give us a portion of how the child  comprehend questions , but in the environment of how a child  functions. Example …emotions, respective, descriptive and expressive language during interaction. Also vision, hearing, taste, and smell, also physical development plays a great part on how the child takes information in and applies  the data. We have Ages and Stages Questionnaires from birth to six, at this point in elementary and secondary peers play a crucial role how children isolate themselves or flourish because of confidence. So an environmental assessment of the whole child would be beneficial.

 

Let’s look at China   

 

 May 2007 | Volume 64 | Number 8 Educating the Whole Child Pages 70-73

China and the Whole Child

Yong Zhao

A nation with a rigid thousand-year-old testing system struggles to implement a more holistic approach to education.

Half a century ago, Mao Tse-tung articulated the central aim of Chinese education: “Our educational policy must enable everyone who receives an education to develop morally, intellectually, and physically and become a worker with both socialist consciousness and culture” (1957). China embraced, in theory, Mao's appeal for educating the whole child, and this approach remains the guiding principle for education in China today. Yet it has had a minimal effect on Chinese education.

Overworked, Underrested

Students in China continue to be burdened with long school days, mountains of homework, and time-consuming school-oriented extracurricular activities. Sleep deprivation among students as a result of excessive schoolwork is a persistent problem. According to the Beijing Education Commission, over 60 percent of students don't get sufficient sleep (Zhang, 2006). On weekdays, students leave for school at approximately 7:00 a.m.; they typically get home around 6:00 p.m., with at least two or three hours of homework to complete. On weekends, students attend tutoring sessions, training courses for various contests, or test preparation events (Liu & Liu, 2004; Lv & Song, 2005). They are simply too busy to sleep or engage in leisure activities.

Reference;

Yong, Z. (2007, May 1). China and the Whole Child. . Retrieved , from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may07/vol64/num08/China-and-the-Whole-Child.aspx

 

 

Additional Comments

 

Above all else the cliché “ the children are our future”   is very try, and as educators  it is our responsibility to stay current in education and  objective  to how to enhance, create and implement fair assessment that look at the whole child’s   way of taking in and applying life skills.

 

 

 

Noise and Limited Play as Stressors

Noise  and Limited play as stressors

I asked my daughter what was a stressor for her  as a child. She share with me noise was a big one. Being an only child meant it was always quiet in the house. When my daughter was  about thirteen  visiting  family (cousins) especially the  younger ones which  were always running through the house, made her feel anxious. As a teenager she said she would never work with children. She felt they were loud, and had way too much energy.  Today at twenty-two she is a counselor at a recreation center, I’m glad she grew out of the anxiety I think what change her mind was as a college student she needed a job. She thought about how much fun it was( as a teen)  to be a part of  an after school center . She didn’t have to watch anyone,  it was about her and her friends while the counselors  focused  on the children. YET in a home away from home environment  children running up and down the stairs in a house felt annoying to her, or children fighting  over  toys made her feel like a referee . Somehow maturity and needing a job help her grow out of the anxiety. Today she shares many stories each night about how a child makes her laugh.

 

 

From the other end of the spectrum , think about the children from  Koriyama. Because of air pollution/ radiation, they cannot play outside  because of living  close to a nuclear plant.  

 

Child Stress on Rise after Fukushima

March 10, 2014, Monday @ 17:03 in World | Views: 17

 

 

 

Children in Fukushima in 2011. Photo: flickr.com

Some of the children in Koriyama, just a short drive away from Fukushima nuclear plant, barely know how it feels to play outside, as fear of radiation has kept them inside, Voice of Russia reports.

Even though the rigorous safety limits for outdoor activities, set after multiple nuclear explosions took place at Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in 2011, have now been lifted up to a certain degree, parental concerns and deep-seated habits still keep the children indoors for most of the time, Voice of Russia says.

- See more at: http://www.independent.mk/articles/2461/Child+Stress+on+Rise+after+Fukushima#sthash.2avCQold.dpuf

I would think the easiest solution would be to move, but what happens when you simply don’t have the resources.  We all know just how important play, exploration, and certainly being outside is part of a child’s experience of development.  This article was very heart breaking and the impact for change in this situation is very costly.  

Reference;

http://www.independent.mk/articles/2461/Child+Stress+on+Rise+after+Fukushima

 

Mental Health of Mothers

 Mental health of mothers

I have thought about this topic and need to become transparent I have dealt with depression in my life. My dad, mother and sister died years ago, my dad in 2002 and my mother and sister both in 2005.  I fell into a deep depression while trying my very best as a single parent to raise my child.

In 2005, after the death of my sister, there were many times I tried to rest only to wake up not remembering my own child’s name, I‘d wake up yelling for  Shell ( my sister) as if I could feel her in the room. When my daughter came running, it would take me a minute to remember her name and face the fact that my sister died. Months later, I went through the same thing with my mom. This traumatic period in my life affected me mentally and physically getting  out of bed, was a fight. My daughter was sad and worried for me and of course this was a domino effect on her not being around her friends  and school work. Finally, I  got it together for her! .

Below is a website that focus on the varies reasons why women suffer from Mental health.

Women and Mental Health

The mental disorders affecting women include the following:

·         Anxiety Disorders, including OCD, panic, PTSD, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disorders.

·         Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, ADD)

·         Bipolar Disorder

·         Borderline Personality Disorder

·         Depression

·         Postpartum depression

·         Eating Disorders

·         Schizophrenia

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml

 

 Different Countries

Women in Africa India, and China suffer from depression because of being less valued, social roles and status. High rates of domestic abuse while pregnant  is a leading cause of depression, while infant deaths are also a great factor. Woman have been given the tools to understand and recognizes the symptoms and signs. Yet dealing with pregnancy and after birth in the situations they live in without support  sometimes leads to suicide.

http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/Perinatal_depression_mmh_final.pdf

 

How can I make an impact for future work? The foundation has been laid with centers like Women helping women and   Help clinics ran through community churches. My part is being a resource  and for the small groups that I’m in, I’ll  touch on this topic as an  invitation to share.

My Own Birthing Experience Compared to Pakistan Women

I’m sharing my own personal birth experience that I had back on 10-31-91 and comparing it to what I have learned about a different country.

After being in labor for 36 hours with my daughter, I was disappointed that it had to end in  performing an emergency C-section due to Deja swallowing her own bowel movement.  The care that she received was absolutely top notch. Deja was taken away from me for a couple of days because she was at risk for other complications.  After a week of being in the hospital, we never had to look back other getting wellness checks….Thank you Heavenly Father.

My care throughout the pregnancy was excellent. My doctor kept a close watch on Deja’s development and my health.

As I was reading about other countries, I felt sad for the Pakistan women.  “Pakistan has the highest first-day mortality rate for babies in Asia making it the most dangerous place in the region to be born, says the report. About 60,000 Pakistani babies die within the first day of life, accounting for 30 per cent of all newborn deaths. Reasons include high rate of preterm births, low birth weight, poor nutritional status of mothers, poor family planning, lack of health workers and early childbearing” Sethna, R. (2014, May 7)

When I read this article, I thought 60,000…wow; I think the culprit is lack of health care workers or the lack of funds to have the necessary instruments, equipment an advance technology. This is a  cry for making an impact for change.

I choice this story because of awareness. I'm putting out there what I have learned, hoping this becomes a conversation that causes change. The impact of giving birth has to be the most scariest event ever, and if a child survivals the odds, then I would assume  development stages are crucial if resources are not in place  

 

 Reference

 Sethna, R. (2014, May 7). Mothers and children in conflict. . Retrieved , from http://www.dawn.com/news/1104774/mothers-and-children-in-conflict