Online Resources and Career possibilities

 For this blog post, I am including the websites of various national organizations which support the quality of child care in this country. The National Association of the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
www.naecy.org The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC)
www.nafcc.org

Early Head Start National Resource Center- This website contains resources for professional development and improve practice for child care providers working with young children (Infant to toddler)www.ehsnrc.org


Quality Rating Improvment Scale National Learning Network-
This website provides an overview of the various initiatives or programs created to rate quality in various states across the nation.http://www.qrisnetwork.org/


Child trends
This nonforprofit organization aims a conducting research to investigate issues and trends in early childhood. The support findings about concers affecting children and families. Great research available in their website.
http://www.childtrends.org/


BUILD Initiative
This organization works with early care and education leaders within states and nationally to better prepare young children to thrive and succeed. We support state leaders from both the private and public sectors as they work to set policy, offer services and advocate for children from birth to age five. http://www.buildinitiative.org/


The overview of BUILD initiative work with New York State:
http://www.buildinitiative.org/OurWork/StateandLocal/BUILDStates/NewYork.aspx


The following job postings were found during my search for the websites above:


http://www.naccrra.org/career-center/job-listing/senior-director-of-research

Senior Director of Research

　

primarily responsible for contributing to the vision and development of a research agenda and policies and products aligned with Child Care Aware® of America’s strategic plan. To accomplish this, the Senior Director of Research will undertake research to develop national strategies to strengthen the child care resource and referral field and the quality of child care across the country. In addition, this individual provides oversight and supervisory support to research staff, works independently and in cross-teams and cross-departments.

Position Duties and Responsibilities:

In coordination with the Executive Director and the Chief of Policy and Evaluation, develop a research agenda aligned with Child Care Aware® of America’s strategic plan to improve the quality of child care and early education.
Create a strategy and matrix to support the research agenda based on individual goals and benchmarks identified in the strategic plan.
Review national, state and local child care trends and use the findings to compile policy briefs and other documents to support Child Care Aware® of America’s overall mission and the improvements in early care and education.
Review state licensing policies, regulations, and statutes as part of the development of major annual child care licensing studies.
In partnership with the Development department and project directors, create outcome measurement plans and evaluation strategies and systems for Child Care Aware® of America’s federal national programs, including partnerships with the military and projects funded by various foundations.
Conduct survey research on the Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) field to describe trends and best practices that inform Child Care Aware® of America’s development of programs and services in support of the CCR&R field.
Design surveys and systems to collect and analyze information as requested by the Executive Director and/or Chief of Policy.
Conduct literature reviews where necessary, write research white papers and general resources for a public audience where appropriate.
Conduct evaluations and needs assessments in support of Child Care Aware® of America’s programs and services in collaboration with internal workgroups and colleagues across departments.
In partnership with the Development Department, design evaluation plans and systems to support grant proposals and contract reporting requirements for national programs and partnerships.
Develop funding proposals in coordination with the Development Department that support Child Care Aware® of America’s research goals and contribute to the national policy agenda.
Manage projects as assigned and develop strategies, timelines, goals and deliverables to accomplish all tasks.
Manage the development of research reports for the CCR&R field and policymakers based on the findings of data analysis, research and other evaluations and coordinate with the Chief of Policy on recommendations.
Serve as a liaison to Child Care Aware® of America’s membership by responding to requests for the latest research information and current state and local projects.
Represent Child Care Aware® of America at meetings and conferences to discuss the research agenda and its findings.
Serve on national level research committees and federally funded research consortiums.
Oversee the daily functions of the Senior Associate and Director of Special Projects and the Research Analyst.
Ensure a supportive environment within the Policy and Evaluation department that promotes employee professional growth and organizational loyalty.
Qualifications:
A Master’s Degree, PhD preferred in child development, early education or research related field; familiarity with Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, Military Child Development Programs, and/or early childhood delivery systems.
At least five years of experience working in research, qualitative and quantitative data collection, and/or data collection coordination, experience processing complex survey data, as well as the ability to translate the data for public audiences (i.e., reports or white papers).
Experience or training in use of major data processing software packages, preferably SPSS; extensive computing skills in the Windows environment, particularly with a variety of database applications; attention to detail.
Experience writing research abstracts, reports and manuscripts. Ability to summarize data and to write reports explaining data trends and data highlights in a manner for easy public consumption.
A successful record of creative leadership in the development and implementation of comprehensive policy, research and communications programs in a complex, multi-layered, work environment.
Knowledge:
Knowledge of survey research principles and practices; experience with political science and public policy
Knowledge of relational databases with multiple tables; basic knowledge of SQL; ability to create multiple table queries and subqueries; ability to produce basic reports summarizing data.
Knowledge of respondent confidentiality regulations.
General familiarity of legislative process at the local, state, and federal levels preferred.
In depth knowledge of national and state policies affecting child care and children.
Familiarity with federal data sources (ie, Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, etc.) related to children, families, the workforce, and poverty.
The ideal candidate will possess the following skills and abilities:
Strategic thinking, planning, and management skills to conceptualize a research agenda and affect its delivery.
Project management skills to manage complex and varied projects. Analytical and critical thinking skills to formulate research options and develop viable recommendations.
Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced work environment.
Ability to work under pressure and tight timelines, ability to re-order priorities while meeting deadlines and ability to delegate among team members.
Ability to work independently, to work in teams, and to work well with individuals of varying backgrounds and skill levels to achieve goals.
Excellent quantitative skills and ability to translate numbers into concepts.
Strong attention to both the vision and details.
General knowledge of Census Bureau data and ability to use Census Bureau numbers.
Research skills to plan and conduct research and to evaluate research activities.
Advanced database skills
Superior writing and presentation skills demonstrated in authoring position papers, reports, and communications materials including speeches, presentations and publications.
Exceptional interpersonal skills to engage stakeholders, potential partners and collaborators to work on projects of mutual interest. Ability to establish and maintain credibility with a variety of partners.
Excellent computer skills and experience with the Microsoft Office suite of products.
Ability to plan, organize, direct, coordinate, and evaluate the work of professional and technical staff engaged in division goals and objectives
Ability to build high functioning teams, demonstrate loyalty and high degree of commitment to achieving organizational goals and objectives.
Knowledge of child care policy preferred.


https://home2.eease.adp.com/recruit2/?id=5624102&t=2

Research Assistant

Early Childhood

Child Trends, founded in 1979, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to improving the lives of children by conducting research and providing science-based information to improve the decisions programs, and policies that affect children.

General Description:

Under close supervision by more experienced researchers, assists in the performance of social science research in education and youth development by gathering research, and helping to prepare material for inclusion in reports. Assist in the development and administration of surveys/questionnaire and study protocols. Recruit study participants, conduct interviews, and compile results. May collect, tabulate, and perform basic data analysis. May write sections of reports and research briefs.

The Early Childhood research area focuses on research and intervention programs that promote the social, academic, and behavioral wellbeing of children and adolescents, primarily from ages 6 to 17. We are seeking a Research Assistant to support our research efforts.

Responsibilities:

Working as part of an experienced research team, research assistants support all aspects of the research process, including idea generation, conducting studies and producing final reports. This position requires strong analytic skills and logical thinking, great attention to detail, excellent writing skills, and an interest in and enthusiasm for topics related to child welfare. Specific responsibilities include:

Conduct literature reviews on topics and synthesize material in the form of bibliographies, abstracts, reports, according to instructions.
Tabulate and/or maintain collected data by means of coding or organizing data into tables or graphs. Produce tables and graphs.
Process data from computational output using SAS/SPSS or other such statistical packages.
Analyze primary and secondary data using basic statistical methods.
Assist with survey design and administers structured surveys (telephone, written, and in-person interviews, site observations) for projects requiring primary data collection.
Assist with organizing meetings, meeting notes, and filing when necessary.
May evaluate/supervise interns.
Prepare presentations for conferences and helps finalize journal articles, draft sections of literature reviews and reports. Perform analysis tasks.
Qualifications

The academic knowledge of a social science discipline that is generally associated with the bachelor's degree or and equivalent combination of education and experience or demonstrated ability to perform beginning level research in a social science field. Experience in Early Childhood research required. Experience in early childhood settings and/or research lab experience strongly preferred. Fluent Spanish skills preferred. Strong organizational and writing skills required.

Community of Practice & Career goals

 

This week we are exploring our community of practice (CoP), the people and organizations who support our career related goals. For this blog post I have to provide online links to organizations which can be pare of this CoP.

The National Association of Family Child Care: www.nafcc.org

The United Federation of Teachers, providers division: http://www.uft.org/providers

The New York State Early Childhood Advisory Council:

http://ccf.ny.gov/ECAC/index.cfm

NYS Association for Education of Young Children: http://www.nysaeyc.org

The other part of this blog was about researching career options. The following link helped me research career options with young children in NY.

My two top options include:

Adult educator:

Description: A person who leads adults to learn such as a community-based trainer, independent consultant or college faculty.

Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions: The adult educator has a depth of knowledge in a specific field of study gained from college preparation and from experience. Besides the subject area, the adult educator knows about the adult learner, stages of adult development, and systems in which adults work and live. The skills of an adult educator are planning and facilitating learning environments and content, public speaking, negotiation and problem solving, and active listening techniques. The adult educator has dispositions of kindness, tact, humor, empathy, and confidentiality.

Employment Settings: The adult educator may work for a community-based organization to provide training for its members or the community at large. The independent consultant works in a variety of settings dependent on the nature of the training being presented. It may be in small groups or to very large audiences. College faculty works in an adult classroom environment within a large bureaucratic organization. Some are adjunct faculty positions (part-time, contracted to teach one or more courses, on a semester-by-semester basis) or tenure track, full-time positions.

Required Qualifications: Usually at least a bachelor’s degree is required for the adult educator except in certain circumstances where the person's knowledge and experience are a consideration and their level of higher education is less of a factor. Many adult educators complete a train the trainer course/s in the content area in which they educate other adults.

Preparation: The adult educator prepares by meeting the educational qualifications, gaining sufficient experience to be a credible authority on a specific subject, and developing public speaking and presentation skills. Experience may be gained by presenting at local conferences, participating in local speaking organizations such as Toastmasters International, and being mentored by an experienced adult educator who will give helpful advice.

Alternate Pathways: Sometimes adult educators have gained experience in other fields such as religious education and involvement in community organizations, scouting, or PTA. The experience in speaking and leading groups of adults in addition to education and training can prepare a person for a career in adult education.

Job Outlook: Where people want to learn, there will always be a need for someone to help them, whether it is providing workshops, seminars, or college classes. This position may be self-employment on a independent contractor basis or it may be a formal contract or employment.

Earnings:When an adult educator works for an agency, the sponsor and type of agency determine the salary range. As an independent consultant, depending on geographic area, expertise, and prior experiences, self-employed consultant fees may range from $25 per hour upwards into thousands of dollars for a speech or presentation. College faculty salaries vary greatly depending on the college or university of employment. Factors that impact college faculty salaries include whether the institution is public or private, a two or four year school, etc.

Opportunity For Advancement: As an agency employee, advancement depends on the organization, the size and the kinds of training it offers. As an independent consultant, you are your own employer. As college faculty in a tenure track position, advancement occurs through the ranks of Lecturer, Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor. Each level has criteria for advancement with an increase in salary. College faculty are typically ten-month employees with the opportunity for summer employment or additional responsibilities within the academic year that may result in additional income. Professional development funds are usually available for faculty but may not be available for the agency employee or consultant.

 

http://www.earlychildhood.org/cdrg/exp_positions_p1.cfm


At this moment I am also in the process to becoming an NYS Early Learning Credential trainer http://www.nysaeyc.org/trainercredential/.


A second option is to also work as a family childcare provider:

Description:

Family Child Care Provider - A person who operates a registered family or a licensed group family child day care business in a private residence.

Family Child Care Alternate Provider - The pre-approved substitute for the Family Child Care Provider who works in the licensed provider's home.

Group Family Child Care Assistant - The assistant who is an employee and works in the residence of the owner/provider. (See ASSISTANT TO HEAD OF GROUP - POSITION 3.)

Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions: The family child care provider has knowledge of child development, health, safety and nutrition. The provider uses good speaking and listening skills to communicate with children and their families. The provider plans routines and activities that contribute to each child's physical, intellectual, emotional, and social well-being. Critical thinking, problem solving and techniques of child management are important skills for the family child care provider. This position requires skills in working with young children, an appreciation for all kinds of families and cultures, a respect for the family as the child's first teacher and the willingness to work as a partner with the family.

Employment Settings: Family and Group Family Child Care is offered in the provider's own residence or in an approved residential home. In the case of the Alternate or Assistant, the employment setting is the home of the registered/licensed provider.

Required Qualifications: Eighteen years of age, minimum of two years experience caring for children under six years of age or one year of experience caring for children under six years of age plus six hours of training or education in early childhood development, and three references. (NYSOCFS 417.13 (a) and 416.13(a)). All persons holding this position must be cleared through the NYS Central Registry of Child Abuse and fingerprints submitted to required authorities.

Preparation: This is an entry-level position with minimal preparation required. Some people take early childhood courses in high school and/or college as preparation for employment. All new providers are required to take the NYS OCFS approved 15 hour health and safety training prior to registration or licensing.

Continuing Education: Thirty hours of training completed every two years of the registration or licensing period which consists of:

• Principles of childhood development, including the appropriate supervision of children, meeting the needs of children enrolled in the program with physical or emotional challenges and behavior management and discipline
• Nutrition and health needs of children
• Child day care program development
• Safety and security procedures, including communication between parents and staff
• Business record maintenance and management
• Child abuse and maltreatment identification and prevention
• Statutes and regulations pertaining to child day care
• Statutes and regulations pertaining to child abuse and maltreatment

Alternate Pathways: People may move from a position in center-based child care operations to a family child care business of their own or they may move from being an assistant to having their own program.

Job Outlook: More children are cared for in family child care homes than in any other form of non-relative care. Many people prefer a home setting for their child rather than a school-like setting, especially for infants and toddlers. The demand for this kind of care is expected to continue.

Earnings: A group or family care provider's earnings are dependent upon management practices, demand for service and level of quality. It is up to the provider to make this business successful.

Opportunity for Advancement: The family child care provider is self-employed. The provider may expand the business to group family child care by applying for a group family child care license and hiring assistant providers to maintain adult/child ratios with larger numbers of children.

http://www.earlychildhood.org/cdrg/exp_positions_p7.cfm


The last link provides excellent information on preparing for employment, writing a portfolio and creating a resume to obtain a job in the field of early childhood.
 http://www.earlychildhood.org/cdrg/prep_employ.cfm

Re-opening my blog for 6990- The Capstone Project

This is the last lap of a challenging race! EDUC 6990 the capstone project here I go!

I look forward to posting stimulating blogposts & reading my colleagues comments. We may not have met in person, but I feel I know you all so much from all of our exchanges.

In this course I will work towards creating positive social change. I started by evaluting my priorities in a word art piece called a Wordle. Using an online applet you type in the text you want to visually analyze, see my wordle below. I know diversity and culturally responsive practice will be at big focus for this project.


Thank you all for the great support!

Angie

My Support

As I write this blog, I am counting on my strongest supporting team: My family.

I have a loving spouse whom I simply love with all of my heart. I have the most amazing daughters who are awesome, and are really great listeners. Even the baby does her part to be a team player. Right now everyone is keeping the house quiet for me to finish my school work!

I also have my extended family support... My mom and sister who have been there for me. My childhood web video on the right is a tribute to them.

My dear mom has been a rock for me. She has supported me through a divorce, being a single mom, coming out in my early twenties, and even getting married again. I could not ask for a better mother. My sister has been a best friend, a positive critic, and the one who keeps me real.

A new unexpected team of support has been Walden University. This MS program has been a lot more challenging that I expected, but the Walden team and my colleagues have been extremely supportive. We even got through learning Blackboard together!!! Yay!

I am also glad to feel connected to the field of early childhood in a greater sense. I currently belong to organizations like the NAEYC and NAFCC. This is a supportive professional field and I am proud to belong!

Personal Connection to Play

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation" 

Plato

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing" 

George Bernard Shaw

“Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do." 

Mark Twain

Source: http://planningwithkids.com/2009/04/14/10-quotes-on-the-importance-of-play/

My personal experience with play

I can almost remember playing with dolls as if it was yesterday. I used to sit for hours creating complicated stories for my Barbie. I would make their clothes, style their hair and create mini-versions of everything they needed to live comfortably. 

Since I lived in Colombia a few decades ago, Barbie dolls and their accessories were quite expensive and rare. Instead I would create my own. My grandmother helped me create a line of fashionable clothes for the dolls— Tiny shirts, pants, handbags etc. 

I had only a few without boy dolls, so we used to come up with inventive alternatives for the “boys”. The teddy bears used to be the dance partners and our dates. A simple shoe box with glued on wheels was the car, and the sink was the pool or Jacuzzi.

I think on a regular day I would spend a couple of hours engrossed in creating my own Barbie world. The story lines were elaborate,switched at birth, vampire love tales, or murder mystery. Perhaps, I should have written a book. I remember fondly how playing made me truly happy. I played socially. All my friends would show up to play with their dolls. My sister would also join me sometimes. To this day, my sister says I had the best Barbie-game ideas.  

Imagine my disappointment to know my daughters do not like to play with dolls. I can only blame myself for introducing the iPod, Wii, and computers into their lives before the joy of dolls. I wish I could entice them one day to play with me.

Here is a blog about making culturally diverse and realistic Barbie dolls.

This looks like my old Barbie apartment loft.

Relationship Reflection

"Human relationships, and the effects of relationships on relationships, are the building blocks of healthy development" (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000, p. 4).

As humans we are social beings and we thrive when we are in connection with others. Relationships help us develop from infancy and throughout our lives. We learn a great deal about ourselves from the way we interact with the significant others in our circle.

Here are a few of the significant relationships in my life:

My daughter Emmalee

This relationship taught me how to be a mother. I learned that motherhood brings many joys and many challenges. I changed my career path and my ambition to be a mother. As she grows up our relationship changes and I learn more and more about myself. Parents are not only the teachers, but they are the learners in the parent/child connection.

My youngest daughter Ella

This relationship taught me that motherhood is an ongoing learning path. Having a new baby was a humbling experience. As a “professional” mother I was under the false impression that raising a new baby was going to be a walk in the park. Along came Ella to put me in my place! She shows me every day that our relationship is a work in progress. Our temperaments are different and our challenges are many! The phrase “patience is a virtue” is really implemented in this relationship. At her 11^th month of life, Ella has been my inspiration and motivation to be in the field of early childhood.

Gabby

My political or daughter via marriage (because the term step-child is derogatory in nature): Gabby has taught me that mothering by choice is a conscious decision. This relationship is a work in progress. Love in motherhood seems to be a given. But love in step-mothering is not such a clear cut idea. The fairy tale story often dwells on the idea of conflict between child and new parent. The step-parent is depicted as wicked or evil. I can surely relate to feeling as such character at times in our relationship. I love my child. I know we have our differences and I am often reminded I am not replacing her “real” mother- nor this is my desire. This relationship shows me that children need to be loved for more than a genetic connection. We know our relationship is special because we both choose our parent/child roles. In a way, she teaches me that mothering is not a popularity contest, but it sure is an election!

My marriage

My spouse, Lan, has taught me that marriage is a negotiation. We work as partners. We both bring strengths and areas of improvement to the plate. We know nobody is perfect and that is okay. We run our relationship like a business at times. We strategize and come up with logical solution to our conflicts. Compromise and communication help keep peace within our home. Love is not necessarily irrational and passionate. Yes, there is love and passion. But there is strong communication, objectivity and compromise- Marriage is about longevity. For feelings to last, commitment needs to coexist with compromise and mutual understanding.

Me!

This picture is not too flattering, but it was a moment captured of my time spent reflecting and writing.

Taking a risk of sounding narcissistic, I want to share that the most important relationship I have is with me. In order to have positive interactions with others I need to understand myself. I have to take care of my wants and needs. This goes back to the airplane announcement on placing the oxygen mask on you, before helping others get their masks. If you don’t know yourself, how do you expect others to figure it out? This relationship is a daily work in progress, I learn that some days I listen to my needs and wants and I fulfill them. Other days I neglect myselfL I know in other to meet everyone else’s wants and needs I need to meet my own. Prioritizing has helped me a great deal. I often ask is this a want or a need? Does this conflict with others’ wants or needs? What is priority? What is the best possible solution, and/or what consequence I can live with for this time?

Final thoughts on Early Child Development class

Dear Readers,

The final assignment is to post a quote or a visual/media piece... If you look beneath my list of resources you will find a great resource on school readiness. It captures all the different information about child development to  help a child succeed at starting school! Even better you can copy the link by clicking on share and place it on your own blogs or through social media! I think they want everyone to have this informative booklet.

During this course we created our charts and bonded over the development of young children from age 0 to 8 years old. I have enjoyed our discussions and supportive posts. I have learned a great deal from this class and my colleagues.

I want to thank the following colleagues for their time and dedication to their blogs. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts every week!

Amy
http://butterflychildhood.blogspot.com

Ashleigh
http://southernsoulrising.blogspot.com

Christelle
http://earlychildhood21stcentury.blogspot.com/

Crystal
http://crystaleducation.blogspot.com/

Rene
http://musicwithmoss.blogspot.com

Shikisha
http://developingearlychildhood.blogspot.com/

Wanda
http://stuckngermany.blogspot.com/

I am excited to move on to the next chapter! See you all soon.

-Angie

Measuring the Mind from a Chinese perspective

I have never thought twice about the way we measure intelligence in the US. I knew IQ tests, standardized tests and academics were a sure way of understanding the level of a person's intelligence. Reading deeper into the nature of measuring the mind, I am starting to think there might be more to this than just tests scores.

In the US children’s intellectual aptitude is tested using many tests including standardize tests. These tests measure how proficient the child is in the various school subjects including math, reading and science (Berger, 2009). The intelligence quotient test or IQ test is also used to measure the intellect of US children. The IQ test is the measurement of the child’s mental abilities, mainly reasoning ability, obtained by comparing actual ability divided by chronological age (Berger, 2009). The calculated number gives you a score that can be used to determine the child’s ability (Berger, 2009). Average intelligence in the US is between a 85 to 115 scores (Berger, 2009). According to Bainbridge (n.d.), author for About.com, individuals with higher scores can be divided into several categories.

·         Mildly Gifted -- 115 to 129

·         Moderately Gifted -- 130 to 144

·         Highly Gifted -- 145 to 159

·         Exceptionally Gifted -- 160 to 179

·         Profoundly Gifted -- 180

Bainbridge (n.d.) does explain that IQ testing is not an exact science and that there can be issues with the results of the test. One of the issues of IQ tests is that they can be culturally biased (Benson, 2003). Benson (2003) writes that every culture has a particular way of perceiving intelligence that might be different from the US measurement of intellect. Simply translating or even providing an IQ test in the native language of the child might not be enough.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yellojkt/1315080324/sizes/z/in/photostream/

In China mental abilities have been tested since ancient times (Higgins & Xiang, 2009).  The Chinese believed that intelligent people were those who made predictions from  given information. In the 7^th century AD the Chinese use the “keju” or a civil service exam testing the candidates for their knowledge in various fields including Confusion classics (Higgins & Xiang, 2009). Even the British government adopted this style of testing in the 1800s for their employees. In a way, one can say the Chinese invented aptitude testing! Although, during communism the use of psychological and aptitude testing was not popular, currently there is new development and usage of the IQ test in China (Higgins & Xiang, 2009). The main use of intelligence tests is in the clinical settings, research purposes, and lastly for educational purposes (Higgins & Xiang, 2009). Higgins and Xiang (2009) highlight a few of the strengths and weaknesses of the IQ tests in China. The main weakness is the cultural aspect of the test. The researchers appear to feel that this can be improved with simple modifications and using a written version of the test (Higgins & Xiang, 2009). Also when Chinese researchers look at IQ they stress environmental influences because this accords with their communist ideology (Higgins & Xiang, 2009).

To understand better the Chinese school system I watch a documentary series by BBC America online called “Chinese Schools” -(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8cyb02YbU8&feature=BFa&list=SP248BCB9176DF2238&lf=list_related). For anyone who is interested in learning more about this academic culture I encourage you to go online and watch it. The way children are asked to perform academically and the amount of self-control is very different from US standards. 


Perhaps this is why a universal IQ test is very unlikely!

Thanks for reading,
Angie

References

Bainbridge, C. (n.d.). What is the meaning of an IQ test score?[Online Article]. Retrieved on April 3, 2012 from  http://giftedkids.about.com/od/gifted101/qt/IQ_scores.htm

Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Benson, E. (2003). Intelligence across cultures: Research in Africa, Asia and Latin America is showing how culture and intelligence interact. American Psychological Association; 34. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/intelligence.aspx

Higgins, L.T. & Xiang, G. (2009). The development and use of intelligence tests in China. Psychology & Developing Societied; 21: 257-271. DOI: 10.1177/097133360902100205

Domestic Violence and its effect on Child development

This week we are asked to focus on stressors that affect children’s biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial development. I chose domestic violence as the stressor.

Here are a few facts:

• Nearly 25% of women will be exposed to domestic violence
• 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually
• Domestic violence is a risk factor for lifelong problems
• Both men and women can be victims of domestic violence

According to the experts stress is disruptive to brain development (National Scientific Council on The Developing Child, 2005). High levels of stress, or toxic stress- a condition where the child is routinely exposed to negative emotions, can disrupt the brain’s architecture (National Scientific Council on The Developing Child, 2005).  This stress can be caused by abuse, poverty, witnessing violence from parents, like in the case of domestic violence.

Extreme fear can also impact how children develop socially and emotionally (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2010). Young children can learn to be fearful through something called “fear conditioning”( National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2010). They learn to be afraid of everything that reminds them of the threat (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2010). In occasion the children become unable to differentiate from threat and safety (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2010).

I decided to focus on children exposed to domestic violence because of my childhood memories of my parents being abusive to each other. I remember feeling fear and stress from early in my childhood. I want to say that I was lucky that my parents divorced and I was able to develop normally, but I cannot. I know until this day my reaction to fighting and shouting is abnormal, and I shy away from confrontation. I also ended up in an abusive marriage after high school. I left that marriage shortly after but it was not easy to regain trust in my abilities. I went to four years of therapy to overcome this part of my life. I hope that entering the early childhood field I will be able to empower others to recognize signs of distress in young children. Sometimes it takes another adult outside of the abuse to tell a loving parent “if you are not okay, your child suffers too. Take care of yourself. Get out of the abuse and save your kids!”  

Thanks for reading!

Yours Truly,

Angie

A few online resources:

Safe Horizon

http://www.safehorizon.org/index/get-help-8/for-domestic-violence-35.html?gclid=CPesifaE9q4CFUZN4AodQk1IJA

Safe Horizon’s Domestic Violence Hotline:
800.621.HOPE (4673)

Safe Horizon’s Crime Victims Hotline:
866.689.HELP (4357)

Safe Horizon’s Rape, Sexual Assault & Incest Hotline:
212.227.3000

TDD phone number for all hotlines:
866.604.5350

Helpguide.org

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/domestic_violence_abuse_help_treatment_prevention.htm

The Children’s Aid Society

http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/family-support/domestic-violence-prevention-intervention-services?gclid=CJyRs_2F9q4CFQgRNAodxWkfJA

References

Domestic Violence Resource Center (2012). Domestic violence statistics [Website]. Retrieved from http://www.dvrc-or.org/domestic/violence/resources/C61/.

Domestic Violence Statistics (2012). Domestic violence statistics [Website]. Retrieved from http://domesticviolencestatistics.org/domestic-violence-statistics/

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2010). Persistent Fear and Anxiety Can Affect Young Children’s Learning and Development: Working Paper No. 9. http://www.developingchild.net

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2005). Excessive Stress Disrupts the Architecture of the Developing Brain: Working Paper #3. http://www.developingchild.net

Breastfeeding in the Developing World

Source: www.unicef.org

Breastfeeding is the biological normal for mother and baby. It is the way nature intended for humans to feed their young. As Diane Wiessinger explains the claim of human milk being superior is simply not true (1996). Human milk is the basic necessity for human babies, formula or artificial baby milk is just plain and simply inferior (Wiessinger, 1996). This is extremely apparent in the developing nations where infants die if their mothers cannot breastfeed (WHO, 2011).

Source: www.jyi.org/articleimages/1243/originals/img0.jpg

This blog post will be about breastfeeding in the developing nation of Kenya in Africa. A health concern about breastfeeding in cities like Nairobi, Kenya is the high incidence of HIV (Berger, 2009). One of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UNICEF goals is to reduce the mother-to-child HIV transmission in the developing nations (WHO, 2011, UNICEF, n.d.). Due to the potential risk of transmission via breast milk and breast feeding, bottle feeding artificial milk has been claimed to be safer for babies of HIV-positive mothers (CDC, 2010). 

According to a new update from WHO, breastfeeding may in fact be safer (WHO, 2011). The risk for baby to die from unclean and unsanitary feeding methods outweighs the benefit of preventing HIV transmissions. In fact, the data shows HIV-positive mothers are more likely to transmit the virus during pregnancy and birth than while breastfeeding (WHO, 2011). The WHO supports exclusive breastfeeding for six months for babies whose mothers are HIV positive (WHO, 2011). In fact, partial breastfeeding can increase the risk of transmission for the vulnerable infant, and not breastfeeding can increase the risk for infection to a potentially immunocompromise HIV-positive baby (WHO, 2011).

Source: http://adayofprayeraction.org

Unfortunately, the companies that manufacture artificial baby milk, make unfounded claims.  Visit a popular formula company’s website and you will read “Nourishing the world’s children for the best start in life”(Mead Johnson & Company, LLC., 1996-2012). This would be only true if we don’t count Nairobi’s vulnerable HIV-positive babies as part of the world’s children! A better slogan would read: Nourishing the developed nations’ children for a start in life, when breastfeeding is not feasible and human milk is not available. 

Here is the take home message, breastfeeding should be protected and promoted all over the world. In particular, in parts of the world where there are immediate health issues with artificial feeding. This includes the vulnerable babies of HIV-positive women in Nairobi, Kenya.

References

Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

CDC. (2010, March 4). Breastfeeding and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus (AIDS). Retrieved from CDC website on March 9, 2012 from http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/disease/hiv.htm

Mead Johnson & Company, LLC. (1996,2012). Meadjohnson nutrition homepage. Retrieved from http://www.meadjohnson.com/Pages/default.aspx

UNICEF. (n.d.).UNICEF's Response. Retrieved on March 9, 2012 from http://www.unicef.org/programme/breastfeeding/response.htm

WHO. (2011, January). Kesho Bora Study: Preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV during breastfeeding [Online document]. Retrieved on March 8, 2012 from http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/rtis/KeshoBora_study.pdf

Wiessinger, D. (1996).Watch your language. [Online article]. Retrieved from http://www.whale.to/a/wiessinger.html

Hospital vs. Homebirth

The birth story I want to share starts with my own adventure of researching birth and Westernized birthing practices. After watching the acclaimed video by Ricki Lake “The business of being born”, I was obsessed with an alternative to the common hospital birth in this country.

A common birth in the US may start with a woman being taken to the hospital after her contractions are close enough or her water breaks. At the hospital she is asked to wear a gown and lay down for an examination to determine if she is indeed in labor. Her contractions are monitored closely, along with the fetal heartbeat. An IV or intravenous drip may be started in case other medications are needed. She is asked to lie down, tolerate the pain as best as possible and wait for the monitoring to continue. She is then given a choice to have an epidural or pain management medications. She is told not to eat or drink and stay within the confinement of the bed as the monitoring equipment is strapped around her body. She is given very little options to manage the pain other than to tolerate it or take the epidural. At this point many women opt to have the drugs, after all most of their friends rave about it. The epidural offer instant relief of the pain and at last the uncomfortable position is not too bad to tolerate. Monitoring continues and so on and so forth the contractions will go unnoticed… Finally a nurse or a doctor will decide that the woman has dilated to the correct 10 centimeters we know a baby needs in order to fit through the cervix and of course the woman is cut with an episiotomy to prevent tearing. Other time labor stalls, powerful drugs will be given to speed up the process, cervadil or Pitocin. If labor progresses and the medical staff say it’s time to push the woman is asked to bear down, her feet up in stir-ups and she is told in a very proactive manner to push and push until the baby is born. If unfortunately the medications do not allow contractions to open the cervix or pushing the baby in the position does not bring the baby down, a woman might be rushed to the operating table for a cesarean section or more commonly known a c-section. In both cases the baby is received by the medical staff cleaned, weight and measure for accurate records. Wrapped in blankets and then presented to the exhausted mother as a tiny bundle of joy all cute and ready to nurse. However, within the next couple of hours the baby needs to be monitored closely so he will be whisked away for a few hours to warm up under a lamp and observed by more staff while mom recuperates in another room… Watch “A birthing story” or the other spin-off TLC shows about birth… you will probably see this happening over and over again.

But the birth story I want to share is different. It is the birth of my second child, Ella, at home. As I was saying watching Ricki Lake’s movie made me want to give birth in another way. My first child was born in a typical hospital in the more customary way. She was born healthy, vaginal delivery. I had an epidural, IV fluids and no complications to speak of. However, thinking back I was not satisfied with her birth. I wanted more for my next experience. What exactly? I wasn’t sure until Ella was ready to be born…

It was 8pm on a warm summer night. I had been walking and moving with bad abdominal cramps that had plague me the entire day. I had been ignoring them because I had been in pain for the past weeks. Late pregnancy had been rough on my lower back. In particular the past few days I had digestive irritability, so the cramping was another complaint to the list. Nonetheless, my spouse called Jeannette, our supportive midwife, to ask for reassurance. I was only 37 weeks pregnant and we were not planning on giving birth just yet. Jeannette had advice to keep me hydrated as it is common for dehydration to cause unusually powerful Braxton hicks contractions; those are the ‘fake’ or preparatory drills as she called them. She decided to pay me a visit that night since she had to practice her route to my apartment in any case before my actual birth at home. Yes, I was planning to give birth at home. Most folks that heard me state this thought I was nuts for attempting such a ‘third’ world type of thing. The truth is that hospitalized birth in America is the standard, anything else is seen as odd. I reassured my family and friends that I was quite sane and that my choice to birth at home had been made after extensive research. Both my spouse and I were making an informed decision.

By 9ish Jeannette arrived with a friend midwife who was visiting from Switzerland.  As they walk in I am bent over out of breath due to a quite powerful Braxton hicks contraction. “Hmmm, maybe we should just take a peak…” said Jeannette.  As I tried to lie down another contraction hit and I jumped from the bed and started to rock. Movement made these awful cramps lessen. So I walked and rocked, swayed and danced. Massaged my aching back and went to sit on my yoga ball. I did whatever felt natural and what made my body feel better. Heck, I was practicing for labor after all! At last the cramps subsided long enough for Jeannette to examine me. To our surprise she said I was close to seven centimeters dilated! I was in very active labor. At this moment, I realized I was experiencing my actual birth and not a drill! I turned off the lights of the room. I put own some relaxation music and lit a candle. I was left in the room to rest and move as I needed to. I kept walking and dancing. I’m not going to say it was pain free, but it was tolerable. I shifted positions as needed and no wired or beeping machine prevented me from doing so. My spouse came in at times to check on me and to hold me as I needed to be held. I felt loved. I felt safe. I felt in control. In between contractions, I was in a narcotic state of mind and felt very numbed as if I had been drinking (hmm, possibly due to the endorphins released by my own body, these are very powerful natural drugs our own body makes). When a new wave of pain would hit, my body would find a position a breath or a kind touch from my spouse to ease the discomfort. At one point I took a shower, and then proceeded to take my clothes off, yep in that order (the clothes got wet). By 11ish my water broke by itself with one particularly strong contraction. We just placed a towel on my yoga ball and continued laboring. A few minutes later the contractions started to come in one after the other in a rhythmic unstoppable motion. It was like a high power aerobics class on steroids gone wild. By 11:40pm I was ready to take a nap. All of the working through contractions had really taken a toll on my muscles. I was hot, sweaty and beat. I had never been so exhausted! I started to ask for a break. And got up to the bathroom saying “okay I need a break I need a break, I’m done. Thank you every one but this baby is going to have to wait. I can’t any more. I’m done” (This of course is what I was told I said, I don’t remember much). Then Jeannette said that I could nap after the baby was born. So I said let’s push the little sucker out because I’m ready for a nap! I squatted on a birthing stool, hands on the ground and started to push. Jeannette allowed me to do whatever I had to do. I pushed and pushed but I couldn’t find the right way. I was not coached or coaxed into changing. I naturally moved in the direction my body adjusted. My spouse came behind me for assistance and support as I had some trouble maneuvering with the bulge in front. Then something inside told me to just surrender and let the body push the baby out. I clearly remember the moment I surrender to the pushing. Lan, my spouse, was still behind me gingerly spooning me to support my tired body. I inhaled deeply and then exhale the most powerful animalistic groan. It was an intense feeling, nothing like I had ever felt before. I reached down and felt her head, she was coming! In an instant this strong energy went through my body and a second growl exploded from me… In a heartbeat she was born into my hands. Jeannette unraveled the umbilical cord that had been around her neck. She placed her in my arms against my skin and I stared into her tiny little face. She was red, wet and screaming from the top of her lungs. She was mine and there would be no one whisking her away. The nap and the exhaustion were forgotten. IT was an incredibly empowering feeling. I gave birth on my own terms, when both Ella and I were ready. It was 11:49pm.

Lan holding and supporting me while I held baby Ella.

It was an amazing birthing experience!

Big sister Emmalee, holding Ella a few minutes later...

My first shirt says "Born at Home"

Ella Marie Labarca- Born June 7, 2011 at 11:49pm, weight 6lbs 8oz, 19inches long

Addendum:

Re-reading the blog assignment, I realized that simply comparing two different types of births within the United States may not be sufficient to address the birth research part of the question. Hence, let me elaborate on comparing my birth experience with births outside of the US.

If we take a look at Sweden statistically we would see their maternal mortality rates (1/11,400) and their neonatal mortality rate (1/1000) is lower than the US rates of 1/2100 and 4/1000 births respectively.  One might wonder, what is the difference among both of these developed countries? One might also realize that Sweden is one of the developed countries with the lowest C-section rate <15% (Berger, 2009). Births in Sweden hospitals are kinder, gentler and it is evident midwives are in charge, as one blogger mentions “The entire process around birth is managed with as little intervention (ingrepp) as possible.”(Gabriel, 2010)

Let’s also compare the statistics of a developing country against US statistics. I was shocked to see Chile with one of the highest C-section rates (40%) had very similar mortality rates to the US (1/2000 and 5/1000 births) (Unicef, 2010). What influences these similarities may be more complex than the scope of this blog post. However, the midwifery profession is starting to understand how birthing practices needs less disruption from a medical personal, and a kinder approach (Davis-Floyd,Pascal-Bonaro, Davies, & Gomez Ponce de Leon, 2010).

I guess my take on all of this is that the home birth was only a better choice, for me, because I felt there would be less unnecessary medical intervention (drugs, IV, monitoring). If I had been given a choice to birth in a supportive environment within a health care facility, like a Swedish hospital or a birthing center, I probably would have chosen this option. It is unkind and disruptive interventions that need remedy by improving training of medical personal. Perhaps, we need more evidence-based practice approach to really understand what role the hospital staff should play in the birthing process. We also want a global change for kinder birthing practices where women do have access to skilled birth professionals (Davis-Floyd,Pascal-Bonaro, Davies, & Gomez Ponce de Leon, 2010). Let me reiterate how I did my homework and my birth was safe because I was being assisted by a skilled midwife.

Thank you for reading!

References

Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Davis-Floyd, R., Pascal-Bonaro, D., Davies, R., & Gomez Ponce de Leon, R. (2010). The International      

MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative: A human rights approach to optimal maternity care. Midwifery Today. 

Retrieved on March 1, 2012 from http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/imbci.asp

Gabriel. (2010, January 7). Giving birth in Sweden. [Blog post]. Retrieved on March 1, 2012 from 

http://www.transparent.com/swedish/giving-birth-in-sweden

Unicef. (2010, March). At a glance: Chile. [Website]. Retrieved on March 1, 2012 from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/chile_statistics.html

Unicef. (2010, March). At a glance: Sweden. [Website]. Retrieved on March 1, 2012 from 

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/sweden_statistics.html

Unicef. (2010, March). At a glance: United States of America. [Website]. Retrieved on March 1, 2012 from 

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/usa_statistics.html