Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

     I am reminded of the nightmare that took place at my grandmother's house in Delta City,
 Mississippi in 1971. As a child, it looked like a normal day. The weather was warm
and partly cloudy. My cousins and I was playing in the living room when my grandmother
rushed into the room and said,"Stay in this room and away from the windows, a storm is
coming." My cousins looked startled, so I can imagine that I looked the same.  We had been
in storms before and nothing happen but heavy rainfalls, lightning, and thunder. It seemed
like after my grandmother had spoken those words, we heard the sound of a train coming
closer to our house. We heard the window pane fall to the floor and break. We could  hear
the tin flapping loud on our roof top. The small country town of  Delta City had no trains
insight. We was so afraid until we just hurdle up on the couch. I was the oldest and had
heard the older people say that a tornado sounds like a locomotive. Soon every sound
ceased. I looked out  the broken window and as far as I could see was pieces of torn
clothes hanging from the trees. Our town looked liked a war zone. Some people lost their
 life in the storm including a baby. Our family had just experienced and survived a natural
disaster. I was afraid thereafter whenever there was a report of bad weather.  No one
offered the black citizens of Delta City any programs for disaster recovery. We had to
take one day at a time to recovery and pray that a tornado wouldn't come again.
     According to Berger (2012, p.380) , the family is who children depend on "for food,
learning, and life itself." Therefore, after the tornado, I had only my grandmother to
depend on.  Berger stated that some children are not harmed by something that happen
when they was younger. Children that seems to let nothing bother them is considered
resilient, according to  Berger, 2012). I was able to cope with everything in my young
 life except when I heard that a storm was coming through Delta City.

Reference
Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Child Development and Public Health

Nutrition/malnutrition

      I want to gain more knowledge about the effects nutrition/malnutrition has on

 pregnant women and their unborn child's development. Nutrition/malnutrition is

 meaningful to me,because  I work in a community with young parents who keep

 having babies that are behind in their developmental growth when they enter the

head start program. I want to learn more in order to reinforce the importance of

eating healthy with future expectant parents of the students in my care and the

mothers to be in my family.

Some Nutrition Facts

>Health and development depends on good nutrition.

>Good nutrition provides a "safer pregnancy and childbirth, stronger immune system
   for the mother and child."
>Good nutrition makes healthy children who learn better.
>Good nutrition makes people more productive.
Reference
World Health Organization. (October, 2012). 10 Facts on nutrition. Retrieved from

      http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/nutrition/en/index.html

Argentina

Nutrition/malnutrition

      I first read about the country of Argentina in elementary school. I was fascinated by the 

clothes the people wore and their way of life.  After the lesson on Argentina, I said to

myself that I would like to go there one day.  Unfortunately, I hadn't had the opportunity

 to go but I can visit through my research.

     

     The main nutritional problems in Argentina is stunting and overweight. According to

Berger (2012), "stunting is the failure of children to grow to a normal height for their age

"Childhood overweight is when the body mass index is above the 85th percentile

(Berger, 2012, p. 328))."Most overweight children live in Santa Cruz.  Overweight

and chronic malnutrition problems occurs in children between the ages of two and six.

Anemia has the highest prevalence in children under two years old.

     Eating healthy will pay off.  Eating healthy will help the body grow and develop in a

normal way.  The most important thing for expectant parents to do is practice good

nutrition to produce a healthy baby that will live a productive life.

References

Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY:
 
     Worth Publishers.

Nutrition Country Profiles. (1995). Argentina summary.  Retrieved from

                        

     http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/nutrition/arg_en.stm

~~~~~~My Personal Birthing Experience ~~~~~

I delivered three healthy boys. I decided to write about my firstborn experience. I was eighteen when I gave birth to my first child. My water bag broke at home. I was rushed to the local hospital. I stayed in labor for 12 hours.  My son was delivered with forceps that left a mark on his face because the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. However, my son was a healthy 8 lbs 9oz baby.

       ~~~~~~My Personal Birthing Experience Compared to Chinese Women~~~~~

During the Pregnancy

>A Chinese mother to be is expected to eat herbal soups and nutritious foods.

>I had to take one iron pill everyday and eat a balance diet.

Tradition

>In the Chinese culture pregnant women can not give their unborn baby a name.

>I had several names to choose from before birth but didn't decide which name I wanted
   until the nurse came to complete discharge papers.

After Birth

>A Chinese mother is confined at home for 40 days.

>My grandmother said that I could not go outside my house until after my baby was a
    month old.

 Reference

Baby and Birth in China

http://www.4panda.com/chinatips/culture/baby.htm