Consequences of Stress on Children's Developmnet

 

Poverty

 

My dad grew up in a home that did not have a bathroom. He went to the doctor when he was 18 because he had a cyst on his spine. He had it removed and the doctor had told him to soak in the bath tub. He told the doctor that he did not have a bath tub or bathroom. His dad was told by the doctor that he had to have a bathroom in the house. They ended up having someone to build a bathroom in the house. My dad said that they would wash with using water used from the well. They had to heat the water on their wood stove in the kitchen. Later, they got a hot water heater and had water from the sink. They used a wood stove to cook their food as well.

 

 

Africa

 

The area of Africa is impacted by poverty, war, hunger, disease. The site I looked at mentioned that the disease there was Aids, Malaria, Cholera. Kids are used in war and receive no education. They are also sold as slaves. The poverty in Africa has been helped by china cutting poverty and thereby helping other places like Africa cut poverty. The site also mentioned that receiving aid in a non loan format from the government would help with the poverty.

 

 

References:

World Poverty. Poverty in Africa, famine and disease. Retrieved from http://world-poverty.org/povertyinafrica.htm

 





Child Development and Public Health

Malnutrition

 

I chose this topic because I understand how devastating severe malnutrition can be. My grandfather died this year from severe malnutrition. He was having problems swallowing and could not eat. He even had trouble swallowing liquid. We were trying to find out what was causing his problems, but by the time we started getting answers after many months of doctor visits and tests, it was too late. Malnutrition is a severe problem in the world. 925 million people in the world do not have food to eat. In developing countries, 1 out of 4 children younger than age 5 are underweight. People can become malnourished if they do not get the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals they need. The most common deficiency is iron and leads to Anemia. In Cambodia, 44% of children under 5 have stunted growth. As a result of poor nutrition, 28% of children under 5 are underweight. One out of 12 children die from malnutrition before they turn 5. Malnutrition causes people not to be able to resist infection very well, and they are less likely to survive common diseases. Poor growth and development leaves them physically and mentally impaired for life. AmeriCares provides meal packs that contain nutrients needed for healthy diets for 6 to 18 weeks. They found major reversals in malnutrition with these. Shanouk Center for HOPE found 9 out of 10 children improved their BMI enough to not be considered underweight. This information may impact my future work. You never know when you will be working with a child that may become malnourished or the child may have a family member that dies from malnutrition.

 

References

AmeriCares http://www.americares.org

Kids Health http://www.kidshealth.org