Relationship Reflection

Families are the compass that guide us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.
-- Brad Henry 

My whole life the most important thing to me has been my relationships.  Relationships with my family and friends.  Many of my friends became my family and I will continue to maintain those relationships for the rest of my life.  My immediate family, Mom, Dad, brother and grandparents, have been the driving force in everything I do.  They have cheered me on through all of my accomplishments, took turns in the hospital when I was sick, let me make mistakes and helped me learn from them, and have always stuck by my side. 

My family relationships have grown to include my closest girlfriends (and guys!).  My girls and I have been friends since we were young teens.  Despite normal teenage angst, boyfriends, going away to college, moving to different states now as adults, we have always stayed close.  We may not talk everyday, we may not see each other every time we are in town, but we have never lost the amazing bond we created almost a decade ago.   I am the luckiest woman in the world to have friends like my girls.  As I am writing this I am tearing up because I am unable to find the right words to describe how important these women (and man!) are to me.  We are all at different stages in our lives and have changed as we have gotten older but that has only made us stronger.  

Right now I am in the process of creating my own branch of my amazing family.  I recently got

married to the most incredible man.  I try not to boost or brag about my husband because so many people are not fortunate to find someone like I have (and I don't like to share him :)).  We have our own little family unit with our three fur babies and sometime down the line will bring a little one into our home.  My cats are there to greet me every morning and evening and keep me company when Tomas is traveling for work.  They are my pride and joys!  I dote on them as if they were my flesh and blood, they have their own bedroom in the house!  It's amazing to have something rely on you and give unconditional love.

Effective partnerships and relationships are based on give and take.  Everyone needs to be an active participant and want to make the relationship work.  I often look at relationships and partnerships as a balancing act.  Sometimes you need to carry others on your shoulders to continue on but more often than not you need to be working together.  As an early childhood professional, I think my ability to form strong solid relationships makes me a valuable asset to the field.  I am extremely emotional and compassionate, always worried about everyone else and that drives me to give 150% everyday.  You need to be compassionate and driven and selfless when it comes to working in the early childhood field.  The same goes for having a relationship. 

My parents & I, My husband and I, my girls & I

One Thing's End is Another Thing's Beginning

A special thanks to all of my classmates who I joined on our journey through Early Childhood Development.  I wish each and every one of you nothing but the best!

The Youth of Our Nation

There is a quote I found on Pinterest that I absolutely adore and wish more parents understood it...

"If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them, and half as much money."

- Abigail Van Buren

Assessing Your Students

I have always been a firm believer in removing standardized testing or at least the pressure they cause at the least from the school systems.  Children should not be measured based on their ability to answer questions correctly on a lengthy pencil and paper test.  Over the years, multiple studies have been published challenging the old school thinking that standardized testing is the best way to measure a child’s knowledge.  Standardized testing does not set everyone that takes the test up for success.  As an educator, I feel as though a child should be measured based on all of their abilities.  Allowing a child to choose their form of assessment gives them the opportunity to succeed.  Some children do well on paper and pencil tests, where as others do better constructing with tools, and other children may do well acting out or creatively sharing what they know.    It comes down to ensuring that every child is able to be successful in life. 

My husband’s family is from the Netherlands and his father was an educator there years ago before moving to the United States.  I often have discussions with my father-in-law about the differences between the education system in the United States and in the Netherlands.  At the end of the elementary school years, Dutch children take a test called Citotoets (Cito test).  The results from the test and the teacher’s advice, along with the child’s interests and abilities are “used to help determine which type of secondary education [the children] will enter” (www.expatfocus.com).  From research and personal conversations with my father-in-law it seems as though in the Dutch education system standardized testing is not as commonly practiced as it is in the U.S.  Children are assessed at the end of the primary school years and secondary school years in order to determine their next step in the educational system. 

I would like everyone to remember that you have to know your students well and give each one of them the best chance to do well and succeed in life.  You are preparing them not only for making it through your classroom but also getting them ready to be productive members of our society. 

Reference 

Expat Focus.  (2000-2013) The Netherlands (Holland) education and schools.  Expat Focus.  

          Retrieved April 13, 2013 from http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-netherlands-holland-

          education-schools

Stressors In Children

Divorce has become a common thing among children in the United States.  Whether parents and caregivers realize it or not, when parents are going through a divorce no matter how old their children are it effects them.  A friend of mine is currently separated from his wife.  He spends a lot of time at my house with my husband and his oldest daughter (who is three) knows that whenever he is not home he is at my house.  Recently, we were at this friend's home for a birthday party.  The child remarked to me, "Why can't I come to your house when Daddy comes over?"  It broke my heart trying to explain that while she was always welcome at my home, Daddy sometimes needed to spend time at my house with his friend just like she had play dates with her friends.  Well during this party, her mother and father were very obviously not getting along.  In front of family and friends, the child said, "Stop fighting, I do not want to hear fighting anymore!"  At that point, every adult in the room looked at each other and realized the severity and the impact of the situation between her parents.  I expressed to my friend the importance of maintaining a civil relationship with his wife regardless of what happens and staying active in his child's life.  Currently, he is living at my house, but everyday watches his daughter and makes a point to talk to her before she goes to bed. 


There are a few families at my center that are from Ghana.  I chose to research the stressors of children who live in Ghana.  Child labor is the biggest issue I have found thus far in Ghana.  Children often work in agricultural fields with little or no payment in order to contribute to providing for their family.  The common cause for full time child labor in Ghana seems to be a lack of importance in education and because education is seemingly too costly.  Research on child labor and why it is so common in Ghana has found that the education level of the father in particular has a impact on the families' decision to send their children to school.  Recently, there has been an initiative to raise funds in order to lower the cost of schooling and reach out to the more rural areas to ensure education reaches all of Ghana's children. 


Resource

Canagarajah, S., Coulombe, H.  (1997).  Child labor and schooling in Ghana.  Work Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 1844.  Retrieved from http://ssrn.stanford.edu

Immunizations in Children

I choose to explore immunizations in children.  In my current line of work, it is extremely important that I have detailed health documents for every child at my center, as per Department of Public Welfare regulation.  One day, I approached a caregiver reminding her I needed an updated Child Health Record for her granddaughter.  The grandmother so kindly reminded me that she refused to have her grand daughter vaccinated because it did more harm to the body than good and she would not allow her to have foreign substances that could cause Autism in her body.  Out of 163 children at my center only one child does not have immunizations and to me that was quite interesting.  In our country, families have the choice as to whether or not their children get immunized and their reasons vary from religious reasons to they just don't feel that it is medically necessary. 

I wanted to look at immunizations and how they are handled in other countries and I perused www.huggies.com (yes the diaper company!).  They have immunization schedules and the direct website for many countries.  I decided to take a look at Singapore.  While many of the vaccines are similar to ones administered in the USA, I did not see one for chicken pox or the flu included in Singapore's vaccine schedule.  Singapore also has a wonderful interactive and user friendly website, "National Immunisation Registry" that families can use (www.nir.hpb.gov.sg). 

Noting this information, I can be sure to remember that not all countries require, encourage, or monitor vaccines in children.  As I was reading the above information, I realized that the grandmother I was talking to is not from the United States.  It could also be a cultural choice not to immunize her granddaughter.  I need to continue to be aware and respectful of these choices, while also educating myself and my staff.

A Personal Birthing Experience and Experiences Outside of the U.S.

 A Personal Birthing Experience

On May 28, my mother gave birth to a 6lb 12 oz baby girl.  At that time my mother was a newly turned 17 years old.  She gave birth via C-section after going into labor the night before.  The C-section was necessary because a natural birth was not an option.  That baby girl was obviously me.  I have not had the chance to experience any other births, except for arriving after mom and baby had time to bond and relax.  My father was the first one to hold and feed me.  My mother looks back on that time being very emotional.  When asked, my parents say they weren’t scared or nervous.  There was no turning back and they both took on the responsibility of being parents, and amazing parents at that, all before they turned 18. 

I think birth is a completely unique experience.  Each birth is different and probably not “text book”.  I think it is a time for families and only a time for families.  It is and should be a celebration, but I understand that not all births will have a celebration in the end.  I also think that a birth experience can have an impact on child development, but only if there were medical complications during birth that have long lasting effects or if a stressful experience occurred right before, during, or shortly thereafter the bond between mother and baby or baby and father can be changed therefore possibly having an effect on the child’s development.  Hopefully, later in my course, I will find out if what I think proves to be true. 

Birth in the Netherlands

I choose to do some research on Dutch birthing experiences.  I choose this because my husband’s family is from Holland and I love to learn as much as I can about his family’s culture.  In Holland, mothers can choose between a home delivery and a hospital delivery.  According to www.parents.com, the majority of mothers choose to have a home birth with the help of a midwife.  If a hospital delivery is chosen or deemed necessary, most women do not get epidurals, an epidural is dependent upon the time of day the birth occurs.  Mom and baby can sometimes go home in as little as two hours, with a nurse (covered by insurance) coming to the house for a specified amount of time to check on mom and baby, while also completing basic housekeeping duties.  Nurses will also make a traditional snack called beschuit met muisjes, which means biscuits with mice.  The biscuits are decorated with corresponding candies to match the babies’ sex. 

I was really surprised and pleased to see how well births are handled in Holland.  There is little doctor intervention unless absolutely necessary.  I think it makes the whole experience more enjoyable and comfortable for the family.  I have to think they are doing something right either during pregnancy or with the birth because Holland produces some extremely tall and well nourished people!  An obvious difference between my birth and a birth in the Netherlands is the lack of medical intervention.  I can’t speak for all the birthing experiences in Holland, but for the most part they seem much more calm and specific to mom and baby.  In writing, it sounds like an ideal experience.