Sharing web resources

The organization I selected is zero to three and their website is www.zerotothree.org. Zero to three is a national, nonprofit organization that informs, trains, and supports professionals, policymakers, and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers. Their mission is to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers. They provide information on behavior and development, maltreatment, care & education, and public policy from birth to three years olds. An issue from the newsletter that caught my attention was biting. Biting is common among children as they are learning to talk and express themselves. The article posted on the website talked about why toddlers bite, ways to prevent biting, responding to biting, and ways not to respond to biting. Zero to three did not provide any information on changing demographics and diversity.

Week 1: Issue and Trends.

I currently work at a child development center (CDC) on a military base. There are military bases all over the world so I asked my director to give me the phone numbers of two directors or trainers that are overseas. I called them and left a message but no one has returned my calls. I think that I am going to do the alternative option. The website that I decided to study is the zero to three website. I chose this website because I have been to it before and I really enjoyed reading some of the topics they had. I would like to study it further see all that it offers.

Daily Supports

Factors in my daily environment that provide support are my husband, friends, and my kids. They provide me with emotional support. My job provides me with monetary support. My cell phone provides me with practical support because I use it to hold all my numbers in it and reminders. My car provides me with practical support because it gets me to where I need to go. My alarm clock provides me with practical support because it wakes me up every morning for work. My computer is practical support because it allows me to go to school every day as well as complete other tacks. All of these factors are beneficial because they provide me with support to get through my daily life in an easy manner. My life would be different and harder without these supports. Everyday would be a challenge because I do not have the daily support to help make my life easier. Emotionally I probably would not be in the same state of mind because I would not have my family or friends. Without my job I would not have the monetary support, which means I could not buy anything. Like without the practical support would be challenging and harder.

I imagined myself not being able to walk as my challenge. I would need and want a lot of support. Daily support would include a wheelchair. This would be physical support because it would get me where I need to go. I would also need family and friends to give me the emotional support because some days being in a wheelchair will be harder than others. I will still need a job for monetary support. I would also have to have my house modified as physical support. The benefits of these supports are making my life easier. Existing without these supports and not being able to walk will be very difficult. These supports will make life 100 times better. My life would be totally different without these supports. I would not be able to get around and I would be broke and emotionally not in a good place.

My Connections to Play

"It is in playing, and perhaps only in playing, that the child is free to be creative."

-D.W. Winnicott

"Play builds the kind of free-and-easy, try-it-out, do-it-yourself character that our future needs."

-James L. Hymes, Jr., child development specialist,Author

My parents supported play when I was a child. They made sure that I went outside on a regular basis and played with my friends. They also provided me with toys that I was interested in to play with. When I was a child I loved to play with baby dolls. I had several baby dolls and accessories to take care of them. I also loved to swing so my parents would take me to the park a lot so that I could swing.

I think that play is still similar to when I was a child. Kids are outside playing tag and hide and seek. Children are still playing with dolls and swinging on swings. The only thing that is different than when I was a child is kids are staying inside a lot more playing with videos games now. They are not outside running around or engaging in pretend play.

Play is very important for children. Engaging in play is how children learn about the world around them and how they learn to be creative. It is very important for children to play everyday so that they can grow and develop. Play is a natural part of life.

Child development and public health

The topic that I chose to research and write about is SIDS. This topic is very important to me because everyone needs to be educated on SIDS. As a caregiver at a child development center everyone is educated and trained on SIDS. We take classes once a year so that we are updated on the newest information related to SIDS. Parents should also be aware of SIDS and know the appropriate and inappropriate ways to lay their baby down and other ways that SIDS can be prevented. I chose to research New Zealand and find information on the topic in this country. New Zealand believes that SIDS occurs from toxic gases that can be released from a baby’s mattress. A scientist in New Zealand says chemical compounds containing phosphorus, arsenic and antimony have been added to mattresses as fire retardants and for other purposes. A fungus that commonly grows in bedding can interact with these chemicals to create poisonous gases. These heavier-than-air gases are concentrated in a thin layer on the baby's mattress or are diffused away and dissipated into the surrounding atmosphere. If a baby breathes or absorbs a lethal dose of the gases, the central nervous system shuts down, stopping breathing and then heart function. These gases can fatally poison a baby, without waking the sleeping baby and without any struggle by the baby. There solution to solving the problem is wrapping mattresses in a gas-impermeable cover made from high-grade polyethylene and ensuring that bedding used on top of a wrapped mattress does not contain any phosphorus, arsenic or antimony. During the 11 years that New Zealand has been campaigning this they have not had any SIDS death reported from babies who have slept on the covered mattresses. I do not think that the information that I have learned with impact my future work. The USA believe that SIDS is caused from other factors so that is what I am going to stick to.

http://www.healthychild.com/toxic-sleep/has-the-cause-of-crib-death-sids-been-found/

When I think of child development

"Children are our most valuable natural resource"

-Herbert Hoover

I love this quote because it is very true. Children are our most valuable natural resource. They are our future and it is important for us to help them grow and develop.

Testing for Intelligence

I believe that children in school should be assessed on academics. They should be tested on how well they do in each subject as well as their reading and comprehension. If a child is having a hard time in a certain area then the test will show what they need extra help on. In Germany one of the standardized test that students take is the Abitur. The Abitur is taken after grade 13. Students choose four subjects in which to be examined on. The exam consist of open ended questions which usually require essay responses. Some exams are oral while others consist of performances or demonstrations. In Sweden assessments consist of both marks and standardized. In elementary school standardized testing is voluntary for the school and /or teacher. Only about 80 percent of teachers use them. In upper secondary school standardized test are mandatory and must be given in each subject.

www.princeton.edu