Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Chaos is something that I have experience during the last six months. My mom's house burned down March 29, 2013. She and three of my brothers had to move in with me and my childen and grandson. My sister also had been making plans to move back home from Seattle, WA. Her plans were to live with me until she could find a job and apartment. So, after the fire, I had ten people living in my three bedroom mobil home. You could not imagine all the chaos that was in my house. Mealtime was crazy, bathtime was crazy, getting everyone to help get chores done was almost impossible. It was so bad, I felt like a prisoner in my own house. Once I got off from work, I went straight in my room. I did not come out for anything, not even supper. I was very stressed out. One night I decide that I had to change things in my household. I sat up most of the night making schedules and setting rules for my household. I felt so much better when I went to sleep that night. The next day, we had a family meeting and told everyone that things were about to change in my house. Anyone that did not like what was about to happen, could kindly find somewhere else to live. I presented the schedules, assigned chores, and went over house rules. I printed chores and rules on hot pink and florescent green paper. I also starting walking in the afternoons. This was my stress reliever. My household started running much smoothier. My mom and brothers recently moved into their new home. My sister found a job teaching in another city. She will be looking for an apartment near her job. My daughter is in college living on campus. Once my sister leaves, my son and I will be the only two living in my home. If I had to do it all over again, I would because they had no where else to live, but I would start with rules and schedules. My church helps to sponsor a children's home and school in India. All of the children at this home are orphans. These children are so grateful and happy to be at the home. A lot of them were homeless and starving. They are so grateful for anythig that we send, no matter how big or small. Even though "India has taken significant steps to reduce poverty, there are still more people living in poverty that in middle class. Safe water is one of the biggest problems in India. There have been improvements made to the drinking water. "Other wate sources are contaminated with both bio and chemical pollutants (Snyder)." The school and orphan home that my church helps to sponsor has been blessed to finally receive clean running water. They don't have to walk for mile to get clean water. www.thewaterproject.org Snyder, Shannyn.Water In Crisis

CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH Access to healthy water is important to health and sanitation. There are many disease caused by unsafe water. Unsafe water really affects children because they are not strong enough to fight these diseases. Access to healthy water is important to survival, growth, and development. I am very concerned about access to healthy water because our church helps to support children’s home and school in India. It took them a long time to get clean running water to the school and children’s home. All the children at the home are orphans. We have close contact with the children and very concerned about their health. The children were so amazed and happy to have clean running water. Most of them were use to walking for miles in order to get any kind of water. The majority of the water that they walked to collect was unsafe and unclean. Adequate, well-maintained water supply and sanitation facilities in schools encourage children to attend school regularly and help them achieve their educational goals. Inadequate water supply and sanitation in schools are health hazards and affect school attendance, retention and educational performance. • 88 per cent of the population of 1.2 billion has access to drinking water from improved sources in 2008, as compared to 68 per cent in 1990. • Only a quarter the total population in India has drinking water on their premise. • Women, who have to collect the drinking water, are vulnerable to a number of unsafe practices. Only 13 per cent of adult males collect water. • Sixty seven per cent of Indian households do not treat their drinking water, even though it could be chemically or bacterially contaminated. Chemical contamination in water ensuring water quality at the source is crucial. In India, there is a widespread natural occurrence of arsenic and fluoride in the groundwater. UNICEF is supporting Government of India programs on arsenic and fluoride mitigation and identifying water quality testing technologies which are appropriate for use in field situations. All emergencies cause disruption to basic services. People are less likely to be able to drink safe water, use basic sanitation facilities and maintain improved hygiene practices. Children, especially those under the age of five, are particularly vulnerable to the diseases which can result during emergencies. These diseases include diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, respiratory infections, skin and eye infections which are all likely to occur when water supplies and sanitation services are disrupted. UNICEF has set out minimum standards of response for any emergency situation. These describe the life saving actions which UNICEF will take within the first six to eight weeks of an emergency, along with the longer term role in the subsequent weeks and months. This information may impact my future because I know the importance of having access to healthy water. I can also be an advocate for any children in my classroom that may not have access to healthy water. My job would be to inform them of any resources that may be available to help them have access to healthy water. Water, Environment, Santitation http://www.unicef.org/india/wes.html

Prenatal Development and Childbirth My birthing experience with my first child was extremely painful and stressful. I stayed in labor for 18 hours. Most of the time, I was screaming. I decided that I did not want any pain medicine with any of my children. The unknown about childbirth is what causes so much stress and unnecessary pain. I had my second child eight years later and the experience was so much different. I stayed in labor for only 7 hours and I learned to not scream. I learned breathing techniques and prayed a lot. I have learned that no matter how many classes you attend, you are never totally prepared for childbirth. After experiencing childbirth, you have a much better idea of what to expect and how to handle it. My thoughts on childbirth: I believe that childbirth is the best thing that a women can every experience. The warm feeling that you get as your child is enter this world is worth every pain and I can't even explain the feeling you get when you hear that first cry. It is AWESOME! In the Netherlands, most childbirth takes place with a midwife. A nurse stays seven days to take care the baby and mother and help around the house. Sometimes, the mother may chose to go to the hospital and if everything is okay, the mother and baby may go home in two hours. Pain medicine is not given unless the doctor thinks it is necessary. This is similar to the birth of my children because I did not have any pain medicine, but that was my choice. The mothers in the Netherlands don't have a choice.