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