When you think of your own life experiences or the lives of children and adults you know well what are the stressors of which you are aware?
Sexual Abuse
This question struck quite the nerve, but in a good way. As a child in middle school, my greastest stressor was being sexually abused. Between the ages of 12-14 years of age, I was being molested by a person living in my household at the time. When all this began I didn't know what to do, I was fearful, confused and scared. I played a lot of sports because for one, it kept me out the house a little longer, but my grades were horrible. I passed 7th and 8th by the grace of God. It was scary time in my life and no one knew the stress I was under. I don't believed I showed any signs, because even through all of that I kept a smile on my face. I specifically remember one time I came to school very upset and crying. I told my friends what happened and nobody really said anything, just hugged me. That was my first and last cry for help. Could you imagine the stress of wanting help, just not knowing how to get it without actually asking?
As a teacher now, I do know how important it is understand child behavior and to constantly be aware of even the smallest changes. It's funny, because although I was doing horribly in school I don't remember a teacher calling my mom to discuss my grades. It wasn't until I relocated to another city and school is when I was basically rescued. I used to write a lot during that time in my life and kept that notebook with me at all time. My grandmother found it and immediately reported to my principal. I moved in my grandmother right away.
Sexual abuse is something hard to pinpoint. And teachers aren't usually quick to say that could be the reason why a child is behaving the way they are, partly because that is a very serious accusation. But would you rather be right or wrong in that kind of situation? That judgement call could save someone's life. If my grandmother had never been nosey then I would still been in that situation. And I am so grateful for that. So, below I am just going to share a few signs of a child that is possibly being sexually abused in the early childhood years.
Signs of Sexual Abuse:
-Gradual or sudden change in behavior
-Agressive/Disruptive behavior
-Regression to more infantile behavior (bed wetting, thumb sucking, excessive crying)
-Vaginal or rectal bleeding, pain, itching, swollen genitals, vaginal discharge, or an STD
-Expressing affection in ways that are inappropriate for a child of that age
-Excessive masturbation
-Difficulty learning in school / Inability to Concentrate / Short Attention Span / May appear to have a learning disorder / Appears to be hyperactive (may even be diagnosed as ADD / ADHD)
Resources:
http://www.speakingout-csa.com/signssymptoms.html
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Prevention Against Childhood Obesity
Prevention Against Childhood Obesity (a topic I chose to add to the list)
What is Childhood Obesity?
Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. It affects more than 30 percent of children, making it the most common chronic disease of childhood. This number has more than tripled since 1980. Childhood obesity is a health issue. Today, more and more children are being diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension and other co-morbid conditions associated with obesity and morbid obesity. A child is defined as “affected by obesity” if their body mass index-for-age (or BMI-for-age) percentile is greater than 95 percent. A child is defined as “overweight” if their BMI-for-age percentile is greater than 85 percent and less than 95 percent. (OAC, 2016)
Last year I was living in the beautiful state of California, where I experienced childcare in a different way from the south. What I did notice was that the children were not as heavy and didn’t seem to be experiencing weight issues as far as being overweight. However, coming from the south I was one of the more heavier teachers and noticed I was not as active. It made me take a look at my lifestyle and what I could possibly be portraying to the children I teach. Children not only pay attention to what we teach, but they watch what we say, what we eat and they see firsthand how active we are. So, I began the journey to taking on a healthier lifestyle. In doing this, the cause for prevention against childhood obesity became dear to my heart. And honestly, that didn’t happen until I relocated back down south. Relocating opened my eyes to a lot. Not only are the children overweight, but so are the staff. We, as teachers should want to be a better example, be more active and live a healthier lifestyle. Children are with us 40 hours a week. That’s a lot of time to make a difference, to teach children about the importance a healthy lifestyle and the importance of good nutrition. As I began my healthy journey, I realized that it is not just about me and my results, but it is also about the children’s lives I will touch in the future and also teachers lives as well.
Childhood Obesity in Spain
Trends in the prevalence of childhood obesity and overweight in Spain have continuously increased in the last three decades. Obesity and overweight currently affect 15 and 20% of Spanish children, respectively, and these percentages are among the highest in Europe. (SESPAS, 2010)
Spain is the third largest level of childhood obesity in the world. (Williams, 2010)
Statistics reveal that a staggering 40 per cent of youths aged between 13 and 18 never practice sport. (Williams, 2010)
Modern Spanish families are moving away from the traditional Mediterranean diet and eating more fats and sugars than ever before. According to Roberto Sabrido from the Spanish Food Safety Agency, people have changed how they eat. He said: “People no longer eat as a family and the food and the time dedicated to eating is not the same.”Moreover, with so much exposure to the internet, television and video games the younger generation is getting lazy. (Williams, 2010)
Just they way the people of Spain have changed their diets over the years, are the same for the people of the U.S. We have to find the time to teach our children and/or even ourselves about the importance of nutrition and how great it is to have a home-cooked meal. We have lead by example, and become more active. We, the educators, parents, guardians, etc have to step away from the tv shows, video games, internet or anything else that is taking time away that could be used for something more useful like playing with your kids, exercising, or even just preparing dinner together. All these little things will have huge impact in the future and together we can fight this disease and keep our children and ourselves here a little bit longer.
*Fun Fact*
The U.S is not the leading country in Childhood Obesity, Greece is! According to an article in Takepart. United States in number 5 on the list!
Resources
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21074906
http://www.obesityaction.org/understanding-obesity-in-children/what-is-childhood-obesity
http://www.takepart.com/photos/these-10-countries-lead-world-childhood-obesity-nope-us-isnt-no-1/5-united-states
Wendy Williams http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2010/10/16/obesity-public-enemy-number-one/
What is Childhood Obesity?
Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. It affects more than 30 percent of children, making it the most common chronic disease of childhood. This number has more than tripled since 1980. Childhood obesity is a health issue. Today, more and more children are being diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension and other co-morbid conditions associated with obesity and morbid obesity. A child is defined as “affected by obesity” if their body mass index-for-age (or BMI-for-age) percentile is greater than 95 percent. A child is defined as “overweight” if their BMI-for-age percentile is greater than 85 percent and less than 95 percent. (OAC, 2016)
Last year I was living in the beautiful state of California, where I experienced childcare in a different way from the south. What I did notice was that the children were not as heavy and didn’t seem to be experiencing weight issues as far as being overweight. However, coming from the south I was one of the more heavier teachers and noticed I was not as active. It made me take a look at my lifestyle and what I could possibly be portraying to the children I teach. Children not only pay attention to what we teach, but they watch what we say, what we eat and they see firsthand how active we are. So, I began the journey to taking on a healthier lifestyle. In doing this, the cause for prevention against childhood obesity became dear to my heart. And honestly, that didn’t happen until I relocated back down south. Relocating opened my eyes to a lot. Not only are the children overweight, but so are the staff. We, as teachers should want to be a better example, be more active and live a healthier lifestyle. Children are with us 40 hours a week. That’s a lot of time to make a difference, to teach children about the importance a healthy lifestyle and the importance of good nutrition. As I began my healthy journey, I realized that it is not just about me and my results, but it is also about the children’s lives I will touch in the future and also teachers lives as well.
Childhood Obesity in Spain
Trends in the prevalence of childhood obesity and overweight in Spain have continuously increased in the last three decades. Obesity and overweight currently affect 15 and 20% of Spanish children, respectively, and these percentages are among the highest in Europe. (SESPAS, 2010)
Spain is the third largest level of childhood obesity in the world. (Williams, 2010)
Statistics reveal that a staggering 40 per cent of youths aged between 13 and 18 never practice sport. (Williams, 2010)
Modern Spanish families are moving away from the traditional Mediterranean diet and eating more fats and sugars than ever before. According to Roberto Sabrido from the Spanish Food Safety Agency, people have changed how they eat. He said: “People no longer eat as a family and the food and the time dedicated to eating is not the same.”Moreover, with so much exposure to the internet, television and video games the younger generation is getting lazy. (Williams, 2010)
Just they way the people of Spain have changed their diets over the years, are the same for the people of the U.S. We have to find the time to teach our children and/or even ourselves about the importance of nutrition and how great it is to have a home-cooked meal. We have lead by example, and become more active. We, the educators, parents, guardians, etc have to step away from the tv shows, video games, internet or anything else that is taking time away that could be used for something more useful like playing with your kids, exercising, or even just preparing dinner together. All these little things will have huge impact in the future and together we can fight this disease and keep our children and ourselves here a little bit longer.
*Fun Fact*
The U.S is not the leading country in Childhood Obesity, Greece is! According to an article in Takepart. United States in number 5 on the list!
Resources
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21074906
http://www.obesityaction.org/understanding-obesity-in-children/what-is-childhood-obesity
http://www.takepart.com/photos/these-10-countries-lead-world-childhood-obesity-nope-us-isnt-no-1/5-united-states
Wendy Williams http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2010/10/16/obesity-public-enemy-number-one/
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Childbirth in Spain
Anybody who even kind of knows me, know that I have a mild obsession with Spain. It is a place that is on my bucket list to visit! So, when asked about childbirths in other countries, this was a no brainer! However, the information I found was rather interesting. I came across a blog called Bibsey which is name of the author's baby. In this blog are all types of topics ranging from childbirth to parenting. The link below is to the topic "10 Things I Can Tell You About Giving Birth in Spain." This article will have you looking all types of puzzled and confused at some of the stories. Enjoy. :)
http://www.bibsey.co.uk/giving-birth-spain/
The one thing that stuck out to me was number 10. One A Positive Note, I hate that this mom had such a sad memory of her child's birth. I have never had children before and I hope to never have such a traumatic experience. My heart goes out to her because I hear such amazing stories about children being born. Spain has to do better with creating a better experience for moms and really understand what they are dealing with. I definitely want to visit but, maybe not have a baby there.
http://www.bibsey.co.uk/giving-birth-spain/
The one thing that stuck out to me was number 10. One A Positive Note, I hate that this mom had such a sad memory of her child's birth. I have never had children before and I hope to never have such a traumatic experience. My heart goes out to her because I hear such amazing stories about children being born. Spain has to do better with creating a better experience for moms and really understand what they are dealing with. I definitely want to visit but, maybe not have a baby there.