When I Think of Child Development

“Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children.”
 By Rosaleen Dickson



Children will not remember you for the material things you provided but for the feeling that you cherished them.”
By. Robert L. Evans



I would like that thank everyone for you support this past 8 weeks. If it wasn't for the motivation from you all I really dont think I would have been able to finish this class. Because of you I am able to continue my journey knowing that the this is just the beginning and something new and exciting. I would like to wish you all well and alwys keep your heads up and strive hard at whatever you sat out to do. Remember that the children are our future and no child should be left behind. 

Testing for Intelligence

In my opinion I feel that a ways to test for intelligence in a child can be done in several ways. Below I have listed a few of them ways: Not saying that all these test will work on every child to figure their intelligence level but this is what scientist feel is some ways an educator can test.  I am sure that in some parts of other countries they have their own way of testing, but you never know they may use some of the similar methods, but they testing may not be done exactly how it would be done here in the U.S.  due to technology. At the end of the day my big deal is that you must be able to have " TIME" to dedicate to the child in order to be able to accurately assess them in any way. I feel that time is the essences of all things.
Reading Comprehension:
Reading comprehension assessments are the most common type of published reading test that is available. The most common reading comprehension assessment involves asking a child to read a passage of text that is leveled appropriately for the child, and then asking some explicit, detailed questions about the content of the text.
Language Comprehension
Language comprehension can be assessed in basically the same way reading comprehension is assessed. With language comprehension assessment, however, the child should not be expected to read any text. Everything from the instructions to the comprehension questions should be presented verbally to the child.
Decoding
Decoding skill is measured through the child’s ability to read words out of context. Isolated words are presented to the child one at a time, and the child is asked to say the word aloud (this is not a vocabulary test, so children should not be expected to provide meanings for the word). The words selected for a decoding test should be words that are within the child’s spoken vocabulary, and should contain a mix of phonetically regular and phonetically irregular words.
Linguistic Knowledge
Linguistic Knowledge is the synthesis of three more basic cognitive elements -- phonology, semantics, and syntax. Linguistic knowledge is more than the sum of it's parts, but it does not lend itself to explicit assessment. A child may have a grasp on the more basic cognitive elements, but still have trouble blending these elements together into a stable linguistic structure. If a child appears to have a grasp of the more basic cognitive elements, but is still having difficulty expressing themselves or understanding others, it is likely that the child has not yet managed to synthesize those elements.




Reference
www.sedl.org/reading/framework/assessment.html

Hurrican Katrina

                                                                    My Katrina Babies

 I think that Hurrican Katrina impact on a lot of people, but I can remember very clearly I was just clocking in at work when I saw the breaking news on television. The first thing I thought about was one of my best friends that was pregnant and lived right by the Superdome. I instantly called and called and got no answer and then I called her mom that was in Pasagula, Ms that wasn't far from New Orleans and couldn't get in touch with her either. At that moment I began  to panic so desperate calls for depserate meeasure and I called her child's father and thankfully I was able to get in touch with him and he told be some disturbing news, but at the end everything was okay.
 As time went on I found that when the storm hit it knocked every line of communication out no matter what at then right when I began to calm down I paniced again because I knew my best friend was pregnant and she didn't know what was going on or what was going to happen and was stressing to the 100th power and that was the last thing she needed to be doing.
As time continue she was able to get out of New Orleans and was able to go to Texas with the remaining of her family and receive the medical attention she needed. She was very shaken up and became depressed and stressed because of what she experienced and of her lost that she actually went into premature labor and at this time she was only 7 months close to delivery but not close enough because she had already been experiencing complications previously. It seemed that now because of her life-threatening experience my best friend thankfully got birth to a healthy child, but she wasn't mentally stable to care for the child. She had stay hospitalized for 5 months while her mom and her child's father cared for the child. It got to a point she was not herself and she would have thoughts of suicide because she didn't know what to do. The only thing I could think about was the child that she had just brought into this world and the lack of motherly love the child would receive if  she continued down this road of destruction. I knew that the child would receive love, and nurture and be cared for but, it is nothing like a mother's touch. I think that because the child was just an fetus during this time she would still experience some biosocial, cognitive, and psycosocial development at she began to get older especially if she would have found out the fatal thoughts her mom had about suicide after the disaster but prayfully her mom came to and realize what was important to her.



                                                                         
                                                                                   My Guina Friends
I am sure there are other parts of the world that experience worst things than a natural disaster like Africa. I have a friend that is from Guina and she has 2 young children and I can remember times she has talked to me about the lack of food supply, and diseases that was in her country and how her coming to the United States was the only option she had for her and for her children. She knew that if she would have stayed that she would have had the burden of finding proper nutrition for her children, find medical attention, and also the proper education. Even though her mom is still over there she feels this is the best decision she made.

Child development and public health

Breastfeeding
      Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival. A lack of exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life contributes to over a million avoidable child deaths each year. Globally less than 40% of infants under six months of age are exclusively breastfed. Adequate breastfeeding support for mothers and families could save many young lives.
WHO actively promotes breastfeeding as the best source of nourishment for infants and young children. This fact file explores the many benefits of the practice, and how robust help for mothers can increase breastfeeding worldwide.
         The reason I chose breastfeeding because I know that one it is the most effective way of bonding with the child, two it can be a healthy way to ensure that the child is receiving nutrition, but the downfall to breastfeeding is that it is an effective way to pass diseases to your child. The feel that with this particular topic this is information that will continue to change as years pass. There will always be way to were doctors try to keep breast-feeding as a number one source of nutrition for the child and it will allow people like myself that doesnt have kids yet to gain more knowledge of the topic and how it can effect the child. 
  However babies who are exclusively breast-fed are less likely to get sick, because breast milk provides them with antibodies against any disease that the mother is immune. Breast- feeding also decrease the risk of many diseases that appear in childhood and adulthood, among them asthma, obesity, and heart disease.
          Breastfeeding in other countries
The world's oldest and still most widely practiced form of birth regulation is breastfeeding. That statement draws much skepticism among ordinary people in Western culture, but it is recognized as still true by professionals in the fields of international demography and infant nutrition because they know how breastfeeding affects both health and birth intervals in primitive cultures around the world. A professor of pediatrics put it this way: "Demographic data recorded prior to the 20th century from birth records all over the world indicate that the average spacing of children was about two years when mother's milk supplied the major source of calories for infants during the first year to 1.5 years of life."
In the West African country of Rwanda, a culture in which there were no contraceptives or taboos against intercourse after birth at the time, there were no differences in the birth intervals of bottle feeding mothers in the city compared to those in the rural areas. On the other hand, among breastfeeding mothers, there were significant differences. Among the city mothers who were already developing patterns of separation from their babies, 75% conceived between 6 and 15 months postpartum. However, in the rural areas, mothers had their babies with them all of the time, and 75% of the rural breastfeeding mothers conceived between 24 and 29 months postpartum. An even more dramatic example of the effects of very frequent suckling is provided by the Kung tribe. (The exclamation point represents a clicking sound.) Anthropologists watched these people with stopwatches and found that the babies and toddlers were nursing an average of two minutes every 15 minutes, and the mothers were conceiving at about 35 months. Such extended periods of breastfeeding infertility are rarely seen in Western culture. First of all, only a few Western mothers nurse that long although their number seems to be increasing. Secondly, there is some speculation that the richer diet of Western women may contribute to an earlier return of fertility. 

My Birthing Experience

                I can remeber just like it was yesterday when one of my good friends told me she was having a baby and she wanted me to be to be the god-mother of her child. It seems like the pregnancy went so fast because one week she had just gotten pregnant and the next week I was getting a call from her child's father that her water broke and they were heading to the hospital. When I got the news of her water braking I stopped everything I was doing, but the funny part is I dont remember telling my boss I would be gone for the remaining of the day.
               When I arrive to the hospital I phone her child's father to see where they were and what was he conditions looking like. All he could do was tell me to hurry and bring my but on because she really wanted me there to experience the birth and she couldnt hold the baby in much longer. After about 20 minutes my god-daughter popped out and said " Hello World" . I can say that this was the happiest moment in my life to where I was able to experience a life being brought into this world and that I was apart of this new celebration. After days passed I would called my friend in the hospital because after she gave birth she kind of became sick and lost a lot of blood, but the doctor would say that she was okay and needed rest, but that was her way of not making me worry about her. At that moment I began to think about the baby's health and would she have any complications but the doctor confirmed that she was healthy. ( What a relief ). I knew whatever was going on with the baby and the mother both would be taken care of and the baby would definitely receive the love, nurture, and care that she needed.
                 Sometimes I sit and wonder about the child births in the island countries and if their medical field is as advance as the United States. I actually think about their religion beliefs as for as how and where they baby should be born, how the baby should be raised, and etc. After researching and talking to former colleagues I gathered that child birth in the island countires happen in the hospital but home births are more dominant. Natural care and feeding is imperative to the mother. They dont believe in to much organic or formuals. Unlike the islands the U.S families are more dominant to having babies in the hospital to where they know they both will be taken care of. U.S. believe in medicine and other procedures to get one healthy. At the end of the day both countires familes will do whatever it takes to ensure that their child is healthy.
                Froms  what I have learned thus far I realized that a child's birth place has a lot to do with his or her development. I have also learned that accorninng to Smidt child development is a duscipline which aims to identify, to describe and to predict patterns in children's growth where growth includes intellectual, linguistic, physical, social, emotional, and behaviorial development ( Smidt, 2009 ).
                  
                  

Code of Ethics

DEC code of ethics  

1. We shall continually be aware of issues challenging the field of early childhood special education

and advocate for changes in laws, regulations, and policies leading to improved outcomes and

services for young children with disabilities and their families.
( This code is meaningful to me and my professional development because each and everyday we as early  childhood professionals we are going to deal with special education children and their families and it is imperative that we stay abrased on the changes that comes about that will allow us to better serve them.)
2.We shall demonstrate in our behavior and language respect and appreciation for the unique value
and human potential of each child.
( This code is meaningful to me because that success of a child development is communication)

NAEYC code of ethics
1. To be familiar with the knowledge base related to working effectively with families and to stay informed
through continuing education and training.
( This code is meaningful to me because I feel that if you care able to continue to receive various trainings and education you will be able to be more meaningful in the children and families that you come across)
2. To develop relationships of mutual trust andcreate partnerships with the families we serve.
( This code is meaningful because I feel that trust is essential to a healthy relationship)

Course Resourses

Part 1: Position Statements and Influential Practices

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/53029/CRS-CW-4465393/educ6005_readings/naeyc_dap_position_statement.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
• NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
• FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~images/pdfs/snapshots/snap33.pdf
  
  Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.
• Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al.  (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42–53.
  Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title. 

Part 2: Global Support for Children’s Rights and Well-Being

• Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
   
• Websites:
  • World Forum Foundation
    http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/about.php
    This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the video on this webpage 
  • World Organization for Early Childhood Education
    http://www.omep.org.gu.se/English/about_OMEP/
    Read about OMEP’s mission. 
  • Association for Childhood Education International
    http://acei.org/about/
    Click on “Mission/Vision” and “Guiding Principles and Beliefs” and read these statements.

Note: Explore the resources in Parts 3 and 4 in preparation for this week’s Application assignment.

Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• National Association for the Education of Young Children
  http://www.naeyc.org/
• The Division for Early Childhood
  http://www.dec-sped.org/
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
  http://www.zerotothree.org/
• WESTED
  http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
• Harvard Education Letter
  http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
• FPG Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conference
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
• HighScope
  http://www.highscope.org/
• Children’s Defense Fund
  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
• Center for Child Care Workforce
  http://www.ccw.org/
• Council for Exceptional Children
  http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
• Institute for Women’s Policy Research
  http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
• National Child Care Association
  http://www.nccanet.org/
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  http://nieer.org/
• Pre[K]Now
  http://www.preknow.org/
• Voices for America’s Children
  http://www.voices.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=22807
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/
     

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library
Tip: Use the A-to-Z e-journal list to search for specific journal titles. (Go to “How Do I...?”, select “Tips for Specific Formats and Resources,” and then “e-journals” to find this search interface.)

• YC Young Children
• Childhood
• Journal of Child & Family Studies
• Child Study Journal
• Multicultural Education
• Early Childhood Education Journal
• Journal of Early Childhood Research
• International Journal of Early Childhood
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Studies
• Maternal & Child Health Journal
• International Journal of Early Years Education

MY RESOURCES

• http://ccf.tc.columbia.edu/ National Center for Children and Families: Advancing, Policy, Education, and Development
• http://www.youthvillages.org/
• Spotlight on Young Children and Families by Derry Koralek

• “While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.”

• “The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.”