Poverty-Seen Around the World

Poverty is a topic that comes to mind. I personally did not grow up in poverty, but I teach for Headstart, and many of the children that come through our program are living in poverty. Poverty as described by Merrium-Webster, is the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions (Webster 2015). I see many of my students lacking what society would think of as the socially acceptable things. Headstart provides these students with access to two free meals a day and a snack. They also provide other access to assistance that may be available through agencies in the community. 
The country I chose to research was Indonesia. Indonesia has a high poverty rate. According to the information I read, people are trying to get by on $1-2 per day. Indonesia's per capita rate is around $3,000 per year according to (J.C. 2011). This is hard to fathom. In Indonesia they do not have the same access to clean water and good nutrition that we have hear. There are no programs like Headstart to help their underprivileged families receive good nutrition and free education. 
Indonesia is not the only country that has this problem. There are people all around the world and here in the USA that are living in poverty. It is a global problem. There has got to be some way to help these families. I think if we each pay it forward a little at the time we can make changes and help the world the best we can. As educators, it is our duty to do the best we can to inspire others to make a change. Together we can make a difference.


References:
To make a million people unpoor. (2011, August 3). J.C.
Retrieved March 28, 2015, from http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/08/indonesias-poverty-line

Merriam Webster
Retrieved March 28, 2015, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poverty

Mental Health of father, mothers, and caregivers

It is important for caregivers of children to have a strong mental capability. The impact of the mental capacity of the caregivers can have damaging effects on the children in the caretakers hands. Children need to feel they are cared for and appreciated by the people that are closest to them. It is important for children to have a sense of love, affection, appreciation, nurturing, etc. I believe that children that come from such environments are more apt to reciprocate these feelings and their offspring are more likely to grow and thrive better than those who don't  receive these kinds of interactions.

In many cases children who come from families that suffer from mental illness, they are more likely to exhibit these same behaviors. The children that come from families with long lines of mental illness are more likely to have mental illness themselves. It is important to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness in order to help people receive the help they need to cope with these symptoms.

There are many cases where mental illnesses are genetically passed from one generation to the next. In order to help control the seriousness of these mental illnesses it is important to provide early diagnosis and help to provide treatment as necessary. I think we can help people with mental illnesses with proper diagnosis and management of symptoms.

I chose to research Australia and their occurrence of mental illness in parents and caregivers. According to (American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 2007), children that come from from homes were depression and anxiety tend to have these same behaviors. About 21% to 23% children are living in households where at least one parent has a mental illness (Maybery, Reupert, Patrick, Goodyear & Crase, 2005). This makes it hard on the child because they learn to cope with their problems the same way their parents do.

From reading the information I have learned that mental illness can have serious effects on families. I think it is very important to help educate families and children on the importance of mental health and offer referrals to others services when possible.

References:

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, (2007) Vol. 77, No. 3, 362–36 

 

Births of children-Comparison

Thinking back to the births of my two children, I had two very different experiences. With my daughter Jaleigh, I was induced a week after my due date and dilated so quickly that I didn't get the epidural they planned on giving me. I was induced at 5:30 in the morning on April 3rd, 2003 and delivered a beautiful 7lb 20 1/2 inches long bundle of joy at 10:28 a.m.

Joshua on the other hand was delivered via c-section. I went into labor on my own on January 24, 2006 at around 7 am. I went to the hospital and continued to have contractions. I dilated to 6cm and stopped. They had to due a c-section because he had already had a bowel movement in the womb. He was delivered at 5:28pm and weighed a whopping 9lbs and 20 1/2 inches long.

The two births were different, but the outcome was the same. I gave birth to two precious children that stole my heart. I was able to give birth in a clean, sterile environment and my babies were cared for by trained professionals. In other countries people aren't so fortunate.

The country I chose to research was Africa. Africa has a high mortality rate of mothers and babies because they have limited access to healthcare and trained professionals. According to Unicef (2013),  there were around 40 million unattended births. This is very different from what we are used to here in America. African mothers are more likely to die due to hemorrhage and birthing complications because of their limited or lack of medical care.

This is very alarming. After reading this information I realize how fortunate I was to have a clean, sterile environment and great prenatal care during my pregnancies. It also makes me sad to think that we have come so far with advances in technology and healthcare, but there are so many people here in America, Africa, and around the world with no access to good healthcare. Hopefully in the future African mothers and mothers everywhere will have the quality healthcare they need to ensure a safe delivery and proper prenatal care.

References
DISPARITIES IN COVERAGE. (2013, January 1). Retrieved March 8, 2015, from http://data.unicef.org/maternal-health/delivery-care