Reflecting on Learning

My hope for my future as an early childhood professional is that I continue to build on the knowledge I have and used that knowledge to help others.  I hope to be an example to others and work with other professionals to build a successful future for those who are coming after.  I hope my contribution to the early childhood field makes a difference in someone’s life. 

My hope for the children and families that I may touch is that they are given an opportunity to thrive and flourish.  I hope children and families are able to respect others, teach others, and learn from others. 

A special thanks to my colleagues for great conversations!  Your willingness to open up and discuss your point of view provided me with more tools to use when working with children and families.  Thank you.

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

The area of the world I choose to look into was South Asia.  My reasons stem from wanting expanded my learning about children from other parts of the world where I may have not have known much.  As I get older, I realize how small the world really is and how things that happen across the globe truly impacts everyone in the world. 

A challenge faced by children of South Asia is child marriage.  There are countries in South Asia where children are betrothed or married before they are 10 years old.  While there is a law against child marriage, it is often hard to implement because of custom and religious practices.  Another challenge is the lack of birth registration.  It was reported in 2007 over 47% of South Asia children were not registered.  The most interesting child issue to me is the juvenile justice system.  In South Asia the juvenile justice system is similar to adults including the death penalty.  These challenges can drastically effect a child’s emotional development and wellbeing.  Children are subject to situations that would be difficult even for adults.

Personally, I realize how much children need are voices and support all over the world.  It saddens me to think about what those of the next generation has gone through.  Professionally, I believe it is important to establish a means to stop the cycle of child mistreatment.  This gives me the motivation to keep learning as much as I can about the world around me. 

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The sexualization of early childhood has added to the difficulty of helping children develop in a healthy manner.  After reading the article, I could completely understanding where they authors and parents where coming from in how sexualization is a big part of our world now.  While reflecting on why this may be happening, I challenged myself to think about how adults in the 50’s or 60’s handled things.  I know things are more extreme now then it was then, but at that time couldn’t the adults of that time say the same thing?  Although I struggle with that, I still firmly believe how girls and boys are portrayed has an unhealthy influence on our children.

I have observed the sexualiztion of early childhood through toys, media, and music.  Songs such as “Anaconda” and “All about that Bass” are songs are consistently playing on the radio and are some of the favorite songs of young children.  Dolls such as Bratz also suggest young girls to wear heavy makeup and dress a particular way to be popular.  These messages can impact a child’s self-esteem and self-worth.  Messages about who is popular gives children a false reality of what it means to have true friendships and relationships.

As early childhood professionals it is critical for us to be aware of what is surrounding our children.  We must know what songs are playing on the radio and what the new toy or fad is so that we may be there to talk with children about what it really means.  I think it is really easy for us to choose not have particular songs played around our children or not let them play with certain toys, but the reality is they will mostly likely have friends who do.  And we have to prepare them to know what’s right and what’s wrong.

Impact on Professional Practice

I have experienced racism in both my professional and personally life.  When racism occurs in my personal life, it definitely can bleed over into my professional life.  In a recent discussion I talked about how difficult it can be for me to form relationships with families who may demonstrate a bias or make insensitive comments.  One reason I feel this is difficult is I automatically bring in the feelings I have when I have been discriminated against.

These experiences have had a great impact on the children in my centers.  When I feel hurt or discriminated against, I tend to withdraw and become very quiet.  It makes be doubt myself and the work I do for others.  I’m sure children can pick up on my insecurities and I am afraid it might also cause me to be slow to react should I see something in a classroom that is inappropriate.  This is an aware of concern for me and something I know I need to work on.