Consequences of Stress

Consequences of Stress

My paternal grandmother use to tell us about what is was like to live in the South (Georgia) during a time when blacks were not welcomed  in schools, restaurants and doctor’s offices. This is only a small list of where they were not allowed, they were shunned from areas where whites were free to go. She said that because of her  race, she had to use back doors and go to certain doctors and even then, she had to go on certain days and times, that was hard for her to do with raising eight children, because as we all know, children don’t get sick all at once, so there were times when one of her children were sick and she had to wait until that certain day to take them to the doctors. She always told us that the south was a tough place to live and raise children, especially if you were black. She tried the best she knew how to protect her children from the racism and discrimination that she experienced; however, they had their individual share of it as they began school. They were teased because of the color of their skin and often they had to use certain bathrooms and drink from a certain water fountain because the white students had priority. Racism is a stressor that NO CHILD should have to experience as it can and does leave lasting impression .It can make a child grow up with a the knowledge that they’re not good enough to eat learn or get treated the way they see white children   being treated. Childhood should be a carefree time of fun and excitement and making lasting friendship. It should not be a stressful time or a time of worrying about how someone is scaring you or your family because of the color of your skin.  

The country I chose to find out more about is the country I was born and raised in, that is Panama. Food for the Poor began working in Panama in 2010. The organization has four projects underway in the country. Working through partners like Nuteje, the charity has made education, agriculture and water projects its priority. I wish I could say I was surprised to learn that Colon, the city I grew up in is the nation's second largest city; however, it has the highest rates of poverty and crime in Panama. Poverty in Panama tends to be concentrated in specific geographic regions. For instance, the nation's second largest city, I can remember playing in those same streets, but back then they did not seem dangerous. Although poverty is still to this day a problem in Colon, I believe that since the American Government have taken over; children are a lot safer in Colon.

Reference

http://www.foodforthepoor.org/about/work/panama.html

ACCESS TO HEALTHY WATER

This topic interest me because I have often wonder why we as Americans waste our hard earn money on buying drinking water and on fancy gadgets such as BRITTA and PUR to attached to our faucets to purify the water we drink. However, we then turn right around and bathe ,brush our teeth and cook with the same water we “purify” to drink. It seems like if a person is going to purify the water they drink, they should also purify the water In the bathroom and shower. When we go out to eat we automatically assume that the water we ordered to drink has been purified, but do we really know ,where that water came from before ending up on our table? I learned that when you go out to eat in Germany, your waiter will not bring a complimentary glass of water, in fact although their tap water is perfectly safe to drink, they d o not drink it ,they drink bottle water with carbonation or bottle water with non carbonation. But the German word for tap water is Leitungswasser which literally means plumbing water. Now if you offered someone plumbing water, well that’s slightly better than sewer water but it isn’t something you would do. One of the biggest cultural mistakes  you can make is offering a German  a glass of ordinary tap water.
            As a future educator of Adults in the Early Childhood field, I feel like the knowledge of water I learned will definitely make me more aware of the water I will drink in  the workplace. I will relate this information to my students and make them aware of the awareness of drinking water in their home as well as exposing their children to the impurities in tap water. All this makes me feel rather good about not being such an avid water drinker.

Reference:
http://learn-german.language101.com/about-germany/why-germans-dont-drink-tap-water/

Chilbirth around the World

Childbirth around the World
      The birth of my sister in Germany when I was twelve was a very exciting time. I remember my brother and I being at home and dad was at the hospital with mom. Our neighbor across the hall was asked to keep an eye on us. I remember staying up very late, in fact, television had gone off (back then, television went off) and the national anthem was playing. I must have dozed off, because the next thing I remember was our neighbor coming over to tell us that mom had baby girl. I remember being very excited because I wanted a sister, my brother was happy, but a little disappointed. He was hoping for a brother. I chose t his experience because I am single and do not have any kids and have not experience any childbirth. My thoughts on birth and its impact on child development is that if the mother gets the proper prenatal care, which includes getting enough rest, exercise, and proper diet, then there should not be any problems with the baby development. It is when prenatal care is neglected that complications tend to occur.
     I Chose to research Panama, not only because it is my birth place, but just  to get a feeling of what my parents ,especially my mom went through  during her pregnancy with me  and my brother. I found out that giving birth in Panama is not that different from giving birth in the United States  or Germany where my sister was born. The only difference is if you live in the rural area of Panama. I was very pleased to learn that that in Panama 94% of all birth occur with some form of medical aid now, which is a marked improvement on birth figures in the past. The remaining 6% of those that give birth without medical assistance are mainly in rural areas  if you are in Panama and discover that you are having a baby the first step is to see your doctor who can refer you to the relevant specialists and department of your chosen hospital, or you can simply go to the hospital. It is worth asking around for a recommended OB-GYN and you will find that you have the same medical team on hand throughout your pregnancy and birth. Hospitals that have maternity wards include the Hospital Santo Tomas in Panama City, one of the largest in the country. It is a public hospital and dates back several hundred years. The National Hospital is a private hospital that specializes in maternity and care of newborns. There are also specialist maternity hospitals in cities such as David and Colon Pain relief during childbirth is as it is in many other countries, with epidurals available, gas and air and other forms of pain relief. It has been calculated that in Panama 94% of all birth occur with some form of medical aid now, which is a marked improvement on birth figures in the past. The remaining 6% of those that give birth without medical assistance are mainly in rural areas. There are moves to improve the facilities in rural areas in all aspects of medical care, not just for maternity and neo-natal care.

Reference
http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-panama-birth