The Early Childhood - Article Example

Topic: early childhood Portfolio Activity 2 300-400 words) The article sheds light on neurodevelopment in children who have been ed to sensory deprivation during critical periods of their upbringing. Studies have documented the critical role of sensory stimulation in the development of the central nervous system specifically the neurochemical and neuroarchitectural organization. The present study analyzed brain growth in a large group of neglected or abused children aged 0 to 17 years. Based on the extent of neglect the children were divided in to four groups. Children who suffered sensory deprivation in more than one domain were considered as global neglect and children subjected to pre-natal drug exposure along with global neglect were taken as a second group. Children who were subjected to physical, emotional, social or cognitive neglect came under chaotic neglect and those who had experienced pre-natal drug along with chaotic neglect were taken as group three and four respectively. Along with their history, growth measures such as height, weight and the frontal-occipital circumference (FOC) were measured for children in all the groups. Major difference in the FOC was observed in the globally neglected children compared to the normal while the chaotically-neglected children did not exhibit such a marked difference in FOC measurements. The effect of pre-natal drug exposure on the growth of the children was found to be complex and it the case of the globally neglected population it exacerbated the growth differences. Neuroimaging studies showed a marked abnormality in the scans of 11 out of the 17 children with global neglect and only in 3 of the 26 scans of children with chaotic neglect. The major abnormalities in these cases were enlarged ventricles and cortical atrophy. Thus the study draws a conclusion that a child’s brain is growing explosively during the first three years of life and if a child suffers from neglect or sensory deprivation during these critical formative years it would result in a permanently altered brain development. The study also considered the impact of nutrition on the brain growth and owing to a large impact on the brain sensory deprivation would be a more likely cause of altered growth. The study however noted that chaotically neglected children did not show much abnormality in growth compared to the normal. The actual impact of decreased brain size in the two groups of children needs to be documented in addition to the type of drugs to which the child is exposed in the pre-natal years. The article however emphasizes the importance in the role played parents and guardians in brain growth of their wards. Portfolio Activity 2.3 (300-400 words) The article focuses on child development strategies that have been developed in Canada emphasizing on early childhood as research suggests that early childhood experiences can have a profound effect on the overall development of the child. This has gained increased attention as surveys carried out in Canada have suggested that about a quarter of their children are developmentally vulnerable at school entry, which could have an impact on the intellectual and social competency of these children. Research conducted world wide suggest that the socioeconomic status of an individual has a high degree of correlation with good health and well being, a condition referred to as the gradient effect. Such a gradient effect has been observed in the occurrence of diseases and the ability to resist or succumb to these diseases in turn depend highly on the socioeconomic statuses which in turn has been found to be dependent on development in early childhood. Nowadays children are being exposed to different circumstances during their life course. The wellbeing of the child depends on how the child adapts and adjusts to these circumstances. Of all the various stages it has been found that if the child is exposed to a favorable environment before it enters school they are more likely to perform well in life. Such an environment is required not only at the school level but also at the level of the family and neighborhood in which the child grows. In addition to the above, policy makers will also have to concentrate on providing a flexible work environment to working parents thus making it family-friendly, making the entire growing up environment a healthy place and also incorporation of systems that would monitor determinants of a healthy early childhood development. With increasing inputs from the field of science on the importance of having a healthy early childhood, several policies including the Ontario Early Years Study initiated in Canada has laid emphasis on child development. Studies have shown that the growth of the child right from infancy will have an effect on its later years. Thus optimal care during infancy and consistent care in early life like talking and spending quality time with the child along with a supportive and congenial environment would have a positive impact on the physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral patterns of the child. Hence before they enter school the child should be well molded to prevent them from engaging in unhealthy behavior in later life. Research has shown that a successful school career has a positive impact on the psychosocial behavior, economic status and the future family life of the child. Thus child development policies should be comprehensive and integrated with good quality and accessibility to all. Provide a reflective account of your learning in this block (500words). Detail the activities you completed and relate them to your achievement of learning outcomes for this block of learning and the topic overall The major learning outcome has been about the influence of early childhood development in shaping the future life course of children. Both the articles summarized throw light on how positive influences in early childhood can have a healthy impact on the later growth of the child. While the first article is a scientifically proven study on brain development of neglected vs normal children, the second article focuses on how family, environment and the community policies on early childhood can influence the life of a child. Both the articles lay emphasis on the necessity of child care beginning from infancy up to the first three years of life as it is during this critical period the child adapts itself to its surrounding people and its environment. Thus the right attitude of people and a congenial environment would facilitate incorporation of healthy mannerisms and attitude in the child. Identify other outcomes (e.g. incidental learning, links to other topics or changes to your practice). Recent research has published several studies pertaining to the importance of early child care and its impact on the physical, emotional, social and cognitive development of the child. Several programs and policies have been put forth to encourage early child care. In this fast paced world where parents have to work to make ends meet, the importance of foster care gains precedence as far as the children are concerned. Thus importance to foster care education like educating nannies and baby sitters and making them understand the importance of the time they spend with the children would go a long way in shaping the life style of the child. Provide a rationale for your selection of particular portfolio activities The main drive was to ascertain the importance of early child care. If children are neglected in early childhood, any amount of correctional systems employed thereafter would not be of much use in shaping the child’s attitude and behavior. Grooming the child would become difficult after a certain age as the child would have already adapted and would have a pre-set notion about the people with whom it lives and its surrounding environment. Thus early conditioning of the child would be the most ideal for both the child and the society at large. Report on areas for further professional development you have identified and any actions you may take as a result of your learning in this topic. Creating awareness about the importance of early child care would definitely be one of the avenues that I would like to concentrate on. This could be done by engaging schools or other agencies concentrating on child development and welfare. Educating parents-to-be and the immediate environment would be some of the other actions that would aid in creating awareness. Demonstrate your ability to engage in reflection that leads to enhanced learning outcomes A lot of research and several more in depth studies need to be carried out on the major factors that influence early childhood development. This should help to provide a better insight to this problem. In addition policies need to be developed and implemented that focus on and facilitate early child care. Hence a lot of further studies need to be done to frame suitable policies that would help in the ideal development of children during early childhood. Read More