Saturday, November 26, 2011
Consequences of Stress on Children's Development
This week we were asked to pick one stressor that affects and impacts child development. Since I work with children whose parents are in the military, I witness children dealing with war and deployments on a regular basis. Having grown up on a military base myself, I have dealt with same situations as a child. In today's society it is being raised in a single parent household is becomming more common. As if that isn't stressful enough for a child, adding the worry and stress of war can be very deetramental to a child and their development. Most of the children that I work with have experienced a parent delploying at least once, some on several occaisions. I can see an instant change in child's personality when their parent gets sent off to a warzone. It is saddening and disheartening to watch however we try to offer the best support that we can. We have many programs that offer different activities that the children can engage in while their parent is away. We even have our computer lab equipped with Skype so the children can get on and see and speak with their parent.
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Naturally our blog posts are somewhat similar. On a daily basis I too agree witnessing the same situations. Just a few days ago I found out a parent is leaving for deployment this weekend for 8 months. Leaving her 2 sons ages 5 and 7 behind. It was difficult for her 5 and 7 year old children to transition into the school age program especially the one that is 5 years old. He was and is still having some behavior difficulties in kindergarten. He began to have behavior issues transitioning into the program. Her older son is very sensitive and is in the stage of defending himself and wanting to fight for what he believes. He is thinking that everyone is against him and the choices he is making. All I can say to the mother is while she is deployed we as caregivers will do our best to watch over her children and help and support them any way possible. I even witness earlier this year a single parent of a sweet 10 year old girl her mother was deployed for 8 months to Afghanistan staying with a close friend. She came back for about 4 months and got orders to Germany. As soon as they got there the mother had to be deployed again to a different country. The child is now staying with her grandmother and her close friend that knows her received a phone call last week of her crying because she missed her mother and being around people who care about her. I was saddened. This is a difficult and stressful time for her. Living in a new place, new culture without her mother. I think this stress situation is unbearable for a child.
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experience with working with children from military families. I know it has to be extremely difficult for children to watch as a parent leaves for war. I have never experienced that, but I can only imagine. Technology has made this a little easier with the Skype program. I bet the children are more at ease when they get a chance to Skype and see their parent while they are away.
It's something how a person can only truely understand what someone is going through once they have been through it. My heart really goes out to these children. I never really thought about what the children are going through during these times or the way they feel. Many people take things for granted but after reading several post dealing with various stressors it increases my passion for the early childhood field. I am committed to being here for children. I know how it feels to not have someone there.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in a military family I know exactly how hard it is to deal with a parent being away whether it is for war or not. The technology that exist today, such as Skype, did not exist when I was growing up. In that aspect these children are fortunate. My father missed a lot of important things due to deployment and it is hard as a child to accept the fact that your parent is not around for these. My heart goes out to these children. My Godson is in the Army and although he is not deployed I still worry about him.
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