Tracy: International Contacts

Saturday, October 8, 2011

International Contacts

The Center on the Developing Child from Harvard University has developed a global children's initiative. Within this initiative are 3 key areas with Harvard faculty that will design and implement new projects and will collaborate and engage additional faculty and students outside of the Harvard community. These 3 domains are: early childhood development, mental health and children in conflict and crisis situations.

In an effort to educate selected audiences around the globe on early childhood development the Council plans to educate the leadership of key international agencies, publish papers to establish a strong scientific framework and communicate research effectively to global policy makers. Their goal is to also generate new knowledge regarding health and developmental needs of young children in a variety of settings.

The second domain they addressis mental health. This issue is severely underaddressed yet has huge implications to soctiety and development of children. They are currently designing evidence based approachs in policy and service delivery to a wide variety of cultural contexts. There are 3 inititial projects that include:

state of child mental health services in Shanghai, China
evaluations of mental health issues in children affected by Aids in Rwanda
addressing child maltreatment and mental health outcomes in 3 Caribbean nations.

The third domain is children and crisis which takes a developmentl perspective into determining a childs well being in natural and man-made disasters. Currently they are focusing on earthquake victims in Haiti and Chile and children facing acute malnutrition.

All of these domains will be enhanced and developed through an array of education and training activities.

At a global gathering in Moscow, the keynote address was given by Jack Shonkof who is the chairperson for the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. He discussed how early life adversity has a negative effect on the individual and society. New brain research demonstrates how healthy development early in life builds the foundations of successful adaptation and effective learning that lead to better outcomes in academic achievement, responsive citizenship, lifelong heatlh, and economic and human development.

Resources:
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2010). Global children’s initiative. Retrieved from

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/

1 comment:

AnonymousOctober 8, 2011 at 9:37 PM
Tracy:

In reviewing a document sent to me by my international contact in Northern Ireland, I learned the impact that mental health has in their country. Northern Ireland had a history of civil conflict. As a result, mental health issues such as Post Traumatic Stress and depression has been an issue (Horgan & Monteith, 2009). Even for those who appear to rebound after the conflict adds to the evidence of the high levels of mental health issues connected to the conflict (Horgan & Montheith, 2009). Considering the number of conflicts and violence around the world, this work of the Global Children's Initiative is so important to the health and well-being of young children.

LouAnn Rhodes

Horgan, G., & Monteith, M. (2009). What can we do to tackle child poverty in Northern Ireland? Belfast, IRE: Save the Children (Northern Ireland & Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
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"My Connections to Play"

Two quotes:

Vygotsky - "Children use private speech in play to regulate behavior"

"Creative play is a central activity in the lives of healthy children."
Almon, K. (2002) The vital role of play in early childhood
education. Gateways, 43.

My family, especially my mom, was very supportive of play. She recognized its importance. My sister and I loved to play with our friends. She would take us to the community pool and parks and we would play all day. When we got a little older we got a trampoline and jumped on it for much of the day. We had a playroom above our garage in Tennessee and we played there for many hours even though it got very hot at times. My sister and I loved to play with dolls. My mom always said she would be my best friend and as we got older did not encourage many outside friendships. I think that hurt our social skills a little. Now we talk every once in a while, have very different lives and see each other about 2-3 times per year. Even though we are still very close and had many years of play as children, we have drifted apart. My dad was really good at playing with us also. He took us on our boat all the time and encouraged more of the rough and tumble type of play. Both my mom and taught us to be resourceful and take care of ourselves, almost to a fault.

As I attempt to write my blog assignement I feel play has changed a great deal since when we were younger. We would go all day without seeing the inside of our house and find things to play with. All three of my boys are sitting around my table asking me questions and saying they are bored. I live about 2 blocks from one of the most beautiful lakes and beaches in the country and 1 block from an elementary school playground. There are children all over this neighborhood to play with and they are asking me what they can do. Where have I gone wrong in this scenario? They have come to rely on me as their "social director" and I have probably enabled that. Play is very different. I am going to cancel cable and hide the playstation and nintendo ds's for the summer. My kids are older and possibly beyond help. I hope that young children will be pulled away from the computers, tv and other electronic devices. I hope they will be in a safe place to be able to venture out and make friends. Parents need to be more confident in their childrens ability and need to become independent players. I think sometimes parents protect their children and don't let them make mistakes at an early age.

I have included pictures of my boys below at the beach. This is what we love to do these days. This was on a spring break vacation. My youngest sons favorite toy was a palm branch he found the first day. Again, an item from nature that I didn't have to purchase that entertained him. Nice!!