Week 7: Impacts on Early Emotional Development

            There are many things that affect emotional development.  The way that we are raised, how people relate to us, what is happening in the world around us, etc.  The list could go on and on.  During my visit to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) website (http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html) I chose to explore Latin America and Caribbean region.  I am not really sure why I chose to explore this region over the others, I just did.

            Some of the challenges that this region faces are similar to some that are faced in the United States.  Poverty is a big challenge.  The UNICEF website states that 60% of children under the age of 12 live in poverty.  That is a lot of children that have to wonder about where their next meal might come from or when it might arrive.  According to UNICEF website children face social exclusions.  Children may be socially excluded because of the HIV/AIDS; the Caribbean is the second highest prevalence of AIDS in the world, and disabilities.  This “dramatically affects the indigenous and Afro-descendent communities” (http://www.unicef.org/lac/english_9818.htm).  UNICEF website states that this is one of the most culturally diverse regions in the world.  There are 40-50 million indigenous and 150 million Afro-descendants living here and close to half of these are children under the age of 18.  These children have poor nutrition and non-existent access to basic services.

            This all leads to another threat that children face in this region, chronic malnutrition.  This website compares chronic malnutrition with severe malnutrition in the following way: severe malnutrition is equivalent to a death sentence and chronic malnutrition is equivalent to life imprisonment.  They go on to state that 1 out of every 5 children has chronic malnutrition.  This to me is very scary that so many children have a life sentence put on them at such an early age. 

            Violence and natural disasters are other challenges that this region faces.  UNICEF states that 85,000 children die annually as a result of violence in the home.  They go on to say that violence affects over 6 million children and adolescents.  The natural disasters are hurricanes and flooding occurs yearly.

            All of the challenges that I listed above could affect children’s emotional wellbeing.  These challenges affect how children view themselves as well as how others view them.  These challenges may have children thinking that they are not worthy of things.  Poverty and malnutrition leave children focusing on when and/or what they are going to eat.  Being excluded and violence often leaves you wondering if you are worthy.  All of these affect are emotional wellbeing.

            Personally I have lived in poverty and understand what it is like to go to bed hungry.  I was excluded by my peers because I was poor and just did not fit in with them.  This is totally different from what the children in this region is faced with.  So many children are suffering in this region.  I can only phantom what they are going through.  Professionally this exploration helps me to understand about the different cultures and beliefs that need to be considered when planning our curriculum and daily classroom activities.  A common example would be a sensory table full of rice or noodle necklaces.