Impacts on Early Emotional Development

For this assignment, I chose to look at the Latin American and Caribbean regions of the world. I have a particular interest since half of my family is Puerto Rican and I have only visited there as an adult and I think I just was very touched by what I saw there and every time I go, I find that the people are incredible and I want to learn more about their struggles.

The challenges that this region faces are poverty, disease (particularly HIV/AIDS), violence, malnutrition, and natural disasters that create severe emergencies in areas that are significantly ill-prepared to deal with such disasters. Poverty affects these people because it contributes to a lot of the other significant problems that these countries have such as lack of good medical care, malnutrition, and even to the lack of preparedness for things such as the serious emergencies such as the disastrous earthquake in Haiti.

These experiences are powerful when it comes to how children develop. Children not having access to the things that they need or the support to find resources leads them to feel uncertain of their environment. With this uncertainty comes doubt that their needs will ever be met. When young children have unmet needs there is the potential that this can also impair their school success (The Trustees of Columbia University, 2010).

As I learn and continue to grow as a professional in this field, I am reminded that it is essential to keep abreast to the information that is happening in this field around the world. As we explore the possibilities and challenges in our own schools and communities, it is important to remind ourselves of the impact that we are making and how we can share that with communities around the world. I have been thinking about this a lot in my professional career. I work in what I would described as a privileged area that is very progressive in its way of educating young children and I often think about how I as an educator can transfer that information to communities that don't have that same opportunity. I hope that in my career that I do find ways of sharing that information with others so that they can be advocates for the future of their young children.

Resources:
http://www.unicef.org/lac/english_4842.htm

Trustees of Columbia University, The. (2010). National Center Center for Children Children in PovertyPoverty (NCCP). Retrieved from: http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_882.html