Impacts on Early Emotional Development

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

 

The part of the world I chose was East Asia and the Pacific. My choice for this part of the world was for no particular reason seeing that while looking through all eight areas I found this one to be of interest to me. However, while reading through the articles I found that young children are still being trained for wars around the world. “While Governments of the world have made progress to recognize children have no place in their armies, the recruitment of child soldiers is still a huge problem, especially with armed groups. Tens of thousands of boys and girls are associated with armed forces and armed groups in conflicts in over 20 countries around the world. Many have been victims of, witness to and forced participants in acts of unspeakable brutality. Children as young as 12, are undergoing military training and have been used as informants, to patrol, to man checkpoints and to guard strategic locations. In some cases, they have been used as suicide bombers and to carry out executions” (UNICEF). However when some young children are able to find their way out of these circumstances the “UNICEF works with partners to support children once they are released from armed groups. This includes reunifying them with their families and providing them with health care, basic necessities and psychological support as well as access to education and training programmes” (UNICEF). Another challenge that children face in this region of the world is children losing one or both parents to AIDS. “in the mid-1990s as the AIDS pandemic began leading to the death of millions of parents worldwide, leaving an ever increasing number of children growing up without one or more parents” (UNICEF, 2008). And then there is the concern for immunization, and how to ensure all children are covered. “Immunization coverage of infants for the six major vaccine-preventable diseases – diphtheria, measles, pertussis, polio, tetanus and tuberculosis - rose from less than five per cent in 1974 to more than 75 per cent in 2006.  Over the last ten years, data consistently shows that over 70 per cent of children under five years of age have been immunized against these illnesses. However despite the success of immunization campaigns, millions of children remain unprotected and at risk from these life-threatening and debilitating diseases”. (UNICEF, 2008).

 

In facing these critical circumstances, and conditions a child’s emotional wellbeing may not even be in existences.  However it was stated that “gender equality furthers the cause of child survival and development. Because women are the primary caregivers for children, women’s well-being contributes to the well-being of their offspring. Healthy, educated and empowered women are more likely to have healthy, educated and confident children. Women’s autonomy, defined as the ability to control their own lives and to participate in making decisions that affect them and their families, is associated with improved child nutrition. Other aspects of gender equality, such as education levels among women, also correlate with improved outcomes for children’s survival and development”. (UNICEF, 2007). Therefore young children may be faced with language, and literacy development, health issues, attachment disorders, trust, poverty, and psychological, and behavioral problems that could last throughout their lives.

 

I feel it is always sad to read, and hear about anyone going through extreme circumstances. But when we hear this about helpless children it is devastating. Through reading this information I found that it gives us valuable information as early childhood professionals to help us realize that not every family we work with have had an easily beginning. Also as early childhood professionals we must take into consideration, and remember that every family is different, therefore having different family situations and needs that need to be met. Also that every child, and family that we meet that relocated to another country has chosen this for themselves, but out of safety, and the well-being of their young children.  

 

Reference

Information by country | UNICEF. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/