Sharing Web Resources

Since I have chosen the ZERO TO THREE website to be the website that I am going to study during this class, I have learned so much about the website and I have come to really enjoy reading and studying it.  There is a section on the website titled, Behavior & Development.  In this section, the subject of play is discussed.  In the section on play, it stresses that play is important in the learning capacity of children.  The website also offers “Tips and Tools on Play” and “Q and A on Play.”  Another section on the website is Care and Education, and in this section there is a subcategory titled, School Readiness Interactive Birth to 3.  This section offers an interactive learning tool for parents and caregivers to help their young children be ready for school. 

The website has many sections and subjects that discuss school readiness, even from birth.  I do not disagree with getting children ready for school; I just think that babies should be allowed to be babies.  They should not be constantly pushed to make sure they are ready for school.  This is a subject that I will definitely be researching and staying up to date on. 

The website has a tab on the website titled, Public Policy.  This section is a resource for policymakers and it includes things such as a policy toolkit, federal policy section, an action center that includes advocates for early childhood, etc.  Overall I think that the ZERO TO THREE website is an important and essential resource for all parents and early childhood professionals. 

References

ZERO TO THREE. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/

Week 3 - ALTERNATIVE ASSIGNENT

          Since I have had no luck, with getting in touch with the international contacts that I chose in week one, I completed the alternative assignment for this week.  I chose to research childhood poverty in India, using the website, http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/. Compared to the United States, childhood poverty in India is severe and devastating.  About 62 million children are under the age of five and malnourished and 34 percent of the new-borns are significantly underweight.  Children still struggle with having to work instead of attending school.  India accounts for 20 percent of the world's out-of-school children.  It has the largest number of working children in the world, and nearly a third of the children working are below 16 years of age.  For female children, life is particularly hard.  Gender biases continue to worsen for girls, and limit their life chances (Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre, n.d.).
          A particular insight that I gained by doing this research on childhood poverty in India is a personal one.  Childhood poverty is hard for me to read about.  It breaks my heart to learn about what children in India have to endure.  Another insight that I realized was that not all countries focus on the well-being of children as much as the United States does.  Children are one of the most important things to people in the U.S.  A third insight that I gained was that discrimination against females is as strong as ever in other countries.  In the U.S., if a woman is discriminated against she has a lawsuit she could file, however in other countries, such as India, the women have to deal with all kinds of discrimination.  I enjoyed this assignment, it has helped open my eyes even more to the state of childhood poverty in the world outside of the United States. 

References

 

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre. (n.d.). Country Overviews. Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

Web Resources

          For Week one's assignment, I chose the Zero to Three organization.  The link to their site is www.zerotothree.org.  The organization's main focus is to provide resources for parents, policymakers, and early childhood professional's, and to focus on the pormotion of healthy development in infants and toddlers.  I am still waiting on a newsletter from the website, however I did sign up for a journal, and I have received an email journal article.  The article discusses the effects of Technology and Media on infants and toddlers. There are various opinions about whether toddlers should be allowed to watch television.   Research shows that for children under the age of two,  background tv exposure results in negative cognitive and language outcomes.  This website is very beneficial for early childhood professionals and parents to use as a resource for young children.

 

Reference

 

Media and Technology in the Lives of Infants and Toddlers. (2013).  In ZERO TO THREE Journal, 33(4). Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/ 



Establishing Professional Contacts & Expanding Resources

          This week's assignment has proved to be somewhat of a difficult one for myself.  I emailed six different emails to contact a professional outside of the U.S., and I received an email immediately after saying that the emails were nonexistent.  Finally, on the seventh try, I did not receive a "nonexistent" email, and this was also the case for the eight one.  So, I have sent emails out to two different early childhood professionals and now I am waiting on their replies. 

          The website that I decided to research was the ZERO TO THREE website.  I registered on their site, and I am currently signed up to receive two of their newsletters.  I am very excited to learn more about this organization, I first heard of it in my first class at Walden University.  One of the speakers in a video we had to watch, was a part of ZERO TO THREE.  From the little that I know right now about the organization, it is one that every early childhood professional should be a part of.