My Supports

Family:
My family is my biggest support, as a single parent my parents were there to help me with my four children.  If not for their support, my children would probably have taken a different path in their lives.  I come from a large family (8 sisters and 3 brothers) and we were brought up by my parents to always be there for each other.  My children have also been my biggest support, after I put them through school, they encouraged me to go ahead and finish with my educational goals.  My daughter has been there for me through my surgeries and my heart attack, always taking care of me and making sure I take my medications and keep my doctor's appointments.  My circle of best friends, who have always been there pushing and encouraging me to stay positive and never give up.  My significant other, Juan, who always takes care of me and has an encouraging word when I most need it.

Factors in my Life:
Factors in my life that make my life easier to deal with are my computer, to be able to take on-line courses to fulfill my educational goals.  Being able to pay my bills when going out of the house is not possible, being able to communicate with loved ones who live far away and not being able to visit them on a regular basis.  My vehichle, which without it I wouldn't be able to go to work, therefore, not be able to provide the necessities for my family.  Without my vehicle I wouldn't be able to transport my family to doctor visits, go to the grocery store or even take my family on an outing for entertainment. 

It would be hard to live without these factors in my life, however, it would not make life impossible.  I am sure that I would find means of transportation in order to take my family to the doctor or even to go to the grocery store to provide food on my table.  I remember when we were children, there were bus rides taking people to work, to town and back home.  All these things in our life have become necessities, however, I know we would find ways to life without them no matter how easy life has been using them.

"My Connections to Play"

We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. George Bernard Shaw

Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just doesn’t taste good. Lucia Capocchione

The way that my family supported play when we were younger was very rewarding, my parents allowed us to play outside as much as we wanted.  They encouraged us to role play, especially with dolls, dishes, bikes and books.  We weren't allowed to spend most of our time sitting in front of the television set because this was unhealthy.  We climbed trees and picked black berries. 

Today, play is very different than when my siblings and I were young.  Today, you have the majority of the young children sitting in front of a computer playing games, in front of the television playing games and becoming couch potatoes.  Even when my own children were young, I would encourage them to play outside, get all that energy they had stored out of their system.  This helped them in not being overweight children, kept them active and healthy.

By choosing the two quotes, I feel that it expresses how I feel about play in our lives.  It is true that we don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.  We should relax and not take life too serious all the time, we should allow for some fun time in our lives in order to live a healthy life.  It is also true that without play, life just doesn't taste good because again, we don't allow ourselves to enjoy the good things in life, especially play.  We are as old as we make ourselves feel.  My co-workers always mention that I don't look or act my age, and I truly believe it is because I make sure that I add a playful flavor to my existence and I try to encourage my children and grandchildren to do the same.

"Human relationships, and the effects of relationships on relationships, are the building blocks of healthy development" (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000, p. 4).   I am a single mother of 4 children (all of them are adults now) and with the help of my immediate family I was able to raise them.  Damian (my oldest) has always been the mature child and always there when I ran into problems with the younger ones, Gabriel (my second oldest) was the one demanding most of my attention when he was a teenager, Jessica (my only daughter) is my best friend, she is the one who takes care of me when I am ill, and my youngest, Adrian, is the one who has given me the most challenges, even as an adult.  The relationship I have with my children has been very meaningful because I have always had an open relationship with them.  I made sure that I was conscious of their needs and tried to not be judgmental whenever they did something they weren’t supposed to.  To me, a relationship has to be open, caring, respectful of each other, be there in case of emergencies, have an open heart and yet not be dominant.  I thank my parents for the background they provided me with and taught me and my siblings to tackle every problem instead of giving up and not finding a solution.  I come from a large family (9 girls and 3 boys) and we were raised that we gave each other the space we needed, however, to be there whenever one of us needed help. 

 

I think that some of the special characteristics that make up these relationships are that we must be caring, respectful, loving, dependable, be a good listener.  A healthy relationship builds self-esteem and good social skills in our lives.  A healthy relationship also helps us out with our own health, our blood pressure will be lower, risk of heart problems will be minimized and our overall healthy outlook will improve.

 

My experiences with relationships/partnerships might, including my ability to be an active, reflective contributor,  will impact my work as an effective early childhood professional by preparing me to be a better listener and this in turn will produce more effective work from my co-workers.  I have good communication skills and am very good in the area of customer service.  I treat parents we work with as if I was the parent at the other end of the phone line.  I try very hard to have an open mind and agree with the parent and try to link them up with the best possible resource they are needing.

 

I believe that if we have good birthing rooms/hospitals gives newborns a better chance at developing to their fullest potential.  Mothers and newborns receive the medical attention they need from day one and if further evaluations are needed to be performed, it will be done before the newborn goes home.

The birthing experience I have choosen to write about is about the birthing of my daughter's second baby.  I had been present for the birth of her first baby, however, this was a different experience because a young male nursing intern asked for permission to be present during the birth.  Both my daughter and son-in-law agreed to his request.  During the birthing, I turned to look at the young student and saw this strange expression on his face.  After the birth of my baby granddaugther the young man told us that he had a different outlook on childbirth and that he now admired women who gave birth more.  I really thought he was going to pass out during the birthing process.  Being present during the birth of my two granddaughters was totally different than the experience of my own birthing process.  I really like that fact that the husband and one other person can be present at the time of the birth.  My four times at the hospital were totally different because there was no one in the delivery room with me.  I come from a Hispanic family and  my mom had old school ideas, the husband was not allowed in the delivery room, that was not even thought of. 

The birthing in Russia was the one I choose to discuss/compare with our own birthing process.  I found this information on the website and it goes as follows: 

Labor is viewed as a scary emergency. So it takes place in special facilities where every step is regimented. Add lack of funds and outmoded methods and the result is a maternal death rate six times America's.

February 22, 1996|STEPHANIE SIMON | TIMES STAFF WRITER

They follow rules from Soviet days. Husbands cannot help their wives through contractions or cuddle their newborns. Women in labor cannot see family or friends, or even the obstetricians who handled their pregnancies. The Health Ministry regulations are so detailed that they control nursing posture as well: Mothers must lie on their sides to breast-feed their babies.  Hundreds of mothers die each year from uncontrolled bleeding or raging infections after giving birth in the specialized state hospitals that handle all abortions and deliveries here. Hundreds more die from the lingering effects of bungled abortions, which wreck their reproductive organs and complicate future pregnancies.  This is totally different than the hospital birthing rooms in the United States.  I also feel that as soon as a baby is born, the baby should be able to feel the mom's touch.  Husbands should be able to participate in the birthing process which also gives the newborn the warmth feeling she/he can feel.  Mother and child receive the best care in hospitals in the United States.  I am not saying that some women or newborn child don't die in U.S. hospitals, but the rate of mortality is less than in  Russia.

 

NAEYC & DEC Code of Ethics

The three ideals of Code of Ethics are as follows:

1.  To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed       through continuing education and training.

It is my feeling that I must stay abreast with early childhood education and childcare program changes in policies. I must continue with staff development, attend webinars regarding these changes and also keep up to date with educational journals.

2.  To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and family structure (culture, language, and ethnicity) are recognized and valued in the program.

No matter what a child or family background, culture, nationality is the child and family still have a right to be in the program. The program has to accommodate all children that comes in to the program and to let them know that they are very important and that we are here to help them succeed in their endeavors.

3.  The responsibility for protecting the confidentiality of the children and families being served falls upon all service providers by protecting all forms of verbal written and electronic communications.

To me this means that as professionals we are responsible for keeping the family information confidential and not give out any information without their consent. No one other than the persons having access to the records and that works with the families are allowed to view the child and family information.