Divorce
As a child, I experienced a childhood stressor that seems to go unnoticed. Divorce had a substantial impact on my psychosocial development as a young child. When looking at the children around me, I felt different because my parents were not together. I thought that my family was abnormal because my father lived in another state. I was reluctant to invite friends over my house because I thought they would view me negatively once they saw that I lived with my mother and grandmother. There would be times when I wanted my father to be physically present, but he could not.
The resource that helped me to overcome this stressor was my extended family. My uncle, aunts, and grandmother would help by taking me to and from school. They also helped me complete homework assignments. My uncle would step up and take me to father/daughter events at my school. What helped me the most was the conversations I had with my mom and dad. They encouraged me, showed me love, and assured me that my family was not weird. My dad visited me as often as he could. He even surprised me at school and all my friends saw that I had a father too! Although divorce is not the ideal situation for any child, family can help to overcome it.
Hunger
There are many children who experience stress because of hunger. In Africa, many children suffer from malnutrition and have died. It is obvious that starvation affects the bisocial development of children. The immune system is weakened and body growth is limited. However, malnutrition affects cognitive development as well. "Abraham Maslow suggested that for students to have energy for learning, their basic personal needs must be met" (Jones & Jones, 2004, p. 39). UNICEF is one organization that is making sure that the basic need of nutrition is being met in Africa. Not only do they provide food, but the organization also adds essential vitamins and minerals to the food. By fortifying foods, many illnesses and defects have been reduced.
To learn more about how UNICEF is fighting hunger visit:
Reference
Jones, V. & Jones, L. (2004). Comprehensive classroom management (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Krista,
ReplyDeleteI am very sorry about the stressor you experienced as a child and I also understand as I too was a child of divorce. The hardest decision I ever made was to divorce my children’s father. Since my parents divorced when I was young, I was determined to create a better environment for my three children. Luckily, my xhusband was willing to work with me and we made agreements to try to help the situation as much as possible. My xhusband, his new wife and her children, live less than a block away from me. The children are able to go between the two homes as they wish and all four adults attend EVERY child's school activities. All four adults and six children share holidays and birthday celebrations together. It isn’t perfect but it seems to work for us, and I can see the positive effects it has on my children. My xhusband and I decided that if we were going to do this right for the kids, we had to put our differences away and both of us made sure our new spouses were able to live this type of life before we married them. Now that my children are grown, or almost grown, it doesn’t stop there. In the next couple of years I plan on moving so that I am not half a block from my xhusband; however I know he will always be a part of my life. All four adults agree that this is the way we must continue to live, not only for our children, but for our future grandchildren.
Rhonda
Hi Krista, I’m so proud of you for making the best from the change you had as a young child. The strength of your extended family made a big difference in your life. I believe in society today you see more single household and its less “weird”.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Andrea
Hi Krista,
ReplyDeleteI, too, am a child from divorced parents. I agree that sometimes children of divocred parents is a stressor that goes unnoticed. Maybe because it is commonplace in our society? As a teacher, it is hard for me to support my students with this type of stressor because it is very personal. From your post, I gathered that your extended family really stepped up to the plate to support you! That is something I can ask my students' families about...if they have additional family support. Thank you for sharing your story!
Nicole
Hi Krista,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your stressors as a child. I too was raised by a single parent and I can remember all too vividly feeling isolated and singled out. I remember hearing stories of my friends and their parents vacations and family gatherings and how bad this made me feel. At the time I thought I was the only one going through this. It was not until I was in middle school that I realized that not everything is what it seems. These differences helps us become the people we are today.