Web Site Review

Web Site Review

    The Global Children’s Initiative website is a very informative and helpful website for early childhood educators such as me. There were so many articles about the many issues that we face in the early childhood field. The first new insight that had a profound impact on me is the importance of distinguishing among the three kinds of responses to stress: positive, tolerable, and toxic in the early childhood field. Children encounter three kinds of stress. The first type is the positive stress response. Positive stress response is considered normal and very important to healthy child development and this is characterized by brief increases in heart rate and mild elevations in hormone levels. The second kind of response to stress is the tolerable stress response. It activates the body’s alert systems to a greater degree as a result of more severe, longer-lasting difficulties, such as the loss of a loved one, a natural disaster, or a frightening injury. (Harvard.edu)  The last response is the toxic stress response. This response is activated when a child experiences strong, frequent, and/or prolonged adversity—such as physical or emotional abuse, chronic neglect, caregiver substance abuse or mental illness, exposure to violence, and/or the accumulated burdens of family economic hardship—without adequate adult support. Toxic stress response can cause a disruption and developmental delays within the brain as well as causing chronic impairments as well as diseases such as heart disease and cognitive impairments that will be present in adulthood.

     The next insight is executive function and self-regulation skills are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. Just as an air traffic control system at a busy airport safely manages the arrivals and departures of many aircraft on multiple runways, the brain needs this skill set to filter distractions, prioritize tasks, set and achieve goals, and control impulses.( Harvard.edu)

     The last insight that impacted me was the serve and return interactions. These interactions work to shape brain development at an early age. When an infant or young child babbles, gestures, or cries, and an adult responds appropriately with eye contact, words, or a hug, neural connections are built and strengthened in the child’s brain that support the development of communication and social skills. Building the capabilities of adult caregivers can help strengthen the environment of relationships essential to children’s lifelong learning, health, and behavior. We must be willing to work to educate ourselves so we can have a profound effect in the lives of the children we serve. This will lay the solid foundation that will give the children the meaning skills and knowledge needed throughout their adult lives.

References

Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/about/what-we-do/global-work/),