Impacts of Early Emotional Development

The area of the world that I chose is Eastern and Southern Africa.  I chose this area because I wanted to learn more about the conditions and well-being of the children that live in this area.  I wanted to learn more about their environment was affecting their developmental domains.  I wanted to gain more insights how children in this area thrived or faced challenges when it comes to their emotional development.

The challenges that the children in this region of the world are confronted with are measles, poverty, starvation, disabilities, polio, lack of Vitamin A supplements, and worms.  On the Day of the African Child 2012, UNICEF calls on families, communities and governments throughout the continent to protect children with disabilities from discrimination, violence and neglect, and to provide them with access to all the services they need to grow up healthy and live up to their potential (UNICEF, 2012).  In this area of Africa, children with disabilities are the most excluded group. With the lack of proper medicine and antibiotics, children die because of pneumonia.  Pneumonia claimed 1.3 million lives in 2011 alone, and was responsible for nearly one in five global child deaths (USA, November 13, 2012).  If the medicines and antibiotics were supplied then maybe lesser children would have died.

 

These experiences may have an effect on children’s emotional well-being and development because it will cause them to be delayed in certain areas, have healthy relationships, and become productive citizens as they become older. Living in these conditions will also have an impact on them having the inability to form their own identity and gain self-concept and self-esteem about themselves.  Most likely they will continue to live in poverty and face the same challenges if there are funds and support provided to this country.

The insights that I gained from reading and exploring the regional area of the living conditions of children gave me a better understanding of the challenges that children face.  From reading this website I was influenced to think about my own career path. In life we should not take the simple things for granted.  I know that children all over the world suffer.  However, there are career paths to take that make me want to be an advocate for children globally.  Children should be able to enjoy life and not be stereotyped or be ignored because of who they are.  Globally children deserve to have proper health care, live in clean and sanitize environments, eat healthy foods, have proper shelter, and be able to thrive in all developmental domains.  I knew that certain areas of the world and the conditions for children were severe, but when you read articles it makes you want to be a part of a change of the lives of young children. Personally, my heart goes out to young children who struggle and have to deal with childhood illness and malnutrition.  Professionally, I know that I can take the steps to help make the lives of these children a lot less stressful.

References

UNICEF. (2012). Day of the African Child: UNICEF calls for the social inclusion of children with disabilities.

USA. (November 13, 2012). Pnemonia still number one killer.