I chose to research Latin America and Caribbean. I
sometimes see stories on the news about other countries, but I do not see
anything about this area, this is the reason for my choice. I wanted to know what challenges are the
children and families confronting. I researched the island of Barbados.
Countries in east Caribbean have high levels of
poverty, inequality, and high levels of unemployment. The children are exposed
to many kinds of abuse and exploitation, which includes sexual abuse, neglect and
abandonment, physical abuse, which is meant as a form of discipline, child
labor, and child trafficking (UNICEF, 2009). In Barbados they use corporal
punishment to discipline children at school and home (UNICEF, 2010). Even
though they have evidence that hitting children is harmful to their
development, they still do it (UNICEF, 2010).
Some factors that contribute to these problems are
poverty, an ineffective truancy policy to mitigate against children being out
of school, and the administration system is weak when it comes to justice so it
discourages reporting and prosecuting sex offenders, amongst other things
(UNICEF, 2009).
These issues are difficult for a child to endure. Children
dealing with issues as these may develop mental illness, behavior problems, and
social development problems. Children may become depressed, act out in school,
and withdraw from others.
As a parent, grandparent, and early childhood
professional, I cannot imagine anyone having to endure such traumatic issues. This
opened my eyes to the fact that the children in the United States are dealing
with tragic events, but nothing compared to the children in Barbados. These children
will one day be adults. I only hope they have healed from all the emotional scars
they’ve endured as children.
References
United
Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). (2009). Eastern
Caribbean
Retrieved
from http://www.unicef.org/barbados/overview.html
United Nations International Children's Emergency
Fund (UNICEF). (2010). Barbados works to
change
attitudes, implement positive discipline in schools.
Retrieved from
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/barbados_53912.html
It breaks my heart to hear how children are treated in some parts of our country and around the world. This assignment definitely opened my eyes to issues regarding early childhood around the world. I will be looking at the UNICEF website more often to stay current. It also deepened my desire to adopt children in the future! Thanks for sharing your findings!
ReplyDeleteJessica
Brenda,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post! I didn't think countries used corporal punishment anymore especially in the education system. It's so sad that children are dealing with traumatic events in their young lives. Thank you for your thoughtful post.