Stress and Child Development

 Stress is a factor the impacts the humans throughout the lifespan. Whether it occurs in utero or old age it's results are never positive on physical,cognitive or emotional health. This post in particular will focus on the stressors of chaos and disease.  My first year of teaching I had a student in my class who demonstrated challenging behavior from the first day of school. As the year marched on I hoped to make a connect with the student that would turn his behavior around. As the year progressed I began to learn more and more about his home life situation. It was chaotic due to many factors however two stood out more than the others. The first was that his parents were separated and so he and his 4 brothers split their time between two house holds. The second factor was that his father suffered from alcoholism which is considered a disease. The students in my class was the youngest of the four brothers with the oldest being 19 while he was 6. His mother was a nurse which meant that she was very busy and the hours she had available to her children was limited and fluctuated. The child in my class coped by seeking attention from the adults in the building through negative behaviors. It was clear when working with him in a one on one setting that he truly wanted to achieve and impress. He was happy to follow directions given. When he was in small or whole group situations he did everything he could to have everyone's attention focused on him weather it was positive or negative. I wish I could say that I was able to reach this student however unfortunately this behavior continued through the school year. A year latter I received the unfortunate news that his mother died suddenly of cancer, yet another disease that had a profound impact on this young child's life. Last I heard he and his brothers were staying with a family member and were well cared for.

The psychosocial impact on childhood comes not only from a child's present environment and the people within it but also the psychosocial experiences of the child's caregiver.  When I turn my lens to global issues of stress in young children I can't help but to think of children in African countries who have close family members or who are infected themselves with the HIV virus or full blown disease of AIDS. " Very young children who witness the trauma of their parents illness and death experience long periods of anxiety and stress will be affect psychosocial. They are likely to experience tremendous grief and depression when they see their parents suffering from illness and dying, an may feel guilty and helpless." (Dunn,2005) I can only imagine that this impact on children is not specific to diseases of HIV or AIDS nor to and African nation. The impacts may be enhanced by access to medical care, housing situations and the current pandemic of the virus on the continent. I think it is worth noting that this impact is magnified on a child. As adults we have the cognitive and emotional development to better cope with this kind of stress where a young child does not. Therefore a stress of any kind will have a greater and more lasting impact on a young child than an adolescent or adult.


                                                                                     Resources
Dunn, A., & Bernard Van Leer Foundation, (. (2005). HIV/AIDS: what about very young children? working papers in early childhood development. Young Children and HIV/AIDS Sub-Series, No. 35. Bernard Van Leer Foundation