Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Week 4 Assignment

When I was younger I would go with my Aunt to the food bank at our local church where she would volunteer and I would help her on the weekend. We would serve the food to the homeless or the families who did not have enough food to feed their entire family causing them to be faced with hunger. Hunger is something that is becoming more and more common in our country due to the economic crisis and as a result of many Americans losing their jobs. We are feeding families that were never in a position to receive any form of assistance and they are so afraid to request the services. Before when you would think hunger you would think of a country far, far away but now it is so common in our own backyards. The children at the food bank did not realize the reality of malnutrition and the detrimental effects it would have if they are not getting the nutrients that they need to support healthy brain development. It could cause all forms of learning disabilities as well as many types of health problems. It was a heart breaking experience at the food bank when you would see the many children who had no clue the circumstances that they are facing.

Many of the children would seem so happy and cheerful at the large tables close to their parents eating their dinner for the night. Many of the parents would worry day to day trying to figure out where their next meal would come from before they discovered the food bank and if the food bank was not available. I would serve the food and try not to get absorbed in the emotions of the situation, but tried to help everyone as quickly and nicely as possible.

          I have some parents that are from Kenya and they speak of some of the devastation that they face in their country. Poverty, drought, high population growth, internal conflicts, political stalemate and the growing problem of refugees are among the many factors that have recently affected this area of our world. Kenya faces an extremely high poverty level which makes hunger a very prevalent issue among the children in this country. Poverty is leading to many other conditions that the children of this region face. Isolation, hunger, Chaos, diseases, environmental pollution and violence. Hunger is a growing problem that is not being solved quickly enough and this is something that as a nation we need to think fast to minimize for the sake of our children’s healthy development.