Impact of Zero to Three

As I explored the website, Zero to Three, I noticed there were many different categories that were relevant to my current professional development. Some of those were: Early Language and Literacy, Promoting Social Emotional Development, and Early Development.

I did not find anything controversial when reading, however, I found the issue on sleep to be very interesting especially since my son did not sleep very well last night. He normally sleeps through the night but last night was a struggle for him and I. We were up every couple of hours, so learning different tips and reasons why he might not sleep well was interesting to me. When I was reading though, I kept saying to myself “I do the opposite of that.” For example, last I tried the “cry it out” strategy but instead of him soothing himself, he cried harder and louder so of course I went in and picked him up, which this website said to just go in but not pick the child up. I also have a bad habit of bringing him to bed with me when I am exhausted but as soon as he is asleep he goes back into his room in the crib. So for me, this topic was food for thought and different ways that I am going to try the next time we have a challenging night.  

Zero to Three has a page for all the policies and ways to give money as well as the programs that they fund. I feel that in order to do what this website does and the fact that the podcasts for donations are funded by MetLife that this site is very into having the support of businesses. In this case, MetLife is probably seeing a gain from the amount of donations they receive. In addition to that, similar to Dr. Grace’s view, Zero to Three has a positive outlook on play and the importance of children playing.  Play helps children develop in so many ways.  

Introductions of Partnerships

I am proud to introduce the two partners I chose to build a relationship with. Although they may have directed me to different websites or articles, to help with my understanding of their situation in their country, I am beyond grateful.

The first partner I would like to introduce Eric Atmore. Mr. Atmore is an associate professor in the Department of Social Development at the University of Cape Town. Mr. Atmore is one of three authors who wrote the South African Journal of Childhood Education for the University of Johannesburg.  Lastly, Mr. Atmore is part of the National Early Childhood Development Alliance  and the OMEP South African National Committee.

I have learned so much just from the first article Mr. Atmore sent me from the journal he wrote. In his journal I learned all about the challenges facing the early childhood development sector in South Africa.  One major challenge in South Africa is that the young children are being negatively impacted by a range of social and economic inequalities. These young children have inadequate access to health care, education, social services, and quality nutrition. South Africa has a section of their constitution that makes provisions for children’s rights, including the right to basic education and protection from neglect, abuse, and exploitation. However, they have a long way to go to effectively meet the needs of all children.     

The second partner I would like to introduce is Ms. Ruzanna Tsarukyan. Ms. Tsarukyan works with the Step By Step Benevolent Foundation.  She resides in Armenia, Asia. The International Step by Step Association in Armenia was initiated in 1998. This Association was opened in order to support early childhood education in the face of difficulties due to the economic crisis in their country. At the time this opened there were many Kindergarten and primary grades ready to close because of the economic crisis they faced. The children are directly faced with poverty issues, majority being social. China also has an issue with the job market. Children are impacted by poor nutrition, inadequate sanitation and exposure to abuse and neglect that often leads to unique and irreversible deficits in child development.

Reading and learning about the situations in both South Africa and China, has helped make me aware of what we have here in America that allows the children here to have a better life. I have also stepped back and am trying to be more aware of what others do for me and to not take anything for granted because there are people who are not able to have what I have. I thank god every day for my son and what I am able to give him and when the time comes, I will have a good school to send him to. Lastly, hearing and reading about these children who are struggling and who are not able to have what I have has opened my eyes to poverty issues and has made me want to take part in helping to stop/ fix the poverty issues present around me.

Zero To Three

I chose to explore and learn more about the Zero To Three site (http://www.zerotothree.org/about-us/). I did subscribe to receive the newsletters, however, their newsletter only comes out the first of the month and therefore I have not received the newsletter yet. So, for this assignment I went exploring and learned as much as I could from their site.

Zero To Three is a national nonprofit organization that provides parents, professionals and policymakers the knowledge and the know-how to nurture early development (Zero To Three, 2012).  It is their mission to encourage the health and development of infants and toddlers. One thing that stuck out to me the most is the number of children who are maltreated. There are a greater number of younger children abused and neglected than that of older children. Younger children also spend a longer period of time in foster care than older children do. The quicker support and intervention is given to the child, the quicker it is for the healthy development to be restored. Before learning from Zero To Three, I thought older children were abused and neglected more.

Lastly, I did not see anything geared to just one culture.  All information I read was about children in general no matter what their race gender, disability, etc. I did notice though that this site did have different categories for all different types of kids and they did mention that no two kids are alike so if you were looking to learn more about child behaviors, to look at each child as their own.  

Establishing Professional Contacts

I began my search for two professionals in another part of the world on Monday morning. I first chose the two people, from the list given, that I wanted to build a relationship with and communicate on a daily basis with. However, the first two people I emailed, the email address was incorrect and the emails sent where returned back to me. I then chose another professional and that too was returned to me. I was becoming very discouraged because I was not having any success in reaching any professional I was emailing. I then emailed two more professionals and have yet to hear from them. After not hearing back from anyone, I them looked up a group that I could come in contact with. I finally heard back from one group, The National Early Childhood Development Alliance located in South Africa.  However, I am still trying to get in contact with a second professional at this time. I do not feel I am going to have to use the alternate route for Part 1. I am going to continue to look and find my second professional.

I chose The National Early Childhood Development Alliance because I am interested in the Education in Africa, so that was one thing I look at when choosing one of my professionals. I have always had an interest in visiting or teaching abroad in Africa when I was in college so that is why I went with this group located in South Africa.  

The website I am interested in learning more about is Zero To Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. I chose this site because I love working with young children and their families. I am interested in learning more about their behavior, development, care, education, and maltreatment. This site sparked an interest in me so I chose to use this for our assignment.

Tips: I found this assignment to be challenging and I was becoming discouraged and questioning what I was doing, so my tip to others would be to never give up and even when things become hard or challenging take a step back to evaluate everything you are doing and come back to your work after you took a break. I worked on this assignment every day and I still do not feel like I have fully completed this assignment.

Question: Did anyone have an success in finding two professionals and if so can someone recommend another person/ organization to me with an email address that works?

Thank you for any help or tips you can give me.