Hope's Blog: May 2012

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

When I think of a positive example of effects of research on children and families I think about an incident that came about in one of my afterschool childcare centers almost two years ago. A young girl in my program would continually talk about her facebook profile and all the people she would meet on the Internet. I was dumbfounded that her parents would allow her to access the worldwide web without supervision, especially since she was only ten years old. I tried to discuss the dangers of the Internet with my children in my program, but didn’t have much to go on so we researched the topic and found lots of information. We found ways to address the topic to the children and activities to present to the group. We also found resources to present to parents and ways to help them protect their children. My staff and I decided not only to lead a discussion on this topic in out afterschool program, but to open it up to the parents. We had a family night where we had dinner and got to know each other more and also presented the research information that we learned to the parents and sent home articles and resources to parents as well. After addressing this in my program, the young girl mentioned that she was no longer able to freely search the Internet. We like to think that our research and addressing the issue head on helped to limit her access and possible save her childhood a bit.

My Personal Research Journey

I chose to research the effects of single-parent homes on children I am interested personally because I am a single mother raising my son. I was raised in a very traditional household and my parents have been married for forty-two years. Raising a child on my own was not something I ever imagined doing and I worry every day about the effects it will have on my son.

Unfortunately, I have noticed a certain stigmatism associated with single parents. It is my hope that by researching the effects on the children I will be able to help not only my son, but other families as well, to overcome the stigmata and prove that children from single-parent families can grow up to be strong, intelligent and healthy.

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Personal Childhood Web

Five people who nurtured and cared about me as a child:

1. My Mother & Father-
My parents always made me feel special and still do. I admire this because my parents have 5 children and were able to make each one of us feel important and loved. My mother made me feel special by baking and doing crafts with me and my dad made me feel special by teaching me to play baseball and encouraging me to p lay sports. These little moments meant a lot to me because they involved time spent with just my parents and doing activities that my other sibilings did not. I remember my parents discussing these moments with their friends and family and I felt so proud. My parents have been married for 42 years and have raised 5 children. I have seen them go through many challenges, but they have stuck together and worked through them together and that inspires me.

2. My Siblings-
I honestly can say that my sibilings are my best friends. I have 2 older sisters and 1 older brother and 1 younger brother. There is a 15 year age difference from my younger brother to my older sister, so growing up my older sibilings helped nuture and influnce me to be who I am today. Growing up I could count on my sibilings to help care and nuture me, to support me when needed, to listen to me, to stick up for me and to be honest with me even if I didnt want to hear what they had to say. We continue to provide all this for each other even now.

3. Mrs. Hewko-
In fourth grade I transferred from a small private school to a public school and was quickly overwhelmed and lost. However, I was lucky enough to have Mrs. Hewko for a teacher. I was 1 of 25 kids, but she made me feel like I was the only one in the room. Mrs. Hewko made sure to get to know me and really make a connection with me. This influnenced me to do the same with my children.

4. Ms. Czarnecki-
She was my middle school math teacher, which was definitely a difficult task. Math is not my strongest subject and until 7th grade I managed to squeak through each math class without really understanding what I was doing. Ms. Czarnecki however, was different then my other teachers. She took time to really know her students and reallized I was struggling. Mrs. Czarnecki made sure she called on me to answer questions in class and when I didnt know the answer she worked through it with me instead of moving on. She made me stay after class and assigned me more work. She walked by my desk and made sure I was on task. Although I was not too fond with her at first, I realized she really cared for me and was helping me. I was very lucky to have her again in 8th grade. Then when I went to highschool and tried out for softball, she became my coach. She was there for me during a really difficult time and worked to continue to build a reationship with me and make sure I was doing okay in and out of school. She even gave me shoes to wear and a new glove to use. I realized that sometimes the ones who really care for you are the hardest on you because they know your potential.

5. Mr. Price-
Mr. Price or better known as Phil, was my high school math teacher and is also my brother-in-law. He spent lots of time and effort teaching me math as well. We spent long nights working on assignments and he was always willing to help. He was also a big part of my life during a really difficult time, he listened and supported me. Phil and my sister were like my second parents. When I was struggling to get along with my parents during my teen years, they allowed me to stay with them and took me on trips with them.

Baby Heart

This is a picture of me with my older brother. I love this picture because it brings back so many great memories of time I cherished with my brother and how much I wish he was still here today. My mother shared a story with me that really portrays what an amazing older brother I had. When I was about 2 years old, my brother was 4, we werer at the grocery store and someone came up to my mother to tell her how cute she thought I was and my brother said, "step away from my baby heart please." My mother said he was very protective of me.