Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

            When reflecting on stressors, poverty and my two little cousins came to mind.  To make a long story short, my aunt met their dad while she was in her first semester of college in which she had a scholarship.  She dropped out of college and got pregnant.  Their dad disappeared for a while when my cousin Josh was born.  My mom and grandparents raised Josh the first couple of years.  During this time, my aunt met up with the dad and got pregnant again.  This time after having my little cousin, Talesha, my aunt took them and went to live with the dad.  During this time, neither parent had a steady job, both were drinking and into drugs, and lived in an unsafe shack.  In fact they had to move out because the building was condemned.  The more my family tried to reach out and help, the further they pushed us away.  Other stressors kicked in such as exposure to alcohol, drugs, and violence.  The dad was always in trouble with the law and had a violent temper.  My aunt tried to separate from him.  My aunt and cousins had to go into hiding until law enforcement found and arrested him on unrelated charges.  He has spent numerous years in jail, the majority of the children’s lives.  He is out now but they do not communicate with him.  As of right now, my cousins are both in their 20s.  Josh just obtained his GED and was accepted into the local community college.  Talesha just received financial aid to attend the community college.

            Josh and Talesha had to overcome a lot in their childhood, especially poverty.  Poverty hindered their development.  For example, they did not always receive the necessary nutrition, which affects their cognitive and physical development.  They did not live in the safest of environments, which affected their psychology.  They did not development proper secure attachments to either parent.  They are closest with their mother.  In fact, they are both living at home.  Granted this has not always been the case.  Both moved out at 18 thinking they knew it all.  They started following in their parents’ footsteps and realized this was not the path they should take.  They realized in order to get anywhere in life, they need a decent education.  Thankfully they are both in community college working on obtaining their 2-year degree.  Maybe they can break the poverty cycle.  My family has always tried to help them.  Sometimes it was accepted, but most of the time it was not.  We were always, and still are, there for them and thankfully they know that.  I am just glad they are turning their lives around.

            When thinking of a country that has a special affinity, I immediately thought of Aruba.  This is where my husband and I honeymooned in 2005.  We fell in love with the island and cannot wait to go back.  When reflecting on our trip, the children on this Caribbean island do not have the same stressors as one would think.  Aruba lies outside of the where hurricanes hit so children do not have to suffer through that natural disaster.  Due to tourism, it is one of the more well off countries in the Caribbean.  I kept looking to find the percentage of families at or below the poverty line, however, I could not find a statistic.  I remember when we were there and exploring driving on a lot of dirt roads and seeing hut type houses.  Since they are part of the Dutch Antilles, they are under Dutch government and have an education system based of the Netherland system.  I think the biggest stressor these children see is drug smuggling activity.  They are exposed to drugs and put in the danger of being kidnapped and/or killed if something goes wrong.  However, you do not hear of the drug violence in Aruba like you do in nearby Venezuela so they must be doing something right to protect their citizens.  Their motto is “One Happy Island” and that it is.  Everyone is very friendly and willing to help.  I do like how the island has set itself up for tourism.  Part of the island, the “west coast” is where all the resorts and hotels are located.  The rest of the island is for the people of Aruba.  They do have an oil refinery and I can speak from first hand experience you would never know it existed.  The water and air around it are clear and you cannot hear a lot of noise from it either.  They have safe drinking water.  Since they do not have access to fresh water on the island, they have to desalinate the seawater.  In 2005, it was the 2^nd purest water in the world behind Kuwait.  The water was amazing.  I learned a lot on our trip.  Also, Arubans observe siestas everyday.  The island shuts down from 12-2 and everyone goes home to take a nap and spend time with his or her family.  I love this and can see why this would make it “one happy island.”  I believe this has the greatest impact to reduce the stressors on children’s development.  Everyone is rested and spends time together.  I think our country could take a page out of their book and observe siestas too.  What a difference a nap and family time would make!