Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

                                                                                  

 The one stressor that I have really dealt with as a child was noise. I would assume it was because I was brought up in the country where it is pretty quiet. Every year, my family and I would take trips to the beach. It was great and it was fun except for the noise. The noise of motorcycles and fireworks was my problem. It would scare me a lot when I was a toddler. I would scream beg my mom to hold me close. Even as a grown adult now I still can’t stand fireworks. It somehow really messes with my nerves. I am also a very light sleeper and easily wake up to noise. I would both hide under something and cover my ears (not like a little kid of course) haha! I would also believe that that the fireworks could explode and catch something on fire like I heard on the news. Some fireworks exploded and landed on the highway on a car and killed someone.

Noise is an unwanted or objectionable sound. Common sources of outdoor noise arise from transportation (aircraft, car and truck traffic , and trains ), occupations (construction machinery , assembly lines ), and even from neighbors (yard equipment, loud music ). Indoor noise is affected by outdoor noise, and indoor sources such as TV, radio, music and children at play. My issue may not have been severe but the implications of noise effects can be lifelong impairment of learning and education, short-term deficit followed by adaptation, and non-intentional lesions. Exposure to excessive noise and vibration during pregnancy may result in high frequency hearing loss in the newborn, may be associated with prematurity and growth retardation, although the scientific evidence remains inconclusive.

                                                                              

Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict and war, and even during economic downturns. Greece has one of the worst records in the European Union for racism against ethnic minorities. Anti-immigrant sentiment has long been high, especially against ethnic Albanians, who form the largest minority. Until the 1990s, Greece had been an extremely homogenous society. With the fall of communism many immigrants from Eastern Europe came to Greece. Albanians especially have been targeted by a lot of racist sentiment. Some hostage taking by a few Albanians in recent years has not helped the situation.

Early childhood may be a crucial sensitive period when stressors such as racial discrimination affect a person's long-term well-being. These stressors affect how the young brain develops and forms neural connections between different regions. Previous research says that when older children, who have developed cognitive skills, are exposed to racial discrimination, they may perceive their own ethnic group negatively, become self-conscious, and develop low self-esteem and symptoms of depression.

Resources:

http://www.who.int/ceh/capacity/noise.pdf

http://www.globalissues.org/article/165/racism

http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/News/NewsAndFeatures/Pages/children-racism-long-term-impacts.aspx