How wonderful would it be to possess the means and
knowledge to conduct a research study on any topic that impacts the field of
early childhood! The choices are endless and I know that many of us would
choose child related cancers and diseases, so I thought I would take my
research to a place that affect many children on a daily basis. My choice would
be hunger. We tend to think of hunger as something typically associated with underdeveloped
countries, but in fact hunger is a living and ongoing issue worldwide. It would be luxurious to research a topic such
as hunger, so we can finally eradicate such an issue that truly shouldn’t even
exist. Hunger has an impact on a child’s development, learning, and growth
(World Hunger Education). It is crucial to find the answers with ways to ensure
that children’s tummies are fueled with nutrients they need so they can develop
to their fullest.
Poverty is a main contributor to hunger (World
Hunger Education.) so without the financial means to fulfill all expenses needed
to live; many households are left with empty plates for breakfast, lunch, and
dinner. We need to think about how hunger can impact a child’s ability to learn
and concentrate so they can meet the expectations and demands of school. My research
study would find ways to eliminate hunger and it would also educate parents
with the resources needed so family members are not dealing with hunger.
Hunger played a significant role throughout my
husband’s early childhood. His parents moved to Canada from Germany when he was
just a baby and they did not speak English. His parents struggled financially
and there were many countless days where he went hungry. He remembers not being
able to focus in school as all he could hear was his tummy rumbling. At that
time there were no “breakfast clubs” as this was seen as an issue for
developing countries, not in our community. His preoccupation with his talking
tummy labeled him as a child who couldn’t pay attention and couldn’t focus. The
teachers never identified the true reason for his lack of concentration. His experience as a hungry child has impacted
him now as a father of two children. He goes above and beyond to make sure that
all of their wants and needs are met. This
experience also gave him the internal motivation to continue with his education
and obtain a good job, so he wouldn’t have to experience a rumbling tummy ever
again! I never question our grocery bills as his relationship with food and the
lack of is something that I could never relate to.
Research that would help to eliminate hunger would ensure that
children wouldn’t have to go to school hungry or come home after school hungry. This research would ensure that families have the means necessary to end hunger so their children can develop to their fullest.
References
World Hunger Education Service:
Stephanie, this is such a great topic with such importance. As I read through your paper so many thoughts were coming to mind. First, I come from a military family, and I was born in Germany. I wonder how was the hunger experience for you husband there, or did it become scarce in Canada? Your analogies were well thought of. For example, the "talking tummy" makes it very hard for a child to learn. At Head Start we focus development for the whole child. If a child is hungry it is impossible to learn, just as if an adult is hungry it is impossible to work. Children do need "fuel" to keep them going just as a car refuses to operate without it's fuel. In Columbia, there are is a Harvest Hope food Bank for the homeless. Is there something of this nature where you live as well?
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading you blog. I have always known that we have families that live in poverty. However, I have never thought about just how close that we real are to having homeless families with children that are homeless or hungry. I work with low-income families at a local Head Start Program and we feed the children a lot of starchy foods to keep them filling full. We have been told that just because these children come in our classroom looking like they do not need
anything from us does not mean that they have food at home. I am sorry to hear that your husband and his family and with the lack of what it takes to live a good life when he was a young child. However, I must say that I am proud that it made him a stronger man for his self and your family
Wow! Stephanie, I must admit that as I read your post I was moved to tears. Why? Because, as we speak I am heading up a fundraiser to help raise 70K for 80 k-9th grade students who attend Edplus Cyber Charter School at Somerset. We have named our fundraiser the Raise 70K Kyds Campaign! This post would be way to long if I went into all the details, but to make a long story short, when my twin sister, who is the school's art teacher told me that the school would no longer be providing meals for their students because of budget cuts, I immediately sprain into action. I know how important food is for proper growth and development of children and I could not simply stand by and do nothing. I can also relate to that of your husband's story. It were those early childhood memories of hunger that drove me to launch this fundraiser! If you are interesting in learning more about it and maybe evening contributing, please log onto our Gofundme page at: www.gofundme.com/dou05k our FB page is: Raise 70K Kyds Campaign Thanks for inspiring me even the more to continue to help end hunger in my little corner of the world! :)
ReplyDeleteStephanie,
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is wow. You went above and beyond this week, I was truly touched by your husband's childhood story. Hunger exists everywhere, and it is completely avoidable. People do not need to be hungry. My ideas is If all people changed their lives to accommodate for only the necessities, hunger would cease to be an issue.
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteGreat Post!!! World Hunger is a serious matter in today's society. I work with Headstart children everyday and when they enter in the room in the mornings they are very hungry, anytime a child eat everything off their plate they are hungry and when they ask for seconds we give it to them because you never know if that's their last meal. Children are very delicate and they need their right nutrients everyday.