Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

My childhood  stressor experience

      There are many stressors all around us and many times one stressor creates another or more stressors. Racism in some countries result in civil wars then the war creates poverty because it stresses the economy; however, many of us deal with at least one stressor at a time. Children also have to deal with stressors in their lives and those stressors affect children. Some affect their mental state; others can affect their physical state while other stressor affects every part of a child. As I think about my childhood, I reflect on the main stressor I dealt with. My family was not rich, but we were never hungry, we were able to wear the latest styles; so, poverty was not a stressor. The biggest stressor that I had to deal with as a child was racism. I remember moving to Georgia and attending an elementary school in Statesboro and being bullied by older, much bigger white boys. I told my mom; she talked to the principle, but the bullying and racial name calling did not stop. I was confused as a child because before moving to Georgia, I never had to deal with anything like that. I was just a second grade student who was trying to adjust to the south. I remember, one day I was walking home with some of the neighbors when the same young men begin to call us derogatory names. We ignored them at first, but the yelling kept coming. The older neighbors begin to yell back at them to let them know that they were not afraid of the boys. The next thing that I remember, I was feeling pain and blood gushing from my face. We later realized that one of the boys had thrown a rock that had hit me in the face. The rock busts the top part of my lip and left side of my nose. The incident was addressed, but for a long time I was afraid to go to school. My family and I later moved to a smaller town, Twin City, GA. But the racism was still present. I did not have to deal with any physical confirmations, but I did have to hear white students call me the “N” word. I had to deal with teachers that would mistreat their African American students (the only minority). Many of the African American students were place in lower level reading and math groups without any explanation. Once moved from the elementary school to the other school in the 4^th grade. The racism was so obvious that the teachers from the elementary schools (both white and black teachers) begin to complain about the others school. They begin to warm parents to be on very vigilant with their children once they move to the other school (one teacher warned my mother). Things did not change once I got to high school. Racism was so bad in Twin City, GA that we had separate proms labeled as the black prom and the white prom. The younger generation wanted to change that, but the adults were not having that. Even, now the proms are separate.

            A first, I did not think that dealing with racism growing up affected me at all. I was not until later in my life that I was able to recognize the effects. I have a hard time trusting white people. As a child, I developed a prejudice towards white people based on my childhood experience. I was always aware that I had to work twice as hard to prove myself as a black person (known as the “black tax”). Even though I dealt with racism as a child; my adulthood has been shaped by those experiences.

THE STRESSOR OF WAR ON CHILDREN IN AFRICA

           

            I begin to think about the different stressors of children in different parts of the world. I decided to find more information about war in Africa because I had a classmate at Voorhees College that was a child soldier when he was in Africa. We were close friends, so one day he shared with me why his behavior was a little bizarre. He told me that, before he was rescued and brought to America, he was from Liberia during the time of apartheid. He explained to me how he watched his parents get killed and how he was abducted and forced to be a soldier.

            There are many children that are affected by war in face it is estimated that there are over 250,000 soldiers in the world today (War child, 2013).  The child soldiers include both boys and girls; 40% are girls (War child, 2013). The largest number of child soldiers is located in Africa (War child, 2013). The children are physically affected by war. The children soldiers have scars from fighting and they also have to deal with drug addictions (War child, 2013 ). The children have mental challenges to deal with even if they are released from their duties as a soldier. The mental challenges come from the inability to go back home because of their past and many of the girls have children during the time they are soldiers and are then ostracized. The effects of being a child soldier will follow the children for the rest of their lives because many of them miss school. Because the children are uneducated, they are unable to obtain jobs in the future.

 EFFECTS OF WAR ON CHILDREN

            The stressor of war creates more stressor that children have to deal with. The original stressor is war, but then the war affects the economy, education and health. It affects children’s health both physically and mentally.

            Physical effects

War affects children that are not soldiers as well. Wars are being fought in many parts of the world now and children are in the middle of it all. Even if they are not on the front line, children have to deal with the physical effects of war. Those that are not killed are maimed and young girls are raped or abused sexually (War child, 2013). Children are also physically affected because many necessary structures are destroyed and children suffer from diseases.

Psychological effects

            Children who have to deal with war daily began to suffer mental and socially. The children that are not dealing with physical issues may deal with mental issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (War child, 2013).War can affect the children’s ability to form relationships. Many times the children that are affected by war suffer from drug abuse and alcoholism (War child, 2013).

Economic effects

            As an affect of war, many children do not have access to education and with the lack of education the economy is affected.  The economy is affected many times because places of employment are destroyed. Poverty becomes an issue now that affects children dealing with war (War child, 2013).

 

References

War child (2013). Child Soldiers. Some words don't belong together. Retrieved from http://warchild.org.uk

      /issues/child-soldiers

War child. (2013). The Effects of War on Children. Retrieved from http://warchild.ogr.uk/issues/effects-

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