Childhood Poverty in China

 





I explored the childhood poverty site www.childhoodpoverty.org and selected the country overview tab. Featured there were different countries and how poverty is affecting their children and families. I chose to focus on the country of China.

*4.2 million Chinese children live in poverty
*8.7 million Chinese children live in what they call, disadvantaged conditions
*Health (insurance) and education (school expenses) reforms are reducing the ability of poor families to utilize health for their families and education for their children.
*China has made tremendous strides in combatting poverty by making changes in economic growth (globalizing the market). However, this only benefitted people in Eastern China and poverty rates in Western China increased.
*The national poverty line in China ($1.83 a day) is low by international standards so more people live close to poverty.

Sharing Web Resources

I found a website that encompasses all issues and trends in early childhood as it pertains to children from birth to age three. The name of the site is Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, toddlers, and Families and the link is www.zerotothree.org.
This is a "national nonprofit organization that informs, trains and supports professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers" (Zero to Three, 2013).

They now have an active blog to which they post periodically and the latest one that caught my attention was titled "The Sequesters Pain: Air Travelers get Relief, Kids not so much". This blog posted on April 26, explores the swift decision congress made to find money to pay aviation employees so the flight delays would decrease and wait time for travelers wouldn't be so severe. This change in the sequester only came when the members of congress tried to come back home from their long vacations they took and found out how impossible it was to travel when there are not enough employees there to do the necessary jobs. Unlike the aviation employees getting their jobs back, the families that count on federal assistance are in need of homes, and their young children are being dropped off Early Head Start and Head Start rosters. The sequester has effected children everywhere. The following passage is from the blog:
"Passengers who must wait a few hours on the tarmac might miss a meeting or a connection to another city. But young children shut out of early childhood programs miss out on the positive early learning experiences that help their brains make critical developmental connections, putting them on the path to success in school and in life. And while those passengers may shift uncomfortably in cramped seats, families who lose rental assistance may find themselves living for months in cramped quarters, or even becoming homeless" (Baby Policy Blog, Zero to Three, 2013).
This hit home for me simply because I am a government teacher and am now going to be furloughed. Although this will effect my personal life greatly, the kids are the ones who have to pay because it is their education that is being screwed with. And it concerns me to think whether our future generations of children will care anything about our world and sustaining it when the people in charge clearly have shown they don't care about them.

Establishing Professional Contacts...around the world
In the process of establishing global contacts I found that quite a few of the contacts I tried to get in touch with were no longer available. I also found that some of the websites for the organizations had not been updated for a few years. I did send out messages successfully to Canada, Singapore, and Africa. Other messages I sent out were returned to me undeliverable. So I wait excitedly to hear back from these countries as I am interested in how early childhood is where they are.

I chose the Zero to Three Organization after perusing their website. What drew me to them was the scientific and medical side of their research as it pertains to early childhood and young children. Their site was also very easy to navigate and contained specific information and opportunities for educators and parents alike. I also subscribed to their monthly newsletter. I look forward to learning even more about the biological aspect of how children learn and develop.