Week Three Kassondra Amato Chapters 3,4,5

When I began reading Chapter 3 I found myself familiar with some of its content.  I actually felt like I was going back to a Biology class! Except this time I realized I was better able to understand what I was reading. Especially when I got to Meiosis and Mitosis!  

The reproduction of life is an incredible thing! From the moment of conception the journey from birth through infancy is not only flat out amazing but it's also a lot of "work". We all start out as one cell, then as we grow we grow into a whole body with millions and trillions of cells! Every human has its own DNA that carries instructions for growth and development.  This is discussed in the clip "Life's greatest Miracle". As I watched the clip I also felt familiar with its content as I do have two children of my own. However, each time I revisit the topic I am captivated every time! It is truly a miracle! 

When I was going over the handout for this week "Through the ages" there were a few things that stuck out to me.  One is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome- this stuck out because as I said before I am a mother and that actually "made my heart hurt" a little for those innocent children.  Another that stuck out to me was the epilepsy statistics.  According tp the handout at least 10% of Americans will have a seizure during their life and by age 80 about 3% of people will have been found to have epilepsy.  This hits home for my family- I personally have had a seizure and my cousin was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 8. 

On page 71 of Life Smart there is a table (table 3.2) Teratogens: Their Effects, and Time of Risk.  I bring this up because I found it very interesting.  There are the text book things you are encouraged to avoid throughout pregnancy i.e. caffeine, smoking, drugs.  But this goes more into detail of what the consequences could be to the unborn child. I feel this is important table to show to "at risk" mothers.  

While reading chapter 4 something that got my attention was on page 92, Neonatal Reflexes. I knew that neonates had reflexes however, I  was unaware that there were names for the reflexes the babies had- other than rooting. Thinking back to it both of my children had shown these reflexes.  They were just too cute! I had no idea they were each a reaction to a different stimuli. 

I currently run a 2 year old classroom at a local daycare and have been having some issues with a few children and their separation anxiety getting the best of them-and the whole classroom loses it. In the center I work in the teachers are all very aware of the separation of a child from their parents and how difficult it is on the children and parents.  I bring this up because in Chapter 5 on page 121 John Bowlby performed many studies on children separated from their parents and it came down to a "predictable sequence of behaviors" The first being Protest, followed by Despair, and last detachment.  I was drawn to this because I see this often when children begin daycare or if they were on vacation for a week or so. 

Overall, I felt like I have learned quite a bit from this weeks readings. Development is an incredible process that I feel is taken for granted more often than not. I believe if more people were educated on development from conception forward it would be seen for the miracle it truly is!