In school Georgia was an outspoken child; she loved to run around and play just like any other child. When her father would walk in the room to pick her up, the light in the little girls’ eyes would die, and she would whimper and cry that she didn’t want to go with her dad. After months of investigation, Georgia’s preschool teacher was able to have a state psychiatrist come in and speak with Georgia. This poor little girl cried and cried saying her dad told her not to tell anyone, that what it was their little secret; it took Georgia an hour to finally be brave enough to admit to the Doctor that her dad had been touching her in inappropriate places. Georgia was taken from her home and placed in foster care. This is something that happens throughout the nation. Millions of children a year are taken advantage of. Whether it is by a stranger, or someone they love, every few seconds a child is either physically abused or sexually abused by an adult.
Darkness2light.org says that “One out of four girls are sexually abused before the age of eighteen; one in six boys are sexually abused before the age of eighteen, and about 40% of all cases have been victimized by someone in the child’s close family.” This site also goes on to state that “Nearly 50% of all victims of forcible sodomy, sexual assault with an object, and forcible fondling are children under the age of twelve.” Sexual abuse on a child has a very definite line. The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect defines child sexual assault as: "contacts or interactions between a child and an adult when the child is being used for sexual stimulation of the perpetrator or another person when the perpetrator or another person is in a position of power or control over the victim.” Childhelp.org states that “children who have been sexually abused are 2 ½ times more likely to develop alcohol abuse and are nearly four times more likely to develop drug addictions.” There is no grey area when a child is being sexually abused. So what can be done for these children? There are a few steps that should be taken.
Increased awareness for and research on the topic of sexual abuse. Research is specifically needed in evaluation of victims, and management strategies for the victims. Future studies should also make an effort to include better methods of obtaining sexual abuse histories, better definitions of abuse, improved sampling, more extensive data collection, and more sophisticated analyses. Health care providers should also become more educated in this topic and more sensitive to the possibility of sexual abuse patients. A great thing that this nation does provide is therapy for these victimized children.
On Childhelp.org, sexual abuse therapy is described as “therapy for the victims include reducing or preventing the negative effects from occurring, helping the victim in achieving normal development for his or her age, and preventing further abuse from occurring or being unreported.” The therapists working with these children and adolescents may use group therapy, cognitive therapy, or behavioral techniques to help the victim come to terms with emotions, be able to manage behavior and life, and relearn acceptable behavior and normal sexual activity. It is very important for boys to reassert their masculinity and to re-channel their aggressive behavior into physically healthy activities. Unfortunately, this is not the same for physical child abuse.
What is child abuse? On dictonary.com, child abuse is stated as “mistreatment of a child by a parent or guardian, including neglect, beating, and sexual molestation.” But when asking one parent to the next, their definition of child abuse might vary. A mother of a two year old, Danyelle Aders, was interviewed on her definition of child abuse. “I believe that child abuse is the forceful action of physically hitting a child for the benefit of the parent. I do not believe in spanking, as this is a physical force contact with a child.” Katrina Peltier, a mother of three boys was interviewed saying “A spanking never hurt anyone in the long run. My boys will sometimes get so out of control that a spanking was what I had to do to make them listen. But I do think that excessive force is considered abuse. Once is all it takes, and more hits than that, I think, is considered abuse.”
Child abuse is nearly an epidemic across the United States. Childhelp.org says seventy five percent of children that are abused are under the age of four. But one of the most unfortunate stats is that most of the child abuse in this nation is not even reported to anyone, and are just pushed out of sight. Many of the deaths of young children that are reported as abuse, there was no forewarning that anything prior abuse had happened to the child until it was too late. According to childhelp.org, 36.7% of all women and 14.4% of all men in prison in the United States were abused as children; and one third of all abused children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse. So how do we protect these poor innocent children?
According to preventchildabuse.com, the behavior of children may signal abuse or neglect long before any change in physical appearance. Some of the signs may include: “Nervousness around adults, aggression toward adults or other children, inability to stay awake or to concentrate for extended periods, sudden, dramatic changes in personality or activities, unnatural interest in sex, frequent or unexplained bruises or injuries, low self-esteem, poor hygiene.” Have you seen a child showing these signs? Do you know someone that is suffering, but do not want to report the abuse. Just think of the hurt and the pain that the child is suffering, and that you can end that suffering with a simple phone call to the police.
In doing research on this child abuse, there were multiple sites on how to prevent child abuse. Here are the top ten ways to do so:
1. Be a nurturing parent. Children need to know that they are special, loved and capable of following their dreams.
2. Help a friend, neighbor or relative. Being a parent isn’t easy. Offer a helping hand take care of the children, so the parents can rest or spend time together.
3. Help yourself. When the big and little problems of your everyday life pile up to the point you feel overwhelmed and out of control – take time out. Don’t take it out on your kid.
4. If your baby cries… It can be frustrating to hear your baby cry. Learn what to do if your baby won’t stop crying. Never shake a baby – shaking a child may result in severe injury or death.
5. Get involved. Ask your community leaders, clergy, library and schools to develop services to meet the needs of healthy children and families.
6. Help to develop parenting resources at your local library.
7. Promote programs in school and around your community. Teaching children, parents and teachers prevention strategies can help to keep children safe.
8. Monitor your child’s television and video viewing. Watching violent films and TV programs can be disturbing to some young children.
9. Volunteer at a local child abuse prevention program.
10. Report suspected abuse or neglect. If you have reason to believe a child has been or may be harmed, call your local department of children and family services or you local police department.
If half of our nation would take even just half of these steps, millions of children could have happier lives. Neighbors of little Georgia suspected that her father had been molesting her, but they did not take a stand to protect her. Thankfully, her preschool teacher took this young girl into the safety of the state. Too many abused children get pushed into the shadows, because bystanders don’t want to be the one to break up a family. The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) reported an estimated 1,760 child fatalities in 2007. This translates to a rate of 2.35 children per 100,000 children in the general population. NCANDS defines "child fatality" as the “death of a child caused by an injury resulting from abuse.” Now is the time to stop the epidemic. Now is the time to save our next generation.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Is It Okay to Spank?
Dear Editor of Parenting Magazine,
I recently read your article “Is it Okay to Spank?” by Kitty O’Callaghan. In this article, she talks about the reasons that it is okay, or not okay to spank a child. She states reasoning with long-term psychological damage, or border-line abuse; or how some people said that it didn’t hurt them in the long run, and that their children don’t listen to them unless they do spank their kids. The letter to the editor regarding this article from Genice Waite talked all about how spanking is the best type of punishment for children. She wrote that spanking children should be allowed in childcare and also in the school system. Waite talked about in 1994 when an eighteen year old American boy was in Singapore and was caught with theft and vandalism. His punishment was being caned. Waite said “That if that was my son that I would go to Singapore and got that cane and hung it above his door. Every time he started acting out, I would remind him of that beating and use it on him if I needed to.” Waite stated that she believe that if we implemented spanking in the school system, that bullying and acting out would decrease immensely.
I cannot believe a magazine such as “Parenting Magazine” would publish such a letter. It seems as though Waite condones child abuse. Children in the 1960’s were terrified of their teachers. My father was once accused of cheating and his teacher took a wooden ruler, slapped him multiple times on the top of the hands, and then shut him in a closet for the rest of the day. He begged his parents to take him out of school. Now I know Waite isn’t condoning closing children in closets, but I would imagine that the abuse that his teacher showed to him stuck with him for a life time. My father was never an aggressive dad, but his wife was. My step mom would beat my younger brother on the buttock with a wooden spoon when he was a child. I could go on and on with different forms of abuse that happened to children, with their parents claiming it was just a spanking. So where do parents and teachers draw the line between abuse and discipline? We all know that some parents would take it way out of control. Many children have been spanked with a belt, spoon, brushes, tree limbs - you name it, I am sure someone has tried it. There are so many children that go through childcare, how could one discriminate between children when you make that decision to spank?
Take school and childcare into mind. Disciplining a child with contact seems more detrimental to a child’s psyche than having it happen at school. Some children act out at school for attention, but I doubt they would do that with the humiliation of being spanked. Waite stated that she thought that if a spanking was allowed in school that the bullying would decrease. In some ways, I might agree with that statement, but the humiliation of that child who got spanked would be worse than being bullied. One teacher might think that a certain thing that a child did deserves a spanking, while another teacher might think that the action the child did is not severe enough for the spanking. Parents might also feel the same, that the action of the child was to light for such a severe punishment. I think that implementing this in our school systems would put a lot of distaste between teachers, thus lowering the quality of the school.
I do believe that in some cases, a spanking from a parent to their child could be reasonable. But taking it into our school and daycare systems is way too far. I think that there would be a lot of parents in this great country that would be very disgruntled with the decision to allow physical discipline in schools; especially the parents that were abused in school as a child. As for the bullying in school systems, I think that parents of both the bully and the abused should be informed of all problems. As long as parents are always given a heads up about the situations, children usually start to behave better.
I was once a daycare employee, and believe me, there were a few kids that I really wanted to spank, but I held my hand. And yes, I do spank my own children; on extreme cases, where they know they have really done something wrong. I just know that if my kids went to a school or a daycare that implemented such discipline, I would remove my kids from that school and start them in home school or private school. I think that printing an article such as this in your highly popular magazine was a mistake, and I think that it should be removed.
Thank you,
Mom of Three
Idaho
I recently read your article “Is it Okay to Spank?” by Kitty O’Callaghan. In this article, she talks about the reasons that it is okay, or not okay to spank a child. She states reasoning with long-term psychological damage, or border-line abuse; or how some people said that it didn’t hurt them in the long run, and that their children don’t listen to them unless they do spank their kids. The letter to the editor regarding this article from Genice Waite talked all about how spanking is the best type of punishment for children. She wrote that spanking children should be allowed in childcare and also in the school system. Waite talked about in 1994 when an eighteen year old American boy was in Singapore and was caught with theft and vandalism. His punishment was being caned. Waite said “That if that was my son that I would go to Singapore and got that cane and hung it above his door. Every time he started acting out, I would remind him of that beating and use it on him if I needed to.” Waite stated that she believe that if we implemented spanking in the school system, that bullying and acting out would decrease immensely.
I cannot believe a magazine such as “Parenting Magazine” would publish such a letter. It seems as though Waite condones child abuse. Children in the 1960’s were terrified of their teachers. My father was once accused of cheating and his teacher took a wooden ruler, slapped him multiple times on the top of the hands, and then shut him in a closet for the rest of the day. He begged his parents to take him out of school. Now I know Waite isn’t condoning closing children in closets, but I would imagine that the abuse that his teacher showed to him stuck with him for a life time. My father was never an aggressive dad, but his wife was. My step mom would beat my younger brother on the buttock with a wooden spoon when he was a child. I could go on and on with different forms of abuse that happened to children, with their parents claiming it was just a spanking. So where do parents and teachers draw the line between abuse and discipline? We all know that some parents would take it way out of control. Many children have been spanked with a belt, spoon, brushes, tree limbs - you name it, I am sure someone has tried it. There are so many children that go through childcare, how could one discriminate between children when you make that decision to spank?
Take school and childcare into mind. Disciplining a child with contact seems more detrimental to a child’s psyche than having it happen at school. Some children act out at school for attention, but I doubt they would do that with the humiliation of being spanked. Waite stated that she thought that if a spanking was allowed in school that the bullying would decrease. In some ways, I might agree with that statement, but the humiliation of that child who got spanked would be worse than being bullied. One teacher might think that a certain thing that a child did deserves a spanking, while another teacher might think that the action the child did is not severe enough for the spanking. Parents might also feel the same, that the action of the child was to light for such a severe punishment. I think that implementing this in our school systems would put a lot of distaste between teachers, thus lowering the quality of the school.
I do believe that in some cases, a spanking from a parent to their child could be reasonable. But taking it into our school and daycare systems is way too far. I think that there would be a lot of parents in this great country that would be very disgruntled with the decision to allow physical discipline in schools; especially the parents that were abused in school as a child. As for the bullying in school systems, I think that parents of both the bully and the abused should be informed of all problems. As long as parents are always given a heads up about the situations, children usually start to behave better.
I was once a daycare employee, and believe me, there were a few kids that I really wanted to spank, but I held my hand. And yes, I do spank my own children; on extreme cases, where they know they have really done something wrong. I just know that if my kids went to a school or a daycare that implemented such discipline, I would remove my kids from that school and start them in home school or private school. I think that printing an article such as this in your highly popular magazine was a mistake, and I think that it should be removed.
Thank you,
Mom of Three
Idaho
Dear Parenting Magazine Editor
Dear Editor of Parenting Magazine,
I recently read your article “Is it Okay to Spank?” by Kitty O’Callaghan. In this article, she talks about the reasons that it is okay, or not okay to spank a child. The reasoning with long-term psychological damage, or border-line abuse; or how some people said that it didn’t hurt them in the long run, and that their children don’t listen to them unless they do spank their kids. The letter to the editor regarding this article from Genice Waite talked all about how spanking is the best type of punishment for children. She wrote that spanking children should be allowed in childcare and also in the school system. Waite talked about in 1994 when an eighteen year old American boy was in Singapore and was caught with theft and vandalism. His punishment was being caned. Waite said “That if that was my son that I would go to Singapore and got that cane and hung it above his door. Every time he started acting out, I would remind him of that beating and use it on him if I needed to.” Waite stated that she believe that if we implemented spanking in the school system that bullying and acting out would decrease immensely.
I cannot believe a magazine such as “Parenting Magazine” would publish such a letter. It seems as though Waite condones child abuse. Children in the 1960’s were terrified of their teachers. My father was once accused of cheating; his teacher took a wooden ruler, slapped him multiple times on the top of the hands, and then shut him in a closet for the rest of the day. He begged his parents to take him out of school. Now I know Waite isn’t condoning closing children in closets, but I would imagine that the abuse that his teacher showed to him stuck with him for a life time. My father was never an aggressive dad, but his wife was. My step mom would beat my younger brother on the buttock with a wooden spoon when he was a child. I could go on and on with different forms of abuse that happened to children, with their parents claiming it was just a spanking. So where to parents and teachers draw the line between abuse and discipline. We all know that some parents would take it way out of control. Many children have been spanked with a belt, spoon, brushes, tree limbs; you name it, I am sure someone has tried it. There are so many children that go through childcare, how could one discriminate between children when you make that decision to spank.
Take school and childcare into mind; disciplining a child with contact seems more detrimental to a child’s psyche than having it happen at school. Some children act out at school for attention, but I doubt they would do that with the humiliation of being spanked. Waite stated that she thought that if a spanking was allowed in school that the bullying would decrease. In some ways, I might agree with that statement, but the humiliation of that child who got spanked would be worse than being bullied. One teacher might think that a certain thing that a child did deserves a spanking, while another teacher might think that the action the child did is not severe enough for the spanking. Parents might also feel the same, that the action of the child was to light for such a severe punishment. I think that implementing this in our school systems would put a lot of distaste between teachers, thus lowering the quality of the school.
I do believe that in some cases, a spanking for a parent to its child could be reasonable. But taking it into our school and daycare systems is way too far. I think that there would be a lot of parents in this great country that would be very disgruntled with the decision to allow physical discipline in schools; especially the parents that were abused in school as a child. As for the bullying in school systems, I think that parents of both the bully and the abused should be informed of all problems. As long as parents are always given a heads up about the situations, children usually start to behave better.
I was once a daycare employee, and believe me, there were a few kids that I really wanted to spank, but I held my hand. And yes, I do spank my own children; on extreme cases, where they know they have really done something wrong. I just know that if my kids went to a school or a daycare that implemented such discipline, I would remove my kids from that school and start them in home school or private school. I think that printing an article such as this in your highly popular magazine was a mistake, and I think that it should be removed.
Thank you,
Mom of Three
Idaho
I recently read your article “Is it Okay to Spank?” by Kitty O’Callaghan. In this article, she talks about the reasons that it is okay, or not okay to spank a child. The reasoning with long-term psychological damage, or border-line abuse; or how some people said that it didn’t hurt them in the long run, and that their children don’t listen to them unless they do spank their kids. The letter to the editor regarding this article from Genice Waite talked all about how spanking is the best type of punishment for children. She wrote that spanking children should be allowed in childcare and also in the school system. Waite talked about in 1994 when an eighteen year old American boy was in Singapore and was caught with theft and vandalism. His punishment was being caned. Waite said “That if that was my son that I would go to Singapore and got that cane and hung it above his door. Every time he started acting out, I would remind him of that beating and use it on him if I needed to.” Waite stated that she believe that if we implemented spanking in the school system that bullying and acting out would decrease immensely.
I cannot believe a magazine such as “Parenting Magazine” would publish such a letter. It seems as though Waite condones child abuse. Children in the 1960’s were terrified of their teachers. My father was once accused of cheating; his teacher took a wooden ruler, slapped him multiple times on the top of the hands, and then shut him in a closet for the rest of the day. He begged his parents to take him out of school. Now I know Waite isn’t condoning closing children in closets, but I would imagine that the abuse that his teacher showed to him stuck with him for a life time. My father was never an aggressive dad, but his wife was. My step mom would beat my younger brother on the buttock with a wooden spoon when he was a child. I could go on and on with different forms of abuse that happened to children, with their parents claiming it was just a spanking. So where to parents and teachers draw the line between abuse and discipline. We all know that some parents would take it way out of control. Many children have been spanked with a belt, spoon, brushes, tree limbs; you name it, I am sure someone has tried it. There are so many children that go through childcare, how could one discriminate between children when you make that decision to spank.
Take school and childcare into mind; disciplining a child with contact seems more detrimental to a child’s psyche than having it happen at school. Some children act out at school for attention, but I doubt they would do that with the humiliation of being spanked. Waite stated that she thought that if a spanking was allowed in school that the bullying would decrease. In some ways, I might agree with that statement, but the humiliation of that child who got spanked would be worse than being bullied. One teacher might think that a certain thing that a child did deserves a spanking, while another teacher might think that the action the child did is not severe enough for the spanking. Parents might also feel the same, that the action of the child was to light for such a severe punishment. I think that implementing this in our school systems would put a lot of distaste between teachers, thus lowering the quality of the school.
I do believe that in some cases, a spanking for a parent to its child could be reasonable. But taking it into our school and daycare systems is way too far. I think that there would be a lot of parents in this great country that would be very disgruntled with the decision to allow physical discipline in schools; especially the parents that were abused in school as a child. As for the bullying in school systems, I think that parents of both the bully and the abused should be informed of all problems. As long as parents are always given a heads up about the situations, children usually start to behave better.
I was once a daycare employee, and believe me, there were a few kids that I really wanted to spank, but I held my hand. And yes, I do spank my own children; on extreme cases, where they know they have really done something wrong. I just know that if my kids went to a school or a daycare that implemented such discipline, I would remove my kids from that school and start them in home school or private school. I think that printing an article such as this in your highly popular magazine was a mistake, and I think that it should be removed.
Thank you,
Mom of Three
Idaho
Dear Letter to the Editor
I recently read your article “Is it Okay to Spank?” by Kitty O’Callaghan. In this article, she talks about the reasons that it is okay, or not okay to spank a child. The reasoning with long-term psychological damage, or border-line abuse; or how some people said that it didn’t hurt them in the long run, and that their children don’t listen to them unless they do spank their kids. I believe that there is no long term effect in spanking a child. I was a normal child, and I believe, as do my parents, that if not for the many spankings I got as I child, I would have been terrible. Children act out in many different ways; and usually for attention. I believe that when they act out in a positive way they should get positive reinforcement. And when they act out in a negative way, they should receive negative reinforcement. They would learn to only act out in a positive way, therefore not needing spankings. I also believe that if we implemented spanking as a punishment in society, such as in the school systems and daycare, there would be a positive outcome in many students. The teachers definitely would be able to manage their classrooms better. The thought in a child’s head that if he acted out in class that there is a spanking in front of his peers might help to motivate him to not act out. Teachers would not have to spend as much effort in keeping control of their unruly students, and focus more on the education that the students need. And in the daycare system, time outs don’t seem to help some children, as they continue to behave in such ways. If they were spanked, they might not continue to act in such ways. Remember back in 1994 when an eighteen year old American boy was in Singapore and was caught doing theft and vandalism? His punishment was being caned. If that was my son, then I would go to Singapore and get that cane and hang it above his door. Every time he started acting out, I would remind him of that beating and use it on him if I needed to. I bet that kid obeyed the law after that discipline. I believe that having this type of discipline in our school systems, and it being socially accepted would help our next generation of children to be better behaved and more responsible for their own actions.
Thanks,
Genice Waite
Thanks,
Genice Waite
Parents Concerns with University’s Childcare Issues
In my recent years here at the University of Idaho, I have noticed that there are very few resources for parents of young children. I have talked to many parents, and they are in total agreement to this statement. Being a parent of three children, I agree with them. Children are also often seen with parents attending class, which can sometimes be a disturbance to other students. I talked to a student of the University of Idaho, Brianna Kirkham. She gave me some great insight to the some problems that parents with children are having on campus. Kirkham is also an employee of University of Idaho’s Childcare Center, so she had some much needed information to share with the public.
BIRD: Brianna, I know that many parents feel that there isn’t enough childcare available here on campus. I also know that there is a huge waiting list to get in to the on-campus childcare center; up to a year for some ages. As a parent and staff of the Childcare facility her on campus, what do you think the University of Idaho should provide for our parents that are students?
KIRKHAM: A solution to this problem is more on-campus childcare facilities. As of now, there is only one childcare facility on campus. And it is nearly off-campus, as it is located on Sweet Ave, on the southeast corner of campus. The location does have its pros and cons. It is good to have the children away from the hustle and bustle of campus for safety reasons, but it is also inconvenient to parents that it is so far away from campus that it takes an enormous amount of time from the location to some classes.
I think that the University of Idaho should open multiple centers. There should be different locations around campus; but all coinciding as one. Being able to take your child to a different location depending on the time and day would help parents out immensely. To help with tracking children, and help with confusion, the parent would have to sign up their child for each center with a schedule. For example: If I had class Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the AgSci building at 9:30 am, I would sign my child up for a center nearest that building for the times that I needed. On Tuesday and Thursday, I had class at 11:00 in the Albertson building, I could sign my child up for the center nearest that building for the times that I needed. Very strict planning on both the Childcare Program and the parents would be crucial. It would be like your class schedule, iron clad planning to make it where you have to be on time.
BIRD: Another major issue with on-campus childcare is the cost for each child. The University of Idaho Childcare price can range anywhere from $400 for a five year old to over $700 for an infant per month. That is not including anything extra for activities that the children would participate in.
KIRKHAM: The cost of the center should be more reasonable than its’ current rates. We need to remember that these are collage students who are trying to raise their children while attending school. These parents are ultimately trying to provide a better life for their family. Most students live on small part-time wages and school loans. In my personal experience, it is tough to make ends meet with the small amount each month. But providing a less expensive childcare could help these parents out by giving them a break in the huge financial burden of trying to provide a good childcare for their children.
BIRD: A small problem on campus would be for those expecting mothers. Most of the larger classrooms are equipped with tables and chairs in the back of each lecture hall. But many of the smaller rooms do not have these available. For an expectant mother in her later months of pregnancy, it is extremely difficult to fit into the provided chairs with built-in desks. Not only can she not put the desk down in front of her, but she also can’t write (or type; as it is now popular to bring a laptop to class) with a huge ball attached to the front of her.
KIRKHAM: I think that there should be regular table and chairs in all of the classrooms on campus available for these women. Let’s remember that it is already hard enough for her to have the woes of pregnancy on her mind, but then she has to walk Idaho’s campus, then try to fit into those ridiculously small desks, and try to concentrate in class. Since we can’t flatten campus, and un-worry her life with pregnancy stress, let’s at least help her out with the seating arrangements.
I had a great talk with Kirkham who gave me a lot of good information about some steps that the University of Idaho could make to help out our parents that are students. Being a parent herself, she knows that these upgrades could help out a lot on campus.
BIRD: Brianna, I know that many parents feel that there isn’t enough childcare available here on campus. I also know that there is a huge waiting list to get in to the on-campus childcare center; up to a year for some ages. As a parent and staff of the Childcare facility her on campus, what do you think the University of Idaho should provide for our parents that are students?
KIRKHAM: A solution to this problem is more on-campus childcare facilities. As of now, there is only one childcare facility on campus. And it is nearly off-campus, as it is located on Sweet Ave, on the southeast corner of campus. The location does have its pros and cons. It is good to have the children away from the hustle and bustle of campus for safety reasons, but it is also inconvenient to parents that it is so far away from campus that it takes an enormous amount of time from the location to some classes.
I think that the University of Idaho should open multiple centers. There should be different locations around campus; but all coinciding as one. Being able to take your child to a different location depending on the time and day would help parents out immensely. To help with tracking children, and help with confusion, the parent would have to sign up their child for each center with a schedule. For example: If I had class Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the AgSci building at 9:30 am, I would sign my child up for a center nearest that building for the times that I needed. On Tuesday and Thursday, I had class at 11:00 in the Albertson building, I could sign my child up for the center nearest that building for the times that I needed. Very strict planning on both the Childcare Program and the parents would be crucial. It would be like your class schedule, iron clad planning to make it where you have to be on time.
BIRD: Another major issue with on-campus childcare is the cost for each child. The University of Idaho Childcare price can range anywhere from $400 for a five year old to over $700 for an infant per month. That is not including anything extra for activities that the children would participate in.
KIRKHAM: The cost of the center should be more reasonable than its’ current rates. We need to remember that these are collage students who are trying to raise their children while attending school. These parents are ultimately trying to provide a better life for their family. Most students live on small part-time wages and school loans. In my personal experience, it is tough to make ends meet with the small amount each month. But providing a less expensive childcare could help these parents out by giving them a break in the huge financial burden of trying to provide a good childcare for their children.
BIRD: A small problem on campus would be for those expecting mothers. Most of the larger classrooms are equipped with tables and chairs in the back of each lecture hall. But many of the smaller rooms do not have these available. For an expectant mother in her later months of pregnancy, it is extremely difficult to fit into the provided chairs with built-in desks. Not only can she not put the desk down in front of her, but she also can’t write (or type; as it is now popular to bring a laptop to class) with a huge ball attached to the front of her.
KIRKHAM: I think that there should be regular table and chairs in all of the classrooms on campus available for these women. Let’s remember that it is already hard enough for her to have the woes of pregnancy on her mind, but then she has to walk Idaho’s campus, then try to fit into those ridiculously small desks, and try to concentrate in class. Since we can’t flatten campus, and un-worry her life with pregnancy stress, let’s at least help her out with the seating arrangements.
I had a great talk with Kirkham who gave me a lot of good information about some steps that the University of Idaho could make to help out our parents that are students. Being a parent herself, she knows that these upgrades could help out a lot on campus.
Head Start
The smell of breakfast cooking, laughter of lots of kids, and the look on the teachers’ faces like: “another crazy day with lots of crazy kids.” That is what it is for me every time I walk into Lewis Clark Early Childhood Program. Most kids want toys, games, and outrageous things to that nature, not me. One thing that I wish that I had as a child was a head start in my education. I struggled all through elementary school, and was often made fun of because of the special classes I had to take. Luckily, I pulled through, and graduated from high school with a 3.9 GPA. Struggling through school is one thing that I would never wish upon any child. I am thankful to have been able to put my children in the Lewis Clark Early Childhood Program, a preschool for lower-class families. I think that if I would have been able to be in a program like LCECP, maybe I would have had a better elementary experience.
Lewis Clark Early Childhood Program is also called Head Start, which I think describes exactly what the program is all about; giving a child a head start in their education. There are many different centers around the room; art projects on the wall, an ABC, 1,2,3 mat on the floor, and fun things from a kitchen center to dress-up. In the Head Start program, the curriculum is specialized to each child. A three year old child is going to be learning different things, and at a different pace than a five year old child. If there are children with special needs, they have great state workers that help those children with their needs. When there are children in the program that will be attending kindergarten the next year, the teachers focus on preparing the children for that. Things such as the beginning fundamentals of reading and math, to social interaction. In the classroom there are many stations; art, motor skills, library, creative play, and many more.
The program offers many different activities to the children. The facility has an on-sight playground where the children play year round. The children also get to do fun things such as sledding during the winter, walks around the neighborhood, or even a fieldtrip to the local University dairies where the children can have a great learning experience. Another great event that happen in class is Library Betty who comes once a month to read to the children. She also gives all the children a free book each time she visits. The children also get visits from policemen, and firemen to help the children learn what they do and to not be afraid of them. They also get visits from different community members like dentists to teach them about oral hygiene. It is great for the children because it teaches them some important facts that they will use the rest of their lives.
Children say that one thing they love about school is lunchtime. It might be gross, but the meal might be great; and the best part is, dessert can be eaten first; every kids’ dream. The meals prepared at LCECP are great. The cook really knows what kids like to eat, but get all the nutrition that a child needs. Breakfast and lunch are both provided; and range from muffins to pancakes with eggs, and chef salad to homemade macaroni and cheese. They do take special care of any child that needs anything special in their diet; such as a food allergy or just a picky kid.
There are a few cons to this program, but can be changed into pros with faness. When taking a family such as mine; both parents full time students with jobs, two other children in the public school and one in preschool; transportation can become a huge issue. And this is one accommodation that LCECP does not offer to its students. But what the program does offer is three different time slots that are available for each child. Morning class is 8:30 to 12:00; Midday is from 10:30 to 2:00, and afternoon class if from 12:30 to 4:00. So you can pick a time slot that works with your schedule because there is no provided transportation. We choose the morning class so that we can all be in school at the same time. But if you have to work or have class at another time, you have the choice of what class slot you would like your child to attend. Another thing that the school does not do is holiday celebrations. That means no birthday, Christmas, Halloween, or any other holiday that is celebrated. I think that is okay. I think it is fun to have Christmas recitals, and cupcakes on your birthday, but I guess that can all wait until they are in the public school system. What the school does allow is birthday invites sent out (which the public school system does not allow), and that the students can give gifts of fun things to the other students in the class, just not as a celebration.
One of my favorite aspects to this school (on a parent’s perspective) is that it is free of charge. The program is donation based, so that lower-class children can get as good of an early education as a child being raised in a mid to upper-class level. Although this is what it is based for, children of upper classes are not necessarily turned away. The children of the lower-income class are accepted first, and if there is availability in the classrooms, then the children in the upper classes are then accepted. In the city of Moscow, if you take your child to a daycare based preschool (for a half day), you would be charged around $450 to $600 per month. And if you take them to a private preschool you would pay around $700 to $1000 per month. So there are definite perks to the Lewis Clark Early Childhood Program.
Programs like Head Start are vital to families like mine. I am a students, I have a large family, and I am bery busy, and I need a great place to take my children; firstly for a great early education, secondly is a place they love, and thirdly a place I can afford. I believe that giving a head start in their education can ultimately boost their entire education, from primary school to graduate school. As I leave with my children from the Lewis Clark Early Childhood Program classroom, I look at the relief of another day over on the teachers’ faces, the smell of a room that held a bunch of crazy kids, but most of all, the knowledge that my kids are getting that all important head start.
Lewis Clark Early Childhood Program is also called Head Start, which I think describes exactly what the program is all about; giving a child a head start in their education. There are many different centers around the room; art projects on the wall, an ABC, 1,2,3 mat on the floor, and fun things from a kitchen center to dress-up. In the Head Start program, the curriculum is specialized to each child. A three year old child is going to be learning different things, and at a different pace than a five year old child. If there are children with special needs, they have great state workers that help those children with their needs. When there are children in the program that will be attending kindergarten the next year, the teachers focus on preparing the children for that. Things such as the beginning fundamentals of reading and math, to social interaction. In the classroom there are many stations; art, motor skills, library, creative play, and many more.
The program offers many different activities to the children. The facility has an on-sight playground where the children play year round. The children also get to do fun things such as sledding during the winter, walks around the neighborhood, or even a fieldtrip to the local University dairies where the children can have a great learning experience. Another great event that happen in class is Library Betty who comes once a month to read to the children. She also gives all the children a free book each time she visits. The children also get visits from policemen, and firemen to help the children learn what they do and to not be afraid of them. They also get visits from different community members like dentists to teach them about oral hygiene. It is great for the children because it teaches them some important facts that they will use the rest of their lives.
Children say that one thing they love about school is lunchtime. It might be gross, but the meal might be great; and the best part is, dessert can be eaten first; every kids’ dream. The meals prepared at LCECP are great. The cook really knows what kids like to eat, but get all the nutrition that a child needs. Breakfast and lunch are both provided; and range from muffins to pancakes with eggs, and chef salad to homemade macaroni and cheese. They do take special care of any child that needs anything special in their diet; such as a food allergy or just a picky kid.
There are a few cons to this program, but can be changed into pros with faness. When taking a family such as mine; both parents full time students with jobs, two other children in the public school and one in preschool; transportation can become a huge issue. And this is one accommodation that LCECP does not offer to its students. But what the program does offer is three different time slots that are available for each child. Morning class is 8:30 to 12:00; Midday is from 10:30 to 2:00, and afternoon class if from 12:30 to 4:00. So you can pick a time slot that works with your schedule because there is no provided transportation. We choose the morning class so that we can all be in school at the same time. But if you have to work or have class at another time, you have the choice of what class slot you would like your child to attend. Another thing that the school does not do is holiday celebrations. That means no birthday, Christmas, Halloween, or any other holiday that is celebrated. I think that is okay. I think it is fun to have Christmas recitals, and cupcakes on your birthday, but I guess that can all wait until they are in the public school system. What the school does allow is birthday invites sent out (which the public school system does not allow), and that the students can give gifts of fun things to the other students in the class, just not as a celebration.
One of my favorite aspects to this school (on a parent’s perspective) is that it is free of charge. The program is donation based, so that lower-class children can get as good of an early education as a child being raised in a mid to upper-class level. Although this is what it is based for, children of upper classes are not necessarily turned away. The children of the lower-income class are accepted first, and if there is availability in the classrooms, then the children in the upper classes are then accepted. In the city of Moscow, if you take your child to a daycare based preschool (for a half day), you would be charged around $450 to $600 per month. And if you take them to a private preschool you would pay around $700 to $1000 per month. So there are definite perks to the Lewis Clark Early Childhood Program.
Programs like Head Start are vital to families like mine. I am a students, I have a large family, and I am bery busy, and I need a great place to take my children; firstly for a great early education, secondly is a place they love, and thirdly a place I can afford. I believe that giving a head start in their education can ultimately boost their entire education, from primary school to graduate school. As I leave with my children from the Lewis Clark Early Childhood Program classroom, I look at the relief of another day over on the teachers’ faces, the smell of a room that held a bunch of crazy kids, but most of all, the knowledge that my kids are getting that all important head start.
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