Responses to Reflections

            The article focuses on the development of children in a healthy environment from the relationships formed between them and other people. There is need of establishing positive and nurturing relationships with children for them to grow into adulthood having the right attitudes and also to promote their healthy living. Just as the writer states that the establishment of the relationships is a key ingredient in the healthy, human development, I also think that it is a valid argument.

            The environment that a child grows in is a significant contributor to the kind of life that they live in future. The people around a child in its initial stages of life may either contribute positively or negatively to the type of character they adopt. I think, parents have the greatest responsibility for the upbringing of the child in a healthy environment. However, the teachers and other people also have a role to play in the entire process. Teachers can as well form relationships with the children by being close to them and help them face any challenges that may arise. According to my understanding, relationships should not only model the child; but also nurture them in the rightful living. It is a common behavior for children to look upon their seniors in whatever they do. Thus, the character portrayed by the elderly and the seniors help the children identify with them by forming meaningful relationships.

            I think the major problem that persists in the way children form relationships is the lack of spending quality time with their parents. At present, many parents are busy in other roles, thereby having no time to nurture and develop healthy relationships with their children.

Response2: Children's Emotional Development and the Architecture of their Brains

            The article presents an in-depth understanding of the relationship between the child’s emotional development and the architecture of the brain. The author uses a clear language and is direct to the point. The author notes that there is a close relationship between the development of the emotion and the cognition. To my understanding, the processes in the brain are the main predictors of the things that people do. The emotional differences portrayed in the physical are as a result of the processes in the brain. Thus, a child learns how to plan things, make judgments, and decisions due to the processes of the brain.

            I agree with what the author claims in the argument that the brain interprets the early emotional experiences and processes of a child and incorporate the information into its structure. Thus, the behaviors that children demonstrate can better be understood from the nature of their brain architecture.

            I think the information presented in the article is essential for the parents, teachers, and all the people who interact with children. They need to understand why children behave in a particular manner and avoid making uninformed conclusions. Sometimes the environments that children grow in may subject them to emotional imbalances and thus are unable to manage it to their adulthood. Thus, if people learn how to handle the feelings and emotions of the children, they will manage to live healthy lives in future.

Response 3: Excessive Stress Disrupts the Architecture of the Developing Brain

            The article has the information about the effect of excessive stress on the architecture of the developing brain. According to what the author explains, there are different types of stress conditions and not all can have a harmful effect on the brain. I believe that subjecting the brain to conditions of stress is a major contributor to the structure if the developing brain. However, to the children, their stress levels cannot reach the extreme levels. Both the biological and the physiological changes may affect a healthy development of the brain, thus the need to monitor them.

            To a mature human being, stress conditions are harmful to the brain and the entire well being. However, I think to children, their stress levels may be a contributor to alterations in the development of the brain only when the caregivers fail to manage it. The author identifies three types of stress conditions as positive, tolerable, and toxic stress conditions.

            The sources of each type of stress condition are challenging to control since some are natural issues. For instance, meeting new people and frustrations are sources of positive stress that no one can avoid. However, I think the main issue is how to deal with the stress conditions when they arise. Tolerable stress and the toxic stress sources are also difficult to control and thus may eventually affect the development of the brain.

            According to my analysis of the article, the clear message is that stress conditions do occur, and they have harmful impacts to the developing brain. Thus, the children below five years require a better way in which they can manage any stress conditions that come along the way. I find the information very important to the parents, caregivers, and also teachers who interact with young children.

Response 4: Early Exposure to Toxic Substances Damages Brain Architecture

            The article is an eye opener to all the people who either directly or indirectly handle children concerning the effects of toxic substances on the development of the child. Many children undergo through conditions that expose them to the toxic substances that may affect the developing brain. For the mature brains, the body has unique mechanisms that protect it from the dangerous toxic substances. Thus, it is necessary to understand that the manifestation of the effects of the toxic substances is evident to children with the developing brain.

            Some of the substances that have harmful effects on the developing brains of children are the heavy metals. The common types are lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium among others. Most of them have a cumulative effect in the body until they reach toxic levels. They mostly affect the neurotransmitters. According to my research about the heavy metals, the body does not have efficient mechanisms of breaking them down into non-destructive forms. Thus, they continue to accumulate thereby having long-term effects on the body. Many people do not know that alcohol is also dangerous in disrupting the normal brain development. It is one of the most dangerous disruptor of the brain development.

            I think that it is necessary for the public health practitioners to invest a lot of resources in public awareness about the effects of the toxic substances to the developing brains. It is because, children live in environments that have many of the toxic materials, but the caregivers do little to avoid them from finding their way into the body. Also, the future of the children depends on the nature of the developing brain in which caregivers should not ignore any effects to it.

Response 5: The Timing and Quality of Early Experiences Combine to Shape Brain Architecture

            The information provided in the article regards the proper timing and quality of the early experiences of children and its impact on the brain architecture. The author explains the information in a clear language, and hence easy to understand. After reading the article, there are few issues that arise. First is the question of the best timing for the children to start learning some things.  Second is the type of experience required for having an understanding of what type of exposure that the children deserve at the initial stages of their development.

            I think that children have the best opportunity to learn before they attain age three, but the process continues even beyond that age. Thus, the things that the parents and other caregivers introduce to the children during the period are significant in shaping their brain structure. They easily have influences from both the positive and negative experiences. It is necessary for the environment that the children grow in be free from the negative influences. My presumption is that; the idea by some parents that children should not do or interact with certain things, is wrong. Some of the things that parents restrict their children to have or do may affect their brain development at the tender ages.

            My analysis of the information shows that there is an information gap that exists for the early childhood educators and caregivers since the things they expose children to, are not out of the experience. They need to understand the best timing to introduce some things and then deliver quality information to the children. It will go a long way in shaping the children’s brains in the right direction. Thus, I find the article very beneficial for the parents and caregivers.

Response 6: Establishing a Level Foundation for Life: Mental health Begins in Early Childhood

            The establishment of a good mental health should start in the early childhood as a foundation for the rest part of life. The author of the article notes that childhood is a time of learning and discovery. Thus, the type of experiences that the child has in early childhood is very significant in their entire lives. The period forms a basis for nurturing, growing, and learning from others. The ingredients of a healthy brain development revolve around the establishment of positive and helpful relationships and interaction within an enabling environment. The construction of the structure of the brain is through the experiences that children go through.

            According to my understanding, a good foundation for mental health starts with the immediate care given to children in the initial stages of their life. Thus, the people who interact with the children should behave in a way that imparts positive influences to them. Any negative experience undergone by the children tends to shape their brain development along that line. The issues of stress conditions, emotions, and toxic substances are also significant in affecting the child’s brain development. Some of the disruptors of a healthy brain developed can b e diagnosed, but the effectiveness of the criteria used is a challenge.

            I think that the experiences of children in their early childhood stages should be a guiding factor in determining how best to shape their lives. Thus, the people who interact with children have a role in ensuring that children grow up in good environments that impact positive things to them. The key to mental health at the early stage in life is the identification of things that can hinder the normal brain development in children. Therefore, caregivers require forming meaningful relationships with children and also nurturing them towards adulthood.

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in nursing writing services. If you need a similar paper you can place your order from best custom term papers.