Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

In the previous course I discussed that the ism that I struggle with is disabilities. I have not worked with a family that was in a wheel chair or for that matter with anyone with a disability. But two years ago I met this family for the first time. I would see the mom every day and interact with her on a daily basis. But the first time I met her son, I knew from that something was not right. I immediately spoke with mom and let her know my concerns. The next day I made a call to early intervention and set up with a meeting for him to get tested. After testing he was diagnosed with autism. Even though I do one on one home visits with the families, this is one of the homes that I would have to say a prayer and mediate before going in. The child was out of control and mom could not do anything with him. Even though I would always expected the worst on the visits with this family, I still stayed professional and walked into the home with a positive attitude. It has not strayed me away from never working with children with a disability, but if I had a preferences I would not. I believe that I need much more training with children with disabilities.  

Affirming Communication—Mindful Listening to and Speaking with Children

This week I observed one of the many time that my child was playing with her grandfather. She loves play doh and cooking. She pretends to cook all kinds of food. This particular she decide to cook hot dogs. She said pa-pa I’m cooking hotdogs for you, and he said to her I don’t want hot dogs. So she ask him “what do you want then”? He told her that he wanted some chicken, and she said, “ok, I’ll make you some chicken”. In the mist of them playing she stated that she was thirsty and wanted some juice. My father told her to come and ask me. I told her no she can have some water. So she folded her arms and walked away. She went back and told my father, “mommy said no, can I have some juice pa-pa”. He told her that she could not have any because I already said no and she began to throw a tantrum and he gave in and gave her some juice.

I feel that my father handle the situation all wrong. Instead of giving into my child when she threw the tantrum he could of tried to calm her and then talk to her. Now she thinks that every time that she wants something all she has to do is cry and throw a tantrum, which is not the right idea. My child is two years old, but she holds a conversation as if she was an older child. I set and talk with her about various things throughout the day. When I explain to her why she should or should not do something she always ask why and I explain to her why and I usually never have the problem again. But my father went against what I said and she will continue to repeat the same thing again.

Creating Affirming Environments

            If I was to have my own childcare center it would be called. “Children’s Palace”. The center would be for children 6wks-5yrs and operate 24 hours. I always wanted to an center that operates 24hrs, because there are a lot of people in my community that work non-traditional hours, and my center would be a safe place for their children to attend while they are at work. The center would consist of four classrooms, which are broken down into age groups: infant, toddlers, preschool, and pre-K.

            Each classroom would be equipped with age appropriate materials. Each classroom would have a library with different diverse books. The dolls would be diverse. In the pretend area there would foods from all over the world and clothing from different cultures.  The walls would be filled with different pictures of children with different disabilities and children without. Also at the beginning  of the school year child would be asked to bring in pictures of their families to display in the classroom.  In the art area there would be the skin color crayons. I would have an open door policy where the parents can con in and observe their children in a observation booth. There would also be cameras in every room on every angles. I would make should that my staff have top education and trained in anti-bias education. Families would be treated with respect and like family. I envision my staff and families to be just like family. Families would be given a weekly lesson plan, and we would have family night out once a month.  My center would be everything that I am looking for in my baby girl’s child care center.