Working in the school system, I have seen how violence affects children.  Some children have experienced violence in their homes or around them.  Most of the time when children are exposed to violence on a regular basis they think that it is the way things are suppose to be.  As a result, they become violent and repeat the actions they have seen.  This behavior becomes a part of their everyday lives. Witnessing or being a part of violence can affect a child mentally and have an effect on their childhood as well as their adulthood.  Constant exposure to violence rather directly or indirectly usually leads to negative outcomes throughout the child’s life.  For example, if a child’s parent is being abused by his or her spouse on a regular basis, the child will suffer.  The parent being abused may become depressed and withdrawn, which will lead to the child being neglected in some way or another (Medscape, 1994). Reference Medscape. (1994). How Does Exposure to Violence Affect Children? 

Nutrition/ Malnutrition is important to me because within this day and time, situations are difficult for most people. Employment is hard to find and some that are employed are still barely making a living. In addition, the cost of food is costly and prices continue to rise. Since food is so high, it is difficult for some people to purchase. As a single parent I must say that food prices are ridiculous. I remember when chicken was priced reasonably. Now the average price of a family package of chicken legs is about $7- $10 dollars. I manage to purchase a balanced meal to prepare for my family. Although the United States has access to adequate food, other countries are not as fortunate as we are. Many suffer from hunger and malnutrition. This has been an issue 1960’s and over 150 million people have been affected. Individuals are currently working to come up with a solution to eliminate this problem (PubMed, 1992). Reference PubMed. (1992). Hunger and Malnutrition: the determinate of development: the case for Africa and its food and nutrition workers.

I can remember when I gave birth to my first child in July 2013. I was sort of hilarious after everything was over. I can remember being so afraid because I had heard so many terrifying stories about childbirth. I used to watch childbirths on television in an effort to prepare myself. Al I could think of was the pain I was about to endure. Once I arrived to the hospital and was prepped for my delivery I started crying. The nurse asked me if I was in pain, I replied no. She then went on to ask me why I was crying. I told her that I was crying because I was scared. She gave me the speech about how everything was going to be ok. By this time, it was time to deliver. The process was so quick for me. I was only in labor for about maybe 45 minutes. In the end, I realized that childbirth is different for each individual. I was thankful mine did not last long. I chose this example because it is most memorable to me being that it was my first time giving birth. I think that prenatal care is extremely important when it comes to birth and its impact on child development. Prenatal care closely monitors the growth and development of the fetus as well as the mother during pregnancy. The earlier prenatal care is started the more effective it will be. Usually if there are any problems with the fetus or the mother, the doctors will catch it and inform the mother. I did a little researching on births in Africa and found that the women in sub-Saharan Africa have a 1 in 16 chance of dying during pregnancy or childbirth compared to 1 in 4,000 risks in developing countries. This is due to the differences between poor and rich countries. Poor countries do not have the access to adequate medical facilities, therefore, they are not able to care for themselves or their babies the way they should. Richer countries have a variety of medical facilities and are readily equipped to care for their children and themselves (UNICEF, 2012). Reference UNICEF. (2012). Childbirth in Africa.