The Sexualization of Early Childhood

My reaction to this shared reading is it is absolutely true every bit of it and very alarming for our young children.   Unfortunately, we live in a much sexualized society in which we think teen thongs and American Pie are cute and funny.  However, what it is doing to our society and young children is not letting them be children and saying this is who society accepts and your self-image should reflect that.  I currently have a student in my class she is 5 and getting ready to go kindergarten and on numerous occasions she has displayed sexual behaviors or comments.  She dances very provocative to kids music, she always ask the boys if she is pretty and often gets very jealous when a boy she likes plays with another girl.  I caught her yesterday licking and sucking her arm at nap and when I asked her what she was doing she stated she was kissing a boy.  I have addressed this issue several times with the parents and each time they state they do not know where she is getting this from because they do not watch those types of media but, the abundance of knowledge she displays about sex tells me otherwise. 

The examples of sexualization I see in messages impacting children are in Cartoons such as Johnny Bravo, SpongeBob, and the innuendo of children’s movies such as Creedo or ParaNorman.  The fact that Nickelodeon has two separate channels one for the children ages birth to 5 and then for 6 and up is a very good indication of the media portrayed in such shows as Sam & Cat and Big Time Rush.  I recently went on their website also and videos of Justin Bebier and Selena Gomez were up.  I mean heck Justin is on the acne commercial what boy does not want to look like him and what girl doesn't want him!

Unintentionally or not the message displayed in cartoons and different types of media is giving young children a perception in their mind of what is socially acceptable to be or look like.   Self-image is such a critical development for children and can be until adulthood.  Influencing them to be a certain type can be life changing to their development and overall self-esteem.  We see younger and younger and younger children even boys dealing with being bulimic or anexoric even though there is an obesity crisis.  We are killing children and their innocents and the sad part is we don’t even know it.  We just think it is cute that John or Jane wants to be like their mom or dad or a pop star.  

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

The specific ism that I experience in my daily life is that my family is of mixed culture meaning my husband is black and I am white and our children are three children are biracial.  Although, this normally does not come into play in the classroom, I recently added some of my family pictures and got some interesting silent reactions from a few of my parents.  However, those silent moments did not last for long as some of my children pointed out that my husband was black loudly.  For the most part I do not experience direct isms from the children.  Instead, they see me as Ms. Michele there teacher and that I love and take care of them.  However, I have had one parent make some off the wall remarks which her child has express in conversation about my family stating that her house is bigger and that my kids cannot afford the same big swing set she has because her mom knows where I live and it’s in a poor neighborhood.  When the child expresses moments of those indiscretions and stereotypes I take a deep breath and then discuss different houses people live in and look at books with all the children and discuss how different families can live in the same or different houses as others.  I discuss classism on the children’s level at President Obama and African American living in the big White House.  The consequences I use in stereotypes and prejudices for my families and parents is by turning their misinformation into correct information and making it a teachable moment to take home.  Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010), states that being silent is a prejudice when you don’t discuss isms or bias in the classroom.  The best empowerment you can give a child is to teach their parent that their bias is an ism.  I can say as a teacher I have learned more from my children than I was ever taught in the classroom about life and perspective.  So instead of trying talk that child out of her belief.  I gave her some new information along with books and pictures and waited her out her perception of classism and biracial families.  Proud to say she still loves and draws pictures of my house next to hers which we hang in the classroom. 

Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J. (2012). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Effective communication in the classroom

The observation I observed was in a preschool classroom between the teacher and the child and it was really quite interesting.  The children were writing in their journals about strawberries and drawing pictures to go along with their writings and one particular child was describing her strawberry in details with the colors she was using stating the yellow was the seed, and the green was the grass and the red is the actual strawberry and I thought it was interesting that the teacher would repeat what the child would say but put in into a question as to further scaffold her knowledge on strawberries they were studying that week.  According to Stephenson (2009), just being interested in what a child is saying can make all the difference in their world.  Communication with children is not always necessarily getting them interested into your ideas but you as the adult being interested in what they are saying.  Just the simple fact that the teacher took time to interact with the child for a few minutes and really understand her perspective made that child feel special, and though you cannot always put emotions on an observation it was clear to see by her laugh and smile she was enjoying the conversation and taking and giving the lesson she was teaching and learning at the same time. 

In the end, I believe what I have learned about children and communication is that it is better to be receptive and not put words in their mouth and let myself be surprised by their ideas and interest.  Communication with young children is about respecting and accepting them for who they are as a person (Laureate Education, Inc. 2011).  I am an advocate for developing the whole child however, I am guilty that I often initiate more than I should just watch and grow.  I need to learn that it is okay to sit back and learn from their perspective and not necessarily push curriculum based goals on their learning.  Words are empowering and communication will make all the difference in the world!

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011a). EDUC 6357-6 Diversity, Development, and Learning [Webcast]. Communicating with Young Children. Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2819834_1%26url%3D

Stephenson, A. (2009). Conversations with a 2-year-old. YC: Young Children, 64(2), 90-95

 

Creating a Multicultural Environment

In my mind of opening a family child care I imagine a place where all families and children feel welcome and I would begin with the idea of a greeting room in my foyer where families and children can sign-in filled with the daily schedule and greetings the children can choose from in their native language or another country (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).  I believe it is important to greet each family and child in the morning because it gives them a sense of belonging as well as sets the tone for the day with children.  It also allows ma and the parent time to exchange information as far as how they slept the night before etc…

In the next part of my house I would have a safe place which is design for children to go if they are feeling sad or mad and it will be lined with bean bags and pillow where children can go to give themselves the needed moment privately in order to transition or calm down it will also have pictures of children and their families in which they made at home like the family culture shelves Arianna had in her home.  It is important to incorporate families into a program because all too often children feel invisible in an environment in which there is do depiction of themselves or their culture in the environment (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).  Positive social identities begin with the environment.

The rest of the house would be divided up into centers consisting of dramatic play which includes multicultural props and cookbooks. In other words, half of all the materials especially in dramatic play should reflect specifically the children you serve in the program.  Like Arianna, I believe dramatic play is a great asset in conflict resolution because it truly is a place in which children act out roles that have influenced them in some way (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). 

The other centers that would be incorporated into the other areas of the house would be sensory and science, writing, listening center, art in which it would also incorporate multicultural collage material so that we could discuss culture while being creative.  Other centers would be blocks in which we could incorporate multicultural families and different box houses.  Books would be in every center as well as, multicultural pictures of children and their families doing some of those activities.  According to Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010), an environment rich in anti-bias materials invites exploration and discovery and supports children’s play.  I want my family child care to be an environment that is culturally consistent with the families that I am serving.  Early childhood is about the development of the whole child and in order to partner with families we must make their environment of care and extension of their family home life. 

 

Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J. (2012). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). EDUC 6357-6 Diversity, Development, and Learning [Webcast]. Welcome to an Anti-Bias Learning Community. Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2819834_1%26url%3D

 

What I have Learned

The one hope I have for working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds is that their differences are embraced and are used as a learning tools in the classroom instead of conforming to the dominant culture.  I understand the difficult task of incorporating multiculturalism in the classroom, but losing one’s cultural identity is far more tragic.  Our job is to provide children with learning that is an extension of their home and I hope that every early childhood teacher remembers that critical key when using silence.

I believe the one goal I have for the field of early childhood is to mandate that culture and diversity be an annual training.  Since, I have started my masters I have seen many personal biases and silence prejudice in the classroom.  Often is not that the teacher does not know about cultural differences but that he or she does not know how to embrace their differences from the dominant culture.

In the end, I would like to say thank you to all who have continue to share this journey with me.  I am grateful for all the advice, feedback, and knowledge you have shared with me it has been inspiring and I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and graduation!

Art in Culture And Diversity

We Are One

We are many who differ, yet still we are one
We are formed uniquely, living under one sun.
The colors of our skin may not all be the same
Our cultures they vary…we have different names.
We come some from far, and others from near

Yet we share our uniqueness with all who are here.
Some of us red, yellow, black and some are white
But we each shine as bright as the stars in the night.
Let’s now come together in celebration of each other
And honor our diverseness as sisters and as brothers.

We Don't Say Those Words!

I remember just last summer I had picked out one of those strapless summer maxi dresses for a family reunion fish fry and why we were there one of my nephews who was 6 at the time said “are you having a baby, cause it looks like it”. Embarrassed by his question I responded “sorry no baby in here” and walked off.  I think with me being very matter of fact with my nephew that he was okay with my response to his question/statement.  However, I do not believe he understood how embarrassed I was about his comment.  In the end, it was one of those moments that you wish never happened.  I never did wear that dress again…..

I believe an anti-bias teacher would respond with almost the matter of fact way, beginning with stating the child’s name and saying Doe that was a very curious question. I would then go into explaining how we are all different and unique and that sometimes the clothes we wear can make us appear to look unique or different or in this instance look like the person was having a baby.  In accordance to Han (2010,) teachers who work with young children can have a profound impact on children's social development.   As early childhood professionals it is imperative that we support young children by teaching them about different cultural perspective and acceptable behaviors, an impact that can contribute to the quality of children's lives throughout their life span.” 

Han, S. H. (2010). Sociocultural influence on children’s social competence: A close look at kindergarten teachers’ beliefs. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 24, 80–96.