The Power of Electronic Resources

    To refresh...The website and newsletter I chose was ZERO TO THREE.

     Challenging Behaviors is a section of the website and was also addressed in the newsletter for April. This is relevant to my current professional experience because I have been dealing with a particular child who has tantrums and has been hitting and biting.  This is pretty common for a two year old, however that doesn't make the situation any easier to deal with.  Studying and learning effective methods of dealing with this behavior is necessary for any early childhood professional.  We need to begin at the lowest level of behavior to understand why children react the way they do.  Looking at their history, family environment, and many other factors allows us to gain a clearer picture of challenging behaviors.

     One section I found particularly interesting and made me look at home visiting programs in a new way was the section on depression in families during home visits.  This is a very common disease and many families and children suffer from depression, anxiety, and others.  Home visits need to be noted in detail and observations should be thorough.  This involves training professionals to know what to look for and how to identify depression and other chronic illnesses in a child's environment.  This will also lead to a better understanding of how families interact and why children may be acting out or more reclusive.

    The Public Policy section of the website is adds to my understanding of how politicians are influenced by media and how their decision affect early childhood education.  Many of the resources we use, including ZERO TO THREE, are initially started to bring to light issues and trends to politicians.  The federal, state, and community levels of public policy are all discussed.  The agendas are made clear and will be submitted to administration and congress for review.  Having this information available is such a great feature and allows for a better understanding of current legislative issues.