The Time article astonished me in all sorts of ways. I took Abnormal Psych at Western last year and we discussed all sorts of mental illnesses and how common they are among Americans. If I recall correctly the statistics in that textbook were somewhere close to 30-50% of Americans may have a mental illness but may never be diagnosed. The article in this class discussing the mental disorders in children was very interesting.
I can't say I agree with everything that is being done about mental illness however I also have never suffered intensely from one myself. I have watched family members do terrible things when they were feeling sad or sick: not themselves. The article brought up an interesting idea and I am curious as to what you all may think. Prescribing medicines to children or teens before their brain is fully developed so they can handle life at a younger age is causing a controversey for what their brain will be like when they are an adult. The quote, "What worries some doctors is that if you medicate a child's developing brain, you may be burning the village to save it," is what I am more curious about.
Burning the village to save it, it makes me wonder how the pills affect the brain in which the pills are making the brain seem more healthy but if they are triggering the brain to do things before it is fully developed... what could happen to our future generations if the majority of us are on meds helping mental illnesses and our brains can't fully develope?
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Our Younger Years
I find learning about language absolutely incredible. The way we "know" before we are taught words is a very interesting idea. The textbook talks about how toddlers will know that "flower" is the actual item rather than thinking "flower" means the pink petals, or the green leaf.. It's fascinating how our brains are so adaptable when we are young especially if there are two laguages going on. I always loved the idea of raising a family with two languages, and starting them at such a young age would make it easier for the little ones.
I think people are becoming more and more aware about the importance of one on one attention with babies and/or young kids. With the advancement of technology and everyone always on their phone, tablet or lap top, the feeling of human contact is slowly going away with can only mean a different upbringing for the future generations. I saw a commercial on NBC about how important it is to read to your baby or toddler even if it is just the weather, or who won the baseball game last night: it helps the kids develope language and understanding of words and meanings.
I think it is also important to read to your young one which ever books they choose. Now looking at how gender roles are being brought up, it is becoming a controversy as to whether or not we should allow our kids to play with the opposite gender's toys. Personally, I think allowing kids to pick and choose what they want to play with or read about is good for their imagination, and curiousity. When I was younger I liked playing with Hot Wheels and would drive my parents crazy running around the house with my toy cars "zooming" by. I also enjoyed building with legos with my dad and it wasn't until my younger sister was born that I became jealous I didn't have barbies to play with. I would have "babies" but I would use my stuffed animals and pretned they were human babies. Maybe it was because in 1990 there weren't as many options of dolls and babies, or maybe it's because my parents had a strict budget so I wasn't around cable with cool commercials advertising the latest toys for young girls. I'd like to think it was because my parents let my imagination run wild like most kids' minds do.
I look forward to watching my kids develop interests and seeing what they choose to play with no matter what sex the baby is.
I think people are becoming more and more aware about the importance of one on one attention with babies and/or young kids. With the advancement of technology and everyone always on their phone, tablet or lap top, the feeling of human contact is slowly going away with can only mean a different upbringing for the future generations. I saw a commercial on NBC about how important it is to read to your baby or toddler even if it is just the weather, or who won the baseball game last night: it helps the kids develope language and understanding of words and meanings.
I think it is also important to read to your young one which ever books they choose. Now looking at how gender roles are being brought up, it is becoming a controversy as to whether or not we should allow our kids to play with the opposite gender's toys. Personally, I think allowing kids to pick and choose what they want to play with or read about is good for their imagination, and curiousity. When I was younger I liked playing with Hot Wheels and would drive my parents crazy running around the house with my toy cars "zooming" by. I also enjoyed building with legos with my dad and it wasn't until my younger sister was born that I became jealous I didn't have barbies to play with. I would have "babies" but I would use my stuffed animals and pretned they were human babies. Maybe it was because in 1990 there weren't as many options of dolls and babies, or maybe it's because my parents had a strict budget so I wasn't around cable with cool commercials advertising the latest toys for young girls. I'd like to think it was because my parents let my imagination run wild like most kids' minds do.
I look forward to watching my kids develop interests and seeing what they choose to play with no matter what sex the baby is.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Genetics
My parents always told me "You can't hide where you came from," and I agree and disagree. The textbook explains how our genes give us everything we may or may not need to be who we are, but the environment we grow up in and surround ourselves with will affect whether or not we use all of our given traits.
My family is a loud family, lots of stories, jokes, laughs, memories and noise. I grew up with loud being the normal, however, I am different from all of them. I prefer a quiet environment and will stress out if there are more than two conversations going on in the living room. Some would say I am the black sheep of the family. I was very shy and quiet throughout school and my younger sister was not. She would mkae lots of friends, get hurt at recess, get in trouble occasionally when talking out of turn; I was relaxed and let all the other kids do the talking until I was called on to make sure I was paying attention at which my face burns and turns bright red and my throat clogs up with a feeling of saw dust.
Why did I turn into a hermit in elementary school when my sister was just like my parents and loved being the center of attention? It had to be the way we were raised. The textbook mentions how parents will parent in the way the child is. If the child is a quieter kid then the parents tend to be quieter as well which encourages that trait and personality.
These couple chapters were interesing because it allowed me to look back on why/how I am different from everyone in my family, besides looking different (the one ginger in a house full of brunettes) but also my behavior was also odd compared to the rest of the group.
My family is a loud family, lots of stories, jokes, laughs, memories and noise. I grew up with loud being the normal, however, I am different from all of them. I prefer a quiet environment and will stress out if there are more than two conversations going on in the living room. Some would say I am the black sheep of the family. I was very shy and quiet throughout school and my younger sister was not. She would mkae lots of friends, get hurt at recess, get in trouble occasionally when talking out of turn; I was relaxed and let all the other kids do the talking until I was called on to make sure I was paying attention at which my face burns and turns bright red and my throat clogs up with a feeling of saw dust.
Why did I turn into a hermit in elementary school when my sister was just like my parents and loved being the center of attention? It had to be the way we were raised. The textbook mentions how parents will parent in the way the child is. If the child is a quieter kid then the parents tend to be quieter as well which encourages that trait and personality.
These couple chapters were interesing because it allowed me to look back on why/how I am different from everyone in my family, besides looking different (the one ginger in a house full of brunettes) but also my behavior was also odd compared to the rest of the group.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Twins
When I noticed we had to respond about an article I wasn't looking forward to that portion of the course. My reading comprehension has never been very good, so when I noticed that I was able to follow this article and have opinions about it I read it again. This article seemed like an easy read, Gunjan Sinha clarifies what the point of the article is and words the point in a way where we all don't need to be experts to know what is going on, and I like that.
The one part of the article that sticks out for me is when Sinha explains George the monkey's story. Boozing up a monkey doesn't seem very ethical, to test how George would respond so Happy Hour due to his short Serotonin Transporter gene. Being seperated from his mother as a baby and growing up in an environment where he doesn't know differently. However when humans were being researched the results showed that people with a short gene and tramatic events resulted in depression compared to people with a long gene had less depression even with trauma. Makes me wonder if George realized he wasn't in the right environment, he had some inclination that resulted in him feeling traumatized leading to a depressive state therefore choosing alcohol when given the chance?
The one part of the article that sticks out for me is when Sinha explains George the monkey's story. Boozing up a monkey doesn't seem very ethical, to test how George would respond so Happy Hour due to his short Serotonin Transporter gene. Being seperated from his mother as a baby and growing up in an environment where he doesn't know differently. However when humans were being researched the results showed that people with a short gene and tramatic events resulted in depression compared to people with a long gene had less depression even with trauma. Makes me wonder if George realized he wasn't in the right environment, he had some inclination that resulted in him feeling traumatized leading to a depressive state therefore choosing alcohol when given the chance?
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