6-month
old Arturo experienced the world through the lens of his mother’s struggles.
One small town for a few months, then on to another one to follow the work. His
mother would always find someone to look after him, someone she would meet in a
new town. Often, she found herself at homeless shelters, and others often were
able to help her as she went to work. During one of her stays at a shelter, she
spoke with another woman from Mexico who agreed to look after Arturo for the
day. The woman proved untrustworthy, however, when she left Arturo sleeping for
two hours to go to “hang out” with friends across town. She came back high on
drugs, and while she was gone, Arturo had woken up and was crying. It was about
this time that Arturo’s mother returned, just as the Department of Social
Services (DSS) Child Protective Services arrived.
1)
What is migrant labor? What are the lives of people who do such labor
typically like? (Hint: Check out JMU’s Migrant Education Program through IIHHS)
2)
What are the major developmental milestones for a 6-month old? Given her
migrant status, is Arturo’s mother likely to visit a pediatrician? What are the
risks associated with a lack of early primary medical care? Is Arturo likely to
receive immunizations? Why or why not? Use data on this population to support
your answer. What are the risks if he does not?
3)
What are the risks for Arturo in being given over to the care of relative
strangers for periods of time?
4)
Assess the extent to which Arturo is likely to have a secure attachment pattern
with his mother given the significant disruptions in their lives. At six months
of age, how is Arturo likely to respond to strangers?
5)
Use information from “The Baby’s Brain” to outline Arturo’s approximate
neurological development. Given the uncertainty and instability in
this family’s life, evaluate the relative influence of “nurture” on Arturo’s
development at this point.
DECISION
POINT
* Write a dialogue of the conversation as it
might have taken place between the Child Protective Services worker (from DSS),
the mother, and the woman from Mexico who left the child. If you are CPS, do
you remove the child from her mother and place the child in foster care? Why or
why not?
1.The term migrant labor is a “term applied in the United States to laborers who travel from place to place harvesting crops that must be picked as soon as the ripen” (McWilliams, 2007). These migrant laborers are actually workers who can choose to travel on their own time, or to be assigned by another person who needs needs assistance on their land. These workers put an abundance of time and vigorous effort into their work. They also receive very little legal protection. The life a migrant worker is both difficult and hazardous. These workers “come stateside when the crops come in, and often move from state to state as each plant is ready to harvest” (Rosas, 2008). Migrant laborers face afflictions such as low wages, unacceptable housing, and lack of health care. Majority of these laborers often work in awful working conditions and are surrounded by harmful pesticides. Being constantly surrounded by these poisons can cause the worker “dizziness, headaches, weakness, fatigue, vomiting, chest pains and breathing difficulties” (Rosas, 2008). Sometimes, these smaller symptoms lead the migrant worker to become sick with a larger sicknesses like cancer. Being put in this scenario is just as dangerous for children. They are bound to “come out of the fields with some type of physical disadvantage that their non-laborer counterparts do not have to endure” (Rosas, 2008). The main reason people become migrant laborers is to support their families. They will go through any danger and endure many consequences just to be able to support their lived ones.
ReplyDelete2.The major developmental milestones for a 6 month old include: turning towards sounds and voices, imitating sounds, rolling over, starting to eat solid foods, and starting to sit without support, according to the Baby Center (2011). Medline Plus also adds the following developmental milestones: physical milestones- ability to move an object from hand to hand, ability to pick up a dropped object, beginning of the teething process, increased drooling, the ability to sleep 6-8 hours straight per night, and doubled birth weight. According to Sigmund Freud, some of the critical developmental milestones include: oral psychosocial development, more specifically, sucking, biting, and mouthing. In terms of cognitive milestones for 6-month-old babies, the baby should start to fear strangers, begin to mimic and imitate, vocalizes, repetitively babbles monosyllables, and prefers more complex sounds (Feigelman, 2007). Also, the child can see about 3 feet in front of himself, the beginnings of depth perception emerge, the baby can start to hold his own head up with no support, the baby begins to put objects in his mouth, the imitation of facial expressions emerge, and vowel sounds emerge (How Children Develop, 2008). Some more milestones that most 6 month old babies achieve include: playing with his toes, holding up the bottle if still being bottle fed, recognizes the faces of their family members, and begin to experiment with new noises such as squealing (Developmental Milestones, 2011).
ReplyDeleteGiven her migrant status, Arturo’s mother is not likely to visit a pediatrician. Unless the situation is warranted desperately needing a doctor, then the migrant mother would not be likely to take her child to see a pediatrician.
Some of the risks associated with a lack of early primary medical care include: having a child with low birth weight and lack of vaccinations against deadly diseases that can manifest quickly after birth. Arturo’s mother may not be educated in the correct diet which could lead to serious health problems. One of the biggest risk that they are being put at is that Arturo’s mother may not understand how to care for a newborn to allow for the maximum level of development that Arturo could achieve (International Red Cross, 2011). Also, another key risk that Arturo’s mother could be exposing Arturo to is environmental danger, such as lead poisoning or asbestos, and would not even be aware of it (Alliance for Healthy Homes, 2011).
No, given his current status Arturo is not likely to receive immunizations. Since he is not likely to be taken to a pediatrician to get periodic check-ups, then he is not likely to be taken just to receive a shot. There is also a high chance that Arturo’s mother may not even be aware of the immunizations that he needs to protect him from disease. If she is not aware of these immunizations or even post-natal care, she probably not know that she needs to take Arturo to the doctor, or even how to properly care for her baby.
Not getting the proper immunizations puts Arturo at high risks. First, many of the post-natal immunizations are developed to prevent the harm that many infectious diseases can cause- such as mumps, measles, polio, pertussis, and chicken pox. If Arturo grows up without being immunized, he could miss school for being sick frequently, possible hospitalizations, and even premature death. In some of these diseases that could have been prevented by getting immunized, the child can find it hard to breathe, have problems eating or drinking, cause pneumonia, and lead to mental retardation (Center for Disease Control, 2010).
3. When Arturo is placed in random homes of people he, nor his mother, know, he is at risk of many awful things happening. The people baby Arturo is left with could abuse or neglect hi. They could also also bring drugs around Arturo, which could greatly affect his health. It has been shown that “one in three children with an identified disability for which they receive special education services are victims of some type of maltreatment (i.e., either neglect, physical abuse, or sexual abuse) whereas one in 10 non disabled children experience abuse. Children with any type of disability are 3.44 times more likely to be a victim of some type of abuse compared to children without disabilities” (Sullivan & Knutson, 2000). When Arturo’s mother leaves him with a random stranger, there is the likable chance that Arturo could be kidnapped. Statistics show that “58,200 children reported missing in a one year timeframe were abducted by non family members” (2011). Another risk is that Arturo could possibly have no one to really talk to. Being 6 months old this a crucial time for communication skills to develop and this could be difficult for him if nobody is really around to talk with Arturo. In opposition, there is a also that chance that whoever Arturo’s mom leaves him with could be a genuine person. but nonetheless, this is not a chance a mother should take with their child.
ReplyDelete4. Arturo is unlikely to have a secure attachment pattern with his mother due to her absence. Babies that are securely attached use their attachment figure to view the world and trust their caregiver (Colin & Low, 1991). If the mother is missing, the child is more likely to have an ambivalent attachment pattern (Colin & Low, 1991). At 6 months of age, Arturo is likely to respond to being left with a stranger in an ambivalent way, ignoring the stranger and also ignoring the mother when she returns (Colin & Low, 1991).
ReplyDelete5. At 6 months of age, Arturo’s brain is refining neurological circuits that were formed in the womb and in his first few months (‘The Baby’s Brain, 2001). This development is continuous and will never end as Arturo grows (‘The Baby’s Brain, 2001). He also has to adapt to his constantly changing environment, causing neurological circuits to get cut off and developed (‘The Baby’s Brain, 2001). Given the instability and uncertainty of Arturo’s life, the influence of nurture is lower than that of a baby with a mother that can spend time with him, causing his neurological pathways to form around this absence (“The Baby’s Brain, 2001).
DECISION POINT:
ReplyDeleteCPS Officer: (to Arturo’s mother) “Is this your son?”
Arturo’s mother: “Yes”
CPS Officer: “Do you know this woman you left your son with?”
Arturo’s mother: “Not particularly”
CPS Officer: “Why did you leave your child with a woman you barely knew?”
Arturo’s mother: “Because I had to go to work and I do not have much money to pay daycare so if someone can watch him for little money, I feel as though I had no other choice than to leave him with her”
CPS Officer: (to woman who was watching Arturo) “Did you offer to watch Arturo for his mother?”
Woman watching Arturo: “Yes I did”
CPS Officer: “Then why did you leave him alone while you went to purchase and use drugs?”
Woman watching Arturo: “He’s not my child and I was only going to be gone for a little while so I felt as though he would be fine alone for that time”
CPS Officer: (to Arturo’s mother) “Do you have a permanent home?”
Arturo’s mother: “ No I do not”
CPS Officer: “Why don’t you have a permanent home?”
Arturo’s mother: “I don’t make enough money at my jobs and I am not a legal citizen so I cannot buy a home”
CPS Officer: “Why don’t you go back to Mexico to give Arturo a good life?”
Arturo’s mother: “Because he was born in the US so he is a legal citizen and I don’t want to leave him here”
We think, that at this point, CPS should take Arturo into foster care. Even though he may not have a stable family, at least the families have been prescreened so they would not leave him alone for long periods of time and are, for the most part, trustworthy. They would also be able to provide him a home every night and necessary items for a comfortable life.