Blog 5 Week 5

1.              The main topic this week that really made me stop and think, was parents who act more like their child’s peer or best friend, and not the parent.  This week’s article “Parenting: The Lost Art” was an interesting read.  The article starts out describing the commonplace of violent movie ads in today’s TV that many children and young adults watch.  Surprisingly, the article presents that half of all parents have no rules about what their kids watch on television (and it goes on to say this is most likely a low estimate).  Furthermore, two-thirds of American children between the ages of eight and eighteen have their own televisions and one-third of those are under the age of seven.  Alternatively, the article also states that most parents care about their child’s moral and social development, but that parenting has become a lost art.  Honestly, I believe that parenting has just changed. 
               We have become a society that relies on two incomes to make ends meet and television as an artificial babysitter.  It is absolutely fascinating to see how young children adapt and know more about how to operate the tablet or PC than the parent.  Educators are finding it increasingly difficult to do their jobs more and more however.  Our text describes the amount of time a child spends watching TV and interacting with family (pg. 278).  The time watching TV usually outweighs time spent engaging with the family and therefore there is more time for TV ads to influence and persuade young viewers. 
    
2.             My brothers and I often came home alone after school in the 1980’s and early 1990’s to an empty house in a suburb of Atlanta, GA.  I remember watching the move Predator as early as the age of eight, as well as Critters.  In reality, even earlier I was watching these movies but being forced to leave the room during the “inappropriate” parts.  My dad had Playboy magazines down in the basement (though I am certain he had no idea we knew) and I remember looking thru them before I hit puberty.  Through my years in therapy as an adult, I know my mother is technically a narcissist.  But, I have no doubt, my parents did the best job they knew how to do and at the time.  We were on and off food stamps when I was young, and finally moved to Seattle, WA when I was eleven because my mom’s dad had just passed away, and my grandmother was all alone. 
               My mom was a better mom than her mom, and I know this due to my relatively recent conversations with my cousin (her nephew) and his wife (who happens to be a therapist).  I no longer blame my parents for why I am self-conscious, have ADD (and depression/anxiety) and have only had one real close friend (thanks Rachelle) my whole life.  I found after a while it was completely pointless to try and place blame, but rather I realized it made me who I was (which thank goodness is pretty awesome and well educated).  Whether or not this makes me supremely popular or rather unknown and a wallflower, I am unique, special, spirited, shy, a loner, an introverted attention seeker (weird, I know) who just wants to be loved.  I am 31, single, female.  I am not likely to change much as far as personality goes.  I like who I am, but that doesn’t mean I don’t envy other people and the way they are.  But, I do recognize, that they too, are products of their society, genealogy, family and environment.  Bottom line, now halfway through this lifespan psychology course, I can accept that there are many factors in determining who we are and what we are like, not just watching violent movies or having sex in early teenage years.  Really, that is the beauty of it all, and what makes us truly unique.  If it were as simple as 1+2=3 (in terms of personality or behavior), life would truly be boring or repetitive.
    
3.             If I could really ask an honest question to either the author of this week’s article or the author(s) of our textbook, I would really consider asking the pro’s and con’s to the damage control parenting described in the article.  I have heard ever since I was a teenager of parents who would let the “boyfriend” sleep over.  To this day I am convinced it is still a myth, but the evidence is out there, not of the benefits, but that of the parents who rather it would happen under their roof versus a car in the parking lot.                       

                                                  

Blog 4 Week 4

1.             I was so interested in the article this week, “Medicating Young Minds”.  I have ADD, anxiety/depression and a touch of OCD.  I wasn’t diagnosed until my mid-twenties and have just recently found a medication that seems to help me be my best, and I am 31 now.  This particular article is so interesting because it emphasizes how difficult a decision it can be to put your child on medication, and also to find the right mix of medications, especially for those who suffer from bipolar or manic disorders. 
               I never knew just how plastic our brains were when we were children and adolescents.  There haven’t been any studies on long-term effects on our brains when we medicate at such a young age.  Credible studies need a control group and an experimental group.  This means that in order for any long term studies to happen, some children who really need medication might not receive it (control group receives the placebo) and this is a risk that is seemingly not worth taking.  But isn’t that the sacrifice we make to improve and further science?  Tough decisions, and not all who deserve the trial medications will receive them.  These hard decisions improve the data, which in turn helps the medication receive FDA approval that can help millions. 
               There is controversy behind medicating children who show syptoms: are we hindering them from learning how to cope with the stresses of daily living and normal childhood issues such as self-esteem or peer pressure?  Is it better to allow them to fully show symptoms before administering medication?  All the experts agree that medication alone should not be the only solution.  Talk therapy or other counseling while taking medications will maximize effectiveness. 
    
2.             This week’s material has simultaneously been the most interesting and the most challenging for me thus far.  For years I suffered through getting in trouble for talking out of turn, talking too much, trouble paying attention, procrastination…..the list really could go on and on.  I somehow made it through college with a bachelor’s degree (though it took me 8 years going part-time and not every quarter).  I came from a family that expected you to attend a four year university right after high school, and if you didn’t then you were considered the rebel or black sheep of the family. 
               In my years at the university, I never knew why I was unable to focus, study or do homework.  I began drinking and smoking pot (what I now know to be self-medicating) to bare the pain I was in.  When I was almost done with college my mother revealed to me my aunt (her sister) tried to commit suicide and was starting medication for depression.  A few years after I graduated, I finally found out what I was going through was something that could benefit from professional help.  I saw a therapist for several years, and only then was I aware of my condition(s).  I was on and off different medications for a few more years, until I found that a low dose of Sertraline HCL (basically Zoloft) that helped me feel like I was myself.  I still question sometimes whether I need an increased dose, or if I am just having one of those days, but I do know that being on medication, for me, helps me cope (with life) better.  It basically feels like my highs and lows are more stable, (less “high” and “low”).
              
3.             I would like to know why regular M.D.s are allowed to prescribe these drugs.  Most doctors are in and out of the room in 5 to 10 minutes (not necessarily their fault, they usually work for a corporation which emphasizes quick turn-around).  How can they possibly evaluate and diagnose properly?  Should this even be legal?  I currently see a nurse practitioner every six months to get a refill on my medications, and appointments are minimum 30 minutes!!  When you first are being diagnosed, it is an hour to hour and a half appointments, and you check in at three months.  There is so much information out there and yet so little regarding this particular issue, so I really need to emphasize my question earlier: why are regular M.D.s allowed to prescribe psych medications? 

Week 3 Blog 3

1.             Both articles this week were very interesting reads, but the article “What’s The Difference Between Boys and Girls?” really got my blood pumping.  I had never really thought about the differences between boys and girls, other than boys are aggressive, girls are sweet.  This article discusses the biological and cultural involvement in behavior of boys and girls, though there were not many direct examples given.  If I could meet with the author and ask her anything, I would ask her if she didn’t buy her son the doll because she didn’t want to waste money on him destroying it, or if she just didn’t want to buy him the doll due to society’s expectations of what is gender appropriate. 
               Even before they are born, boys are more active in the womb than girls, and within a year of birth they prefer mechanical type toys whereas girls prefer dolls or things they can snuggle.  The biology plays a big role in the first months of life, and it turns out boys are so active and boisterous due to having about 5 times more testosterone than girls.  If testosterone were reduced or removed from boys, they would become more sweet, and if it were raised in girls, they would become more rambunctious or competitive.
              
2.            Tomboy.  I learned that word in fifth grade after overhearing a group of boys when I was walking by.  I was mortified.  I didn’t even know what it was, I just knew, me being a girl and being called a (tom)boy was not a good thing.          I remember wondering why I had to have the next Barbie or Barbie accessory, and wondered what my brothers could possibly see in G.I. Joe figurines.  Even though I had Barbie dolls, I still took to other less girly toys such as Slinky’s and silly putty.  I also liked to play with my brothers’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collection, with connectable sewers and the works.  I’m guessing this is because the movie was popular at the time.  I never really played with other “boy” toys.
               I may have loved my Barbie dolls and even at one point in time, My Little Pony was something I was into, but I hated to wear girly colors or clothes.  I preferred blue and green, maybe purple if I was in to it that day, and certainly no dresses or skirts.  My point is I really didn’t fit the societal expectations of what it is to be girly.  So I was called a tomboy.  Awesome right?  No.  There was nothing more humiliating for a young girl to be called at the time, other than perhaps fat.  But this was the late 80’s, and nowadays I’m sure there are a plethora of mean names children are called.  I also tend to embrace the term Tomboy now.
               I don’t recall getting any grief from my parents about playing with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figures, nor did my little brother when he played “house” with me.  I was always a little rough around the edges, and my little brother was always very sweet and shy.  After reading this article I was amazed at how I grew up and how it varied quite a bit from the expectations of society.  I am thankful my parents let me be who I wanted to be for the most part.  To this day I still don’t like pinks, pastels or florals, and I still really like blues and greens. 
    
3.             I would like to know more about individual children studied.  I think that would bring a little more interest to this article, and give it some much needed substance.  I would also like to learn more about when a child starts to think about the differences between boys and girls.  They might group themselves accordingly, but are they doing it consciously or unconsciously?

Blog 2 Week 2

1.             I don’t have children.  About 5 years ago I was sure I wanted to have kids.  I am now 31, single, and have completely forgot about or misplaced my ticking clock from 5 years ago.  I still think I want to be a mom, but not being in a relationship or having found someone even close to what I would want is making me rethink things.  That being said, I still have time, and have always been of the “if it is meant to be it is meant to be” mentality.
               I found the following sections in chapter 2 to be an interesting read, especially since I have never been through the process of childbirth:  Approaches to Childbirth (pg. 71-72), Adjusting to Parenthood (pg. 72-73) and Birth Complications (pg. 73-76). 
               After reading these sections, first of all, I hope I have a pain-free(ish) natural delivery if I ever have children.  I think it is interesting that a woman is more likely to experience less issues when she knows what the heck is going on during her pregnancy and labor/delivery.  I guess that makes sense, but also, it would seem to still be tough for a first time mother (like is that a contraction or am I dying?). 
               I never thought about anesthesia and the delivery of the baby.  I have always only thought about the pain in regards to the anesthesia.  The section on approaches to childbirth states that less is more when it comes to pain medication, and that natural techniques are preferable.  This is due to the woman not being able to use her abdominal muscles during the delivery and thus, special equipment might need to be used that could potentially harm the baby.
               Another scary occurrence which is more and more common in our society is postpartum depression.  A week or maybe two of crying, irritation, resentment, that’s normal.  Babies need mothers who pay attention, are nurturing, who talk and cuddle with them.  If they don’t receive this type of care for their first couple weeks it shouldn’t have long term effects.  However, if the mother continues to be apathetic and distant, the child becomes at risk for depression and other behavior problems.  On a personal note, I would be extremely likely to suffer from this condition, so at least I have a shot at recognizing my own behavior and seek help before it has damaging effects on my baby. 
               In general, women who are healthy when they get pregnant typically have normal pregnancy, labor and delivery.  It is more common to have complications when there is inadequate prenatal care or malnutrition.  A child that has birth complications is more like to become aggressive or violent, and for developing mental illness such as schizophrenia.  If a tough life follows (i.e. poverty, adversity, and other hardships) the likelihood increases.
               After reading these sections in detail, I definitely still think I want to have kids, but I will probably be a combination of nurturing/controlling/hyper-focused on what the learn and who they learn it from.  I have heard the saying that we improved upon the previous generation, so I am not sure exactly how I was raised, but my goodness, I would like to be the best mom possible.  And coolest.
    
2. Since I have never had children, I Googled a topic that relates.  I was interested in reading a little more about mother-child bonding, and I researched the following website:
    
   http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/may11/motherchild50611.html
    
               The brief article is “A powerful connection: mother-child bond plays a role in child’s growth, development”.  In summation, children are very much aware of their mother through the feelings/emotions they relate to her.  Though these roles can be reversed, typically children look to the mother for comfort, and the father for protection.  Mom is the nurturer and Dad is the protector. 
   The mother is a role model for her son because she teaches him respect and about affection and love.  This is true of the biological mother or stepmother.  The mother also plays a role for her daughter so she grows up like her.  Ideally.
               The mother is supposed to tell her children how she feels since they can pick up on emotion quite easily.  Children assign themselves blame if they think their mother is upset, even though in reality she is probably just upset at someone else.  This would have consequences on the child’s development due to the deep connection and trust they have in their mother.
    
3.             I personally would like to learn more about what happens when a mother goes undiagnosed for postpartum depression, or when it continues for more than a few weeks.  It really only because widely talked about in the late 90’s from what I recall.  I think it is potentially one of those cycles that can be nearly impossible to break if the issue isn’t brought up by the mother or the father or even the grandparents. 
               If I had unlimited time and energy and money I would like to study the development of monkeys at the 1 to 3 week interval, and if their mother is showing signs of postpartum depression.  I would imagine it is possible for them to suffer from the same condition, or at least something like it.  I would really like to know if children raised with a mother who has postpartum depression grow up without empathy.

Blog 1 Week 1

1.             I began reading the article for the week, “The Identity Dance”, without expecting much.  I have    ADD and it can be hard for me to read a whole paragraph without skimming or bypassing it altogether.  This article’s first page about a pair of identical twins, Sandra and Marisa Peña grabbed hold of me such that I was disappointed when I realized this article jumped ahead from page 54 to page 57.  I was left distraught, like I didn’t get to finish the ending to a book.  I’d like to know if the section on these sisters ended on page 54, or whether there was more. 

                  These women are stated to be as alike as any two people can be.  Yet, they are also opposites.  This was the beginning of the second paragraph and I already wanted to know more.  They finish each other’s sentences, one is shyer than the other.  Suddenly, their parents die in a fairly close period of time and one of the them moves away and the other sinks into a deep depression.  Eventually the two find their way back to one another, but one is still suffering from depression.  Sandra and Marisa are in their early 20’s when their parents die.  At the time of the article’s publishing, these young women were 32.  Would they have reacted differently if their parents had passed away in their 30’s?  After reading the first chapter of our textbook (Human Development: A Lifespan View) this brought to mind life cycle forces, about different perspectives of the same event at different periods of time in a life cycle. 

                   I found out in my late 20’s that I have ADD, and also suffer from anxiety/depression.       Don’t get me wrong, I am what I consider to be fully functional and normal.  This article attempts to delve into the root of anxiety/depression (and even alcoholism) and compares two monkeys: one that was raised by its mother, and one that was taken from its mother and raised with other monkeys of it age.  The monkey raised by its mother had the long version of a particular gene and the one raised without its mother had the short version of a particular gene (we are told this gene affects their biology, and that if they have the short gene they are more likely to have anxiety).  The monkey with that was raised without their mother (and had the short gene) was an alcoholic (I know from my experience this is linked with anxiety and depression, especially depression).

                  The monkey results leave one to believe that those monkeys with the short gene that are not raised by their mothers will have a higher chance of becoming an alcoholic (note, it doesn’t cause alcoholism but increases the chances).  Based on what the article described, this may be a clue, but it would only be that, a clue.  I read no mention of monkeys with long genes being raised without their mothers and given a “happy hour”, so it is hard to conclude based on the information given what is really going on.  I would love to ask researchers that conducted the study more information on the monkeys that were written about in the article, and just how many they were basing the research on. 

     

2.               I found it interesting (and a little upsetting, not in an angry way, more in a concerned way) that a monkey raised without its mother (and having a short particular gene) were more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, and alcoholism.  I have been told I’m an alcoholic by a few therapists, though I suffer from some shame regarding that term.  I was raised by my mother, and I have anxiety, depression, alcoholism…..did I just draw the short stick?  If I ever find out I have the long gene that was studied, but yet I still have all the issues that are more likely for a monkey with the short gene, I am not sure how that could make me feel. 
    
    

3.         I would truly like to know more about identical twins who were raised apart and how they compare.  The article focused solely on identical twins who lived the basic brother-brother or sister-sister childhood.  I feel like a study that compared twins who didn’t know each other as they were developing would be fascinating.  My curiosity is piqued because there weren’t any examples of separated identical twins in the article, and I think this could present an interesting challenge for researchers (though, perhaps that is why there were none mentioned, because it introduced too many variables). 

            If I had unlimited time, money and energy, I would love to read and discuss more on lifespan psychology, especially life-cycle forces.  I would research more on the different lifespan age groups such as infancy and toddlerhood, early adolescence and middle adulthood.  I also am curious as to why we have such few years between the early stages of life development and so far between that latter years.  It seems like a paradox or almost counterintuitive since we start off in diapers and (so “they” say) end in diapers.  Although, I suppose, we are merely biological machines that wear and tear down…..