Imagine that you possess the means and the knowledge to conduct research studies about any topic in the early childhood field. Imagine further that you are not restricted by the reality of the present. Imagine that your study will make a major positive contribution to the well-being of children and/or their families. What topic would you choose? What can you imagine the positive contribution(s) would be?
I think if I could choose any topic and was not restricted by the present, I would like to do research on how traumatic experiences can effect children in a lifelong sense.I work with many military children and believe this research would be essential in helping the children and families I work with cope with their very difficult lifestyles. The positive contributions would be to understand the effects of children undergoing traumatic experiences such as war, death, poverty, deployments, and much more. Children growing up in our society today are under a lot of stress and we still do not know about all the long lasting effects these stress factors have.
In my research, I would try to explore how children's learning and development can be delayed during stressful times. In addition, I would try to explore how we can help children learn better coping mechanisms and how parents and caregivers can provide them with strategies to use stress in a more positive way. Everyone is surrounded by stressful situation on a regular basis and coping mechanisms are very important. However, it is also important for adults to understand how to teach those coping mechanisms.
Anna, as someone who was brought up in the military, I love your idea! Childhood stress affects one throughout adulthood, I feel, and coping mechanisms are an important facet in our ability to feel ok about ourselves in our past and our present.
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