Saturday, May 25, 2013

Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories



EDUC 6163: Building Research Competencies
Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories
The field of research has been significantly contributing to early childhood education.  As the research continues to progress, I believe that one of the most important  topics that I would  want to be involved in to make a major positive contribution  for the well-being of children and /or their families, is that of the powerful  impact  of nutrition on brain development  in children 0-8 years of age.
It is my firm belief that proper nutrition during pregnancy is foundational for proper brain development and will set the stage for enhanced learning in the future. If the mother is deprived of healthy nutrition during pregnancy, this can have serious repercussions on the weight of her baby as well as the size of her baby’s brain. Therefore, conducting research on how nutrition will affect brain of children 0-8 years of age will certainly be insightful for mothers and families in general to know how to make informed decisions about choices that will affect them and their children in the long run.
Murphy (2011) emphasizes the need for proper nutrition in children when she states that “insufficient nutrition takes its toll on a child’s learning experience … [and] a balanced, moderate approach to better nutrition can make a positive difference in school performance (p.1). From this statement, in my research it would be my desire to probe what “insufficient nutrition” would entail and what examples would I give to families of what a “balanced nutrition” would look like?
As the research continues, I hope that I would be able to mitigate deficiencies, and many learning disabilities that are directly related to proper nutrition. There are also research being conducted to show the correlation between aggressive behavior and proper nutrition. This is definitely a significant area of research that as an educator I am interested in to assist teachers and families to know more about. Learning about the different types of food that can trigger aggression in the brain as the child develops would certainly be helpful to all who are involved in the development of children.
There are so many issues surrounding nutrition and brain development that we as early childhood educators need to know about that the research, I believe is far from being completed and we must continue to unearth its gems to help our  children and their families.
Reference
Murphy, P. (2011)The daily nutrition requirements for school success. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/454425-the-daily-nutrition-requirements-for-school-success/

1 comment:

  1. Hi Sharon,

    Learning about the different types of food that can trigger aggression in the brain as a child matures is something my daughter should be researching as well. I always brag that I have loving artistic twins as grandchildren. I have heard that certain foods can trigger aggression in children that are artistic. I would like to research more myself on this topic. If there is any way to help him succeed in life, it will be a blessing for this type of research Thank you and please continue in this research. It can help so many children.

    Kathleen Thompson

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