CHAPTER 9: AGE

1. CHAPTER 9: AGE BY Kaitlin Blay, Tessa Huftalin, Marvin Pettet, and Kali Splett

2. Why study age? • Age is helpful to provide appropriate education • The study of critical issues related to age groups • Each person must go through various stages • Age is who we are

3. Childhood: Social Class & Poverty • 18% of children in the U.S. live in poverty • Many children in poverty live with a single parent • Parents are often working while children are home alone • Mothers in higher socioeconomic groups do not need to work

4. Real Poverty • To meet the most basic needs, parents would have to make $55,000 a year • This is 2 ¾ of the poverty requirements • Low income children • Fall below the criteria • 39% of children

5. Who is in poverty? • 61% is Latino • 60% African American • 57% Immigrant children • 35% Native born children

6. Suffering Children • Inadequate housing, nutrition, and medical care • Not enough heat/cooling • Children in poverty are 3.6 more times likely to have poor health • 2 times more likely to die from birth defects • 5 times more likely to die from infectious disease

7. Poverty can contribute to • Depression • Lower levels of sociability • Initiative • Problematic peer relations • Disruptive classroom behavior

8. Low birth-weight babies Infant mortality Child deaths rate Teen deaths by accident, homicide, or suicide Teen birthrates Teen high school dropouts Teens not in school/working Unemployed parents Children living in poverty Single parents Kids Count Annie E. Casey Foundation ranks each state in 10 different at-risk areas to determine the conditions for children in each individual state.

9. Status • At first children do not understand rich and poor • By ages 6 to 8 children start understanding • Teachers of 1st to 4th grade need to be monitored rich

10. Immigrant Children • Overwhelmed by the new culture • Need to feel they fit in • Administrators need to help the child’s adjustment

11. Teachers! • Immigrant children need a role model • Role models help children • Strengthen • Direct their behavior • Control their behavior • Help these children be bicultural

12. Ethnic Awareness • The understanding that people come from a certain ethic group by appearance • Increases with age • Ethnic awareness is a good trait • 75% of 4 and 5 year olds can identify correct ethnic groups

13. Prejudice • Increases with age, then decreases • By age 5, children already have prejudices • These are not necessarily projected by parents • Other factors influence prejudice

14. Variables affecting attitudes and prejudice • “People assume that children who are prejudiced were taught these attitudes by their parents” • “The ADL suggests that children with poor self-images are prone toward developing prejudices.” When putting other people down its makes them feel better about their self-image. • Social Reflection Theory • This theory suggests that the prejudice we see in children is a reflection of the values of society.

15. Children… are influenced by what those around them think, do, and say. are greatly influenced by the media have been exposed to the horrors of war grow up having prejudicial attitudes toward certain groups of individuals who have been portrayed as villains throughout history with poor self-images are prone to develop prejudices.

16. Child Abuse Child abuse is the physical or psychological mistreatment of children More than 2.5 million cases of child abuse and neglect are reported each year Child abuse is usually categorized as physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds

17. Child Abuse Statistics by Age,from NCANDS, 2005

18. Child Abuse Video

19. Physical Abuse Refers to non accidental injury inflicted by a caretaker There is a fine line between physical abuse and discipline through physical punishment Physical abuse ranges from minor bruises to severe fractures or even death as a result of punching, breathing, kicking, shaking, chocking, hitting, burning, or otherwise harming a child

20. Physical Neglect Involves the deliberate neglect or extraordinary inattentiveness to a child’s physical well-being Physical neglect also includes child abandonment, inadequate supervision, rejection of a child leading to expulsion from the home and failure to adequately provide for the child’s safety and physical and emotional needs Some children who suffer from neglect may exhibit poor hygiene, may be inappropriately dressed for weather conditions, or may suffer from hunger Child neglect is the most prevalent form of child maltreatment in the United State

21. Sexual Abuse • The involvement of children or underage adolescents in sexual activities • Includes practices that violate the social mores of one’s culture as they relate to family roles • Sexual abuse includes: molestation or rape, prostitution, cults, sex rings • If a child is sexually abused they maybe become withdrawn or secretive • Some may do poorly in school • Leaves a very big emotional impact on its victims

22. Emotional Abuse Emotional abuse is a pattern of behavior that impairs a child’s emotional developmental or sense of worth Children who are emotionally abused usually have a low self-esteem, causing them to do drugs, become self destructive, and can even become suicidal It is a teachers responsibility to report known or suspected cases of child abuse Every state has mandated laws requiring the reporting of child abuse

23. Childhood Obesity

25. Childhood Obesity Overweight adolescents have up to an 80% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults The lack of physical activity among many of today’s youth is a major contributor to the obesity and lack of physical conditioning One of the best strategies to reduce childhood obesity is to improve the diet and exercise habits of your entire family Schools have a big impact on children’s eating habits; vending machines often have candy and chips in them and cafeteria food is mostly all fast food Obese children can have an increased risk of getting type II diabetes, coronary heart disease, sleep apnea and respiratory problems

26. Adolescence… • approximately ages 13 through 18 • perhaps the most challenging times in a person’s life as well as for his/her family • attempting to be free from the role of a child but not fully equipped to assume the responsibilities of adulthood • a shift in emotional ties from the family to peers • period of dissonance and alienation from parents and other members of the family

27. Relationship with Parents • Attitude of parents may contribute to the alienation • Parents who have confidence in their children may promote a feeling of confidence and trust that develops sufficient self-confidence to resist peer pressure • Too high expectations, adolescents may lose confidence and self-worth • Battle to assert their rights to assume adult behaviors: • autonomy, sexual functioning, & identity

28. At-Risk Youth • those who live in a disadvantaged status due to conditions such as: • Poverty • Discrimination • Family instability • Genetic factors • Parental neglect and abuse • Major traumatic events

29. High-Risk Behavior • Teens who make themselves vulnerable to physical, social, or psychological harm or negative consequences such as: • use harmful substances (i.e. alcohol & drugs) • unprotected sexual behaviors • This behavior starts in teen years and may continue to adulthood

30. Substance Abuse • The use of illegal drugs or substances or the overuse of legal substances • Substances are used to feel altered states of consciousness • Two categories • Experimenters • Compulsive users

31. Experimenters • Most adolescents are in this category • Experimenters usually abandon the use • Recreational users are in-between experimenters and compulsive users

32. How many adolescents intake substances? • 38.4% of students had tried marijuana once or more times • 43% of high school students had an alcoholic drink within 30 days • 25% of students had tried alcohol by the time they were 13

33. Sexual Behaviors • 6.2% students experienced their first sexual encounter before age 13 • 46 % of high school students have had sexual intercourse at least once • 49 % of seniors were currently sexually active at the time of the study

34. Teen pregnancy • Poor whites and poor blacks who have teen pregnancies are similar in number • Children of teen mothers are more likely to suffer from • Low birth weight • Serious disabilities

35. ADOLESCENT SUICIDE

36. 2005 CDC Youth Surveillance Survey reported: • 28.5% students nationwide felt sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks • 16.9% had seriously considered suicide • 13% had a plan as to how they would attempt suicide • 8.4% had attempted suicide once or more the preceding 12 months

38. Suicide remains the third leading cause of deaths among adolescents • Estimated that nearly 2000 young people commit suicide annually in the United States • 30% of the completed suicides consist of gay and lesbian youth • Reasons offered: • decline in religion, tension between parents, the breakup of the nuclear family, family tensions and conflict, and the competitiveness in school

40. The Good News • Suicide attempts are often more of a desperate attempt to be heard and understood than a true intent to end life. • Most of the time all it takes is a simple act of concern to alter someone’s plan to commit suicide.

41. Youth Violence • One of the greatest problems facing young Americans today • Ages 13 - 18 constitute approximately 10% of the population however this age group accounts for 20% of all arrests.

42. Potential warning of atroubled individual • Warning signs of potentially aggressive behavior overlap with the warning signs of individuals considering suicide (page 355) • Depression does not necessarily indicate the likelihood of violent behaviors; however, violent behavior is often the function of depression.

44. A Call for Concern • By the age of 18, the average American child will have viewed about 100,000 acts of violence on television alone. • 20 - 25 acts of violence an hour on Saturday mornings as compared with 3 - 5 (acts of violence an hour) during prime time (this includes shows such as CSI, Criminal Minds, etc.) • Continuous exposure to violence may cause children to become desensitized to senseless violent acts

47. Media violence affects childrenin the following ways: • Increasing aggressiveness and antisocial behavior • Increasing the fear of becoming a victim • Making them less sensitive toviolence and victims of violence • Increasing their appetite for more violence in entertainment and real life

49. America’s youth arepredispose to violence • Easy access to firearms and drugs • Lack of adequate role models • Poor or inadequate parenting • Dysfunctional family life • Recruited into street gangs

50. Street Gangs • Prior to the 1970s, gang activity and violence tended to affect only those in their immediate communities • By the 1970s and especially 1980s, gang organizations had become more sophisticated and their activities had begun to affect a wider range of people • In the city of Los Angeles, there are 39,315 gang members that form 720 street gangs. • If law enforcement is unable to stem the growth of gang violence, it is unlikely that educators are any better equipped to do so.