Advocacy Through Advertising

The first picture demonstrates how pleasant it is for children to brush their teeth. Many children dread brush their. Many children dread brush their teeth. Children need to be sensitized and not be fearful about why they should brush their teeth. Recently my 7 year old son was engaged at his school on the importance of oral health and he came home even telling us about the foods that are good for his teeth.
The advocacy message in the second also speaks to oral health. The video is very informative and helps to educate children and their parents on the importance of oral health. The video presents very clear techniques on how to care for your teeth. Much emphasis is placed on other areas of health such as pre-natal and immunization but many parents sometimes do not insist on visiting the dentist twice per year.
                                       

Considering My Capacity

There are so many issues about early childhood that fuel my passion for the field. Early childhood is such a dynamic field. It is about the entire individual and everything affects us whether it is health, the economy and the diverse cultures. We often say that children are our future; children are a promise, a promise to so many things. Children always remind me of a young plant that needs to be nurtured. Young plants need to watered, protected from animals, insects and weeds. That is what our children need plus emotional health. They are indeed of nurturing and protection so that they can become strong and innovative men and women of tomorrow. The issue that has ignited my passion is the general well -being of children. This topic covers health, nutrition, safety and parenting. Although I from a family of nine children I knew so little about babies and children because this was just not spoken about. I believe that there are so many more persons like me when they had their first child knew very little about babies and the role you must take on as a mother. I find that there needs to be more information sharing about children and their development. So many of us were unprepared for what awaited us as prospective parents. I remember when I was doing the second course: Early Childhood Development, I learned about the different birthings around the world. My eldest daughter (now 17 years) accidently placed a dvd in the player demonstrating how babies come into the world. She was devastated and shocked. She said she read about it ; saw movies with women giving birth but this dvd provided her a most realistic experience. I believe I could use effective skills in communication to help to spread the word about educating the general public on the well-being of children and their families. Sharing information is critical but it is also important to provide avenues where persons can come and get information and provide counseling to those who need it. These skills will include being assertive, being able to identify issues; develop solutions to the problems. As an early childhood inspector I am always sharing information and making connections. I can use this medium to develop links with other organizations that are also interesting in early childhood. Partnership is very important when you need resources. This is where tools in advocacy are very important because an advocate must be able to identify definite goals that will lead to a structure, that will help to bring people on board to support your cause for advocacy.

Motivations, Strategies, Resources, Leadership, and Advice

What motivated you to start advocating for very young children? Teaching is in my blood but I have always wanted to be lawyer and I am always looking out for the interests of others. After leaving college in 1995 my first two teaching jobs landed me with children who had either failed out of high school miserably or were placed in remedial classes because they could not read. I always wondered why these children can’t read is or even do simply arithmetic. Many of these children were from very poor backgrounds and were never given the opportunity to attend an early childhood institution and their primary and secondary educational experiences were also not good. Advocacy was born in be when I had to defend and justify why a prevocational student should also receive the opportunity to learn certain skill areas. Unfortunately many of the vocational instructors did not want students from the prevocational class because they were considered as a failure. This advocacy intensified when I started working as a Community Development Officer. I had the privilege to discuss issues with the community and early childhood always seem to top the list. I realized that many of these children were exposed to very substandard conditions and this motivated me to start advocating for early childhood. ◦Why is it essential to acknowledge and foster advocacy efforts at the micro as well as the macro level? It so important to acknowledge and foster advocacy efforts at the micro and macro levels. The micro often leads to greater things. Many times things are also done at the micro level that has a greater impact than at the macro level. The macro level however allows you ◦What does it take to be a community leader on early childhood issues? Your job could almost be described to that of a politician. It takes guts, perseverance, determination, optimism, knowledgeable, a great motivator. It takes passion. With passion you are not easily deterred. For the early childhood leader challenges are the fuel for motivation and disappointments are turned into opportunities. ◦What resources does it take to be a state leader on early childhood issues? A leader should possess the skill to identify resources that are needed. Networking is a very essential resource. Networking transcends beyond what you can actually see with the physical eyes. It can lead to financial resources and other sources that are needed. ◦What tactics or strategies do you use to mobilize others? Every early childhood leader must be knowledgeable about early childhood and the issues that affect the field. The next step would be to speak out about these issues in different forums, whether on a one on one basis or at large forums. What advice would you give to someone who was interested in taking a leadership role in advocating for young children and their families? Be yourself and remember why you are doing this. It is easy to become side tracked and discouraged but always remain focused

MESSAGES FOR FAMILIES-PERSONAL ADVOCACY REFLECTION

Two years ago I was sent to inspect a school that had a population of over 70 children between the ages 3 to 5 years. The physical plant was a disaster waiting to happen and I was overly concern for the safety of the students and the practitioners. At the end of the inspection the scores warranted a closure notice. I asked the principal to appeal to the organization “Food for the Poor” to get assistance in getting a building to accommodate an early childhood institution. After two years of not hearing anything from them I visited the school yesterday and to my surprise the school has a new building. I was so elated. The principal related her story to me and her journey about how she advocated in getting a new building for the children. She engaged many of the mothers to sign petitions, fund raisers and to assist with the construction of the building. She said it was never an easy road but she kept hearing my words of encouragement and hope over and over in her mind. I sensed her passion for early childhood. The members of staff were so glad to see me and thanked me for the words of encouragement. I left that school feeling like I had just won the lottery. My passion for advocacy has been influenced by many persons but I believe my passion has been ignited by a close family friend who is now deceased. This friend has caused me to bring out the advocacy in persons I come in contact with. This person although she did not play a direct and active role in the field of early childhood, she made me recognize the importance of working for social change through mediums such as education. She believed in educating the mind and empowering the individual. My friend broke through many barriers such as gender discrimination; educational barriers and cultural barriers. She was one of the first female in Jamaica to advocate for the rights of young women especially high school drop outs, pregnant teenagers and children who did not attain high educational standards. She made women feel happy about themselves and their families by engaging women through workshops and seminars. Her psychological skills brought hope to many who society considered as a failure. She made me realize that people are people and we all have wants and needs, and, everyone has the right to live and be free. It was through her inspirations and influences that made me realize that I can be a change agent in whatever area I find myself.

What resonates with you about Early Childhood Policy and Advocacy?

I believe this specialization chose me and not so much me choosing this specialization. I am a very outspoken person and have always been on the defensive for the rights of persons. My dream was to become a lawyer but unfortunately my father was totally against me going that route. After high school I ended up in teacher’s college. During and after my internship I was always given the slowest set of children to teach at the secondary level and even in skills training centres. But my passion for early childhood ignited when I had my first child. The birthing process was very difficult because my daughter weighed 9 and half pounds. This affected her speech, hearing and even emotional development. I recognized how dumb I was about child development and even the very doctors, nurses and my parents who had nine of us. Fortunately I landed a job in early childhood that has allowed me to see what is really happening to our children. This sparked my passion even more to create change and to let people know that early childhood is an area of development that should be given greatest attention. Advocates are essential in the field of early childhood because early childhood deals with people. People change, circumstances and life change. Because early childhood ties in with human development we must be knowledgeable and possess the prerequisite skills to deal with people and to convince them that early childhood is a very important aspect of humanity. There is so much I want to learn about public policy and advocacy. I find that many of the persons who make decisions about early childhood are not trained in the field and somehow the field is treated scantily. In order for you to advocate effectively then it is necessary for you know how policies are created. Policies help to form the framework to ensure that early childhood systems are working well. The three goals that I have are (1) To develop the necessary skills to become an effective advocate; (2) To learn more about how develop policies that relates to early childhood development; (3) To effectively mobilize stakeholders without harm or danger that will lead to better conditions for early childhood development.