Consequences of Stress on Child Development

I suffered physical abuse from my father when I was growing up. He was an alcoholic and would beat me and my mother. I remember he left bruises on me several times. As a child, I hated him. I thought he was the most awful person in the world and I didn't ever want to grow to be like him. He was hyper-critical and mean.

As I grew up, I remember wanting to leave home to get away from him. As a result of the years of physical and emotional abuse, I grew into a person with low self-confidence and the need for a father figure that loved me. I sought out comfort with many boyfriends who were just as mean to me as my father was. I never thought I was good enough for anyone or anything. Fortunately, I never thought suicide was the answer (but I often thought murder would be).

When I had my son, things changed for the better. I was 26 and ready to take on the world with my son. My gather came back into my life and wanted to have a bond with my son. I welcomed that because he had suffered his own fate while living alone and being divorced from my mother--his one true love.

Sadly my father passed away before he and my son could form a close bond.

I thought about what life in rural China would be like and what stresses those children go through. Friends of mine run a charity organization/group (http://www.manosinternacional.org/about.html) that goes to remote and rural places in China, Vietnam, Mexico, and Cuba and bring the children education and introduce them to different cultures. They always share stories with me about life in the farm villages and how hard it is for the children who have to work and rarely have time for school and play. My friend's organization was successful in opening a year-round school in two Chinese villages. The children are free to go to school and have mentioned how being in school makes them feel special and smart. My son had a few pen pals from the school with whom he would exchange letters about life in their part of the world. Through these exchanges, my son discovered that children all over the world have problems, many are worse than others, but they are stressors just the same.