Interviewing Two Professionals in Early Childhood Care and
Education
I interviewed two family support workers from Onward
House. Each family support worker has
their own field. The first person I interviewed is
the family support worker for the two year old's
and the second family support worker I interviewed
is the family support worker for three to five
year old's. I informed the two family support workers
that I am thinking of focusing my research
paper on Obesity and I would like to interview them
because I would like to know what are their
views and perspective towards Obesity in young
children.
The insights I gained from the interviews in regard
to Obesity was surprising because I
realized that many families are actually in denial.
The two family support workers informed me
that this is an issue with families because many
families don’t think their child is overweight.
They both said that this is an issue that they are
concerned with due to the fact that most of the
families that are enrolled in the program are single
parents and they work long hours. Both
family support workers are trying their best to
advocate towards this matter because the
percentage of overweight children in the program is
high. These two professionals are
concentrating on working with parents and are going
to start providing workshops in regard to
heath, and nutrition. They are focusing on weight
management plans, health, and nutrition
workshops as well. They informed me that the tool
they use is simple but consistent because they
weigh the children every three months. Both family
workers develop a plan to follow up the
child’s weight. This plan is to help families reduce
the quantity of food their children eat and also
reduce the juice, soda, and junk food intake.
The insights I gained from the interviews regarding
current advocacy efforts and needs in obesity
is that families feed their children what they want
to eat. Both family support workers are
advocating towards healthy foods in the program and
in the families homes. The program is no
longer serving juice, and the children are drinking
1% milk. The program is also working on
providing healthier snacks, such as more natural
fruits, and drinking more water. Another
insight I gained from my interviews in regard to my
area of interest is that the majority of the
children that are enrolled in the program are
overweight because families are providing fast food
and they eat big quantities.
These interviews influenced my decision about which
area of interest and topics to choose for
my research paper. I knew I wanted to do my research
paper on obesity because I worked with
children and I believe this is becoming an issue. The
children who are overweight don’t want to
do much, they just want to sit and play all day. I
personally have a child in my classroom that is
overweight and I have a hard time with him every day
especially when we go for our
neighborhood walks. This child just don’t want to
walk; he throws himself on the ground
refusing to walk.
The areas of interest I’m thinking of focusing are
the importance of eating healthy food, making
changes in the life style, which can be more
physical activities, and reduced recreational screen
time. The three specific topics I will focus on are
health consequences, diabetes, high blood
pressure, and asthma. I will focus on these specific
illnesses because they can be fatal. I believe
families need to know that children who are
overweight are in danger of these illnesses and they
need to start being responsible and make changes on
their lives styles. The reason I chose these
three topics is because many families think their
children are cute because they are overweight
and they think that if they are overweight they are
healthy. I strongly believe parent’s
need to be
educated on the importance of healthy eating, and
physical activities.
References
Fernandez, H. (2012, April 16). Family support Worker
for Three to Five. (L. E. Flores, Interviewer)
Martinez, J. (2012, April 13 ). Family Support Worker
for two year old's. (L. E. Flores, Interviewer)
