We live in a country so rich in diversity. We have people from all walks of life coming into this country with the hopes of creating a better future for themselves and their families. This is what makes this country so great to live in. You get to experience and learn from different cultures, ethnicities and religions basically from our backyard. It is one of the great privileges we have. However, we could do better as a society in showing our appreciation for all that immigrants bring to our country. There are many aspects to an immigrant’s life, which natives sometimes take for granted. We do not think about the hardships they face or the advantages they have over us. For example one advantage they have is that immigrant families have fewer health problems and are overall healthier than the US population. They also have stronger work ethics and are more motivated to improve their living situation. Another surprising fact that I learned from the research was that children born to immigrant mothers are less likely to be born with a low birth rate than children born to native mothers. Yet in spite of all those great qualities and advantages there are many negatives to being an immigrant family. Some of the difficulties faced by immigrant families are racism, language barriers and uneducated parents. Education also happens to be the deciding factor when dealing with the outcome of a child’s life.
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Children born to parents with less than 8 years of schooling are more likely to live in low-income housing, deal with more health issues and have problems in school. Educated parents are better suited to help their children with everything from schoolwork to seeking help for health issues. It seems that with all the research that has been done thus far on immigrant families the conclusion is if parents are educated the children will have an overall better living situation and healthier well being than children from uneducated parents. Unfortunately, children from immigrant families are faced with some of the biggest hurdles when it comes to the disadvantages of immigrants. Not only do they have to deal with issues regarding their education but there are mental health concerns as well. Research shows that Latino immigrant children are particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects from health and mental health disparities (Cardona, Rodriguez, Forgtach, Sullivan, Bybee, Holtrop, Chew, Tams, Dates and Bernal, 2012). There needs to be more emphasis on helping the immigrants within this country. Interventions should be placed in the school system, workplace, all community centers and libraries. People should be able to get free access to information and resources without any limitations. The more we can make education and information readily available the better it will be for everyone in the community. This should be provided to individuals as well as families whether they are immigrants or not, both would benefit immensely from these interventions. The factors that should be targeted are language barriers, educating parents by allowing them the opportunity to learn a new trade and educating children on the benefits of having immigrants within this country and the hardships they face. It should also be a priority to provide immigrant families with mental health counselors who will be able to assess them and provide proper help. The obstacles that
Children born to parents with less than 8 years of schooling are more likely to live in low-income housing, deal with more health issues and have problems in school. Educated parents are better suited to help their children with everything from schoolwork to seeking help for health issues. It seems that with all the research that has been done thus far on immigrant families the conclusion is if parents are educated the children will have an overall better living situation and healthier well being than children from uneducated parents. Unfortunately, children from immigrant families are faced with some of the biggest hurdles when it comes to the disadvantages of immigrants. Not only do they have to deal with issues regarding their education but there are mental health concerns as well. Research shows that Latino immigrant children are particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects from health and mental health disparities (Cardona, Rodriguez, Forgtach, Sullivan, Bybee, Holtrop, Chew, Tams, Dates and Bernal, 2012). There needs to be more emphasis on helping the immigrants within this country. Interventions should be placed in the school system, workplace, all community centers and libraries. People should be able to get free access to information and resources without any limitations. The more we can make education and information readily available the better it will be for everyone in the community. This should be provided to individuals as well as families whether they are immigrants or not, both would benefit immensely from these interventions. The factors that should be targeted are language barriers, educating parents by allowing them the opportunity to learn a new trade and educating children on the benefits of having immigrants within this country and the hardships they face. It should also be a priority to provide immigrant families with mental health counselors who will be able to assess them and provide proper help. The obstacles that