How to Promote Children’s Health and Wellbeing in Early Years

The well-being of a child is extremely important as children are the future of a country. Everyone should be much concerned about their health and wellbeing.  It is necessary to spread awareness in a child during their childhood days. Habits developed during this phase of life prevail for lifelong and children become more active about spreading the gained knowledge to others.

Schools, neighbourhoods, and homes are some places where the children learn the manners and things that they can apply to live a healthy and active life. To lead a busy and hygienic life is essential and to start spreading awareness about health and wellbeing is more important.

This concept is not only generated for children but youngsters as well. In the name of modern lifestyle, people have adopted many unhealthy and unhygienic habits that not only affect their well-being but their career too. A good job and a sound mind are a direct outcomes of a healthy body. So in this handout, it is clearly explained the importance of this concept and other factors that should be known related to it.

Importance of promoting the Wellbeing

Well-being includes a feeling of goodness in every sector of life, i.e. physical, social, economical, and environmental. A healthy lifestyle means a happy and stress-free fortune. It is generally seen that a healthy and physically fit individual does his or her with more efficiency than an unfit human. A child well being is directly dependent on the family conditions. So for a well-being child, parents must focus on themselves so that their child could learn from them. As children are the weapons for any country’s development. So it must be focused that their growing children are nourishing properly.

It is generally noted that a child with physical impairment or any disability would lead a life more stressful and complicated than an average human. Efficiency and accuracy in work done by both types of children have a comparable difference. If the growing children of the country are not well-being then the state itself becomes handicapped. The future of any country is in the hands of the children, so it is necessary to have a particular focus on their wellness.

Impact of the Enabling Environment

A child’s emotional well-being depends upon the environment he is living in. Every child has the same health when they are born in the same situation, but gradually it declines or improves depending on the factors they are leading. The more affected dimension of well-being through the environment is emotional well-being.

Emotional well-being can be concluded as balanced or imbalanced according to the reactions a child gives to a particular situation. If he is reacting normally as other healthy children do there is the least need to keep the focus on this factor of the child. But in else conditions, it becomes extremely necessary to keep a regular check on that child and take appropriate actions as required.

Dimensions of wellness

Each dimension, directly and indirectly, depends upon one another. Wellness in all six areas is necessary for a healthy life for an individual. In this handout, there is a brief description of each dimension, along with its importance to the child. Spiritual wellness, social, emotional, physical, intellectual, and environmental wellness; are the names of different sectors of wellbeing. Below is a brief description of each of the dimensions mentioned earlier.

The wellness of a child can be measured through 6 different sectors

• Spiritual wellbeing: Many people relate spirituality with the god, religion, faith, and its belief. But first, let me clear you all it is not precisely that. Spirituality is related to finding the mysteries of day-to-day life. It also means connecting people with different things, the world, and the universe. It makes them aware of love and peace in their life. It allows them to live in harmony.
• Social wellbeing: Social wellness is somewhat related to the ability of the child to withstand many social issues. It is also related to the interaction of the children with others. It is necessary for the students because it enables the child to understand the interdependency with others without any relationship.
• Emotional wellness: It is related to the feeling of love, kindness, peace, and other emotions of the child. It sets them to create a sense of unity.
• Physical wellness: It involves the overall structure of the child. It is related to complete health, including height, weight, fitness, etc. Physical health directly influences working ability.
• Intellectual wellbeing: It is related to the interacting ability of the child, and also it influences the friendly nature of the individual.
• Environmental wellness: It involves the interaction of the child with the external environment and their role in preserving and securing it.

Impact of Physical education, and activity, in promoting health and well-being

Physical activity should be done regularly to maintain healthy health. Physical education should motivate and push children and adolescents to discover the joy of movement, develop good attitudes both individually and collectively, and improve their quality of life via active living. This will provide a vital basis for children and young people to participate in physical activities and sports, as well as to prepare for a healthy and rewarding lifestyle.

In addition to scheduled physical education lessons, children and young people will engage in and enjoy physical activity and sport during recess and lunchtimes, during travel, and outside of school hours. Outdoor learning can promote physical exercise while also enhancing learning across the curriculum.

The experiences and results in physical education, physical activity, and sport, when combined, attempt to build a pattern of daily physical activity that, according to research, is most likely to lead to sustained physical activity in adulthood.

Effect of nutrition and health on students’ health and well-being

Schools can help improve children’s diets by promoting consistent healthy eating messages that encourage them to make healthy food choices and create lifetime eating habits. A healthy diet is necessary for optimal health. Many youngsters, according to research, do not meet national nutritional standards. Tooth decay, obesity, some malignancies, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke are just a few of the diseases and ailments that can be exacerbated by an unbalanced diet.

Practical food activities are included in all of the food and health experiences and outcomes so that children and young people may use their knowledge and abilities to plan and properly prepare dishes for a healthy balanced diet that meets their own and others’ needs. They will get an understanding that preparing and consuming food can be a pleasurable, enjoyable, and social experience in this way.

Factors that can affect the well-being of a child and how they can be supported

There could be many factors that can somehow affect the health and wellbeing of a child. But the main factors that a child has regular contact with are his parents, school, and the neighbourhoods. They learn more from them and develop their habits accordingly. Another factor that can support them to become more aware can be govt. Govt. can put some rule and organize the events through which a child become more active and mindful of the importance of well-mannered life.

Conclusion

It is not enough to learn about the health and well-being of a child. But to understand its importance is equally necessary. Teachers and other people should focus on every dimension (mainly categorized in six sizes) of a child- either physical or emotional or any other. The factors that are defined above that can affect the well-being of a child should be adequately considered. Appropriate actions should also be taken before it becomes too late to support the affected child.