Tracy: Child Development and Public Health

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Child Development and Public Health

Preschool Children and nutrition

Nutritious eating habits developed early in life provide health benefits for a lifetime. This is true for any child from any part of the world. Also true is that all children will watch family members eat and model eating behaviors after theirs. Young children should be exposed to many kinds of new food. These foods cannot be forced on children but should be introduced in a relaxing environment.
I chose this topic because I see the lunches my preschoolers are bringing to school. They are full of processed foods and lots of sugar. I am also concerned for my own children's nutritional health. I am constantly reminding them of good food choices versus bad. Their dad and I do not send similar messages about nutrition.
According to the online article, hearaldscotland.com, Scotland children are among the world's healthiest children. They are eating more fruit and leading happier, healthier lifestyles than many other young people around the world, according to a major health study. The World Health Organization and the NHS compared Scottish children with youngsters from 40 other countries in Europe and North America. Scotish kids scored high in daily fruit consumption as well as daily exercise regimens Kids havle also dropped in the amount of sugary drinks consumed. Unfortunately, among the unhealthiest countries in the world, along with the U.K. is the United States. (Probably not to surprising).
The following are tips on helping introduce kids to new foods to lead a healthier lifestyle:

offer a variety of textures and colors
make environment comfortable
serve small portions
consistent times
involve your child in meal preparation
keep mealtime calm and quiet

Campsie, A. (2008) Scots children 'among world's healthiest', http://www.heraldscotland.com/, May 15, 2011

Nutrition for young children, http://www.isuagcenter.com/

1 comment:

TeriMay 14, 2011 at 10:18 PM
Tracy,

I also spend a lot of time talking about nutrition. I teach a lot of classes for our local child care community and they frequently request information related to nutrition. They are especially interested in information about picky eaters, preparing healthy meals and helping children understand what healthy really means!
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"My Connections to Play"

Two quotes:

Vygotsky - "Children use private speech in play to regulate behavior"

"Creative play is a central activity in the lives of healthy children."
Almon, K. (2002) The vital role of play in early childhood
education. Gateways, 43.

My family, especially my mom, was very supportive of play. She recognized its importance. My sister and I loved to play with our friends. She would take us to the community pool and parks and we would play all day. When we got a little older we got a trampoline and jumped on it for much of the day. We had a playroom above our garage in Tennessee and we played there for many hours even though it got very hot at times. My sister and I loved to play with dolls. My mom always said she would be my best friend and as we got older did not encourage many outside friendships. I think that hurt our social skills a little. Now we talk every once in a while, have very different lives and see each other about 2-3 times per year. Even though we are still very close and had many years of play as children, we have drifted apart. My dad was really good at playing with us also. He took us on our boat all the time and encouraged more of the rough and tumble type of play. Both my mom and taught us to be resourceful and take care of ourselves, almost to a fault.

As I attempt to write my blog assignement I feel play has changed a great deal since when we were younger. We would go all day without seeing the inside of our house and find things to play with. All three of my boys are sitting around my table asking me questions and saying they are bored. I live about 2 blocks from one of the most beautiful lakes and beaches in the country and 1 block from an elementary school playground. There are children all over this neighborhood to play with and they are asking me what they can do. Where have I gone wrong in this scenario? They have come to rely on me as their "social director" and I have probably enabled that. Play is very different. I am going to cancel cable and hide the playstation and nintendo ds's for the summer. My kids are older and possibly beyond help. I hope that young children will be pulled away from the computers, tv and other electronic devices. I hope they will be in a safe place to be able to venture out and make friends. Parents need to be more confident in their childrens ability and need to become independent players. I think sometimes parents protect their children and don't let them make mistakes at an early age.

I have included pictures of my boys below at the beach. This is what we love to do these days. This was on a spring break vacation. My youngest sons favorite toy was a palm branch he found the first day. Again, an item from nature that I didn't have to purchase that entertained him. Nice!!