Child Development and Public Health
Child
Development and Public Health
Nutrition
and Malnutrition
There are so many things that are relevant
to public health that relates to the health and well-being of children of all
ages. The topic of nutrition and malnutrition is very important to me because I
see it on a daily basis in some of my students and their families. Malnutrition
is not just a problem in the third world countries but it exists in the United
States of America. We are considered one of the world’s super powers but we
have children going to bed each night without enough food. Some of our children
get the majority of their meals from the school lunches that they receive each
day. This is a problem. I have students that are hungry and crying when they
reach the center in the morning and we do not have breakfast until 8:30 as of a
result of this have snack foods or little breakfast finger foods that I have in
my classroom that I can give my students. I look at the commercials about how
school children would rather be at school doing small chores such as cleaning
the chalkboard because they do not have enough food. This really touched my
heart. I am a Pre-K teacher and we have a food drive throughout the year. I
give my parents and families a letter at the beginning of the year explaining
our community outreach. We keep a container in the classroom and they donate nonperishable
items when they can. When the container gets full we first reach out to the families
within our center first because sometimes they may be in need of something due
to the struggles of life. If there is no need we call the food bank and they
come and visit our class donations. Hunger is not a problem just on holidays
but it last throughout the year.
Having adequate nutrition helps prevent malnutrition
in young children which if present has a profound effect on the life of
children. It starts with the mother. The mother needs to eat a variety
of foods to get all the nutrients that she needs as well as taking
prenatal vitamins. The mother needs to eat calcium enriched food to promote
bone development, she also needs to make sure she consumes 220
micrograms of iodine a day to help ensure the baby's brain and nervous system development
as well as the consumption of at least 0.64 mg of folate per day to help
prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida, (webmed.com). This does not
stop after the delivery of a healthy baby but the parents have the responsibility
to make sure their young child receives the adequate essential nutritional
vitamins and minerals that will help promote their physical, mental and cognitive
growth and development during the first years of life. This is the most
important part of children’s development. Young children grow and change throughout
the first two years of life. We see them as an infant, then a toddler and then
they move on to the life of a two year old and beyond. Without the healthy
foods and the essential vitamin and minerals their physical growth would be
stunted, their brain and mental growth will not develop due to severe malnutrition.
The presence of severe malnutrition may cause childhood disease that could be prevented
with the appropriate nutritional needs on a daily basis.
As I researched globally the statics that I found about Africa is so
disturbing. In Africa we are faced with wasting which is defined as a child
being severely underweight for their age and height, (Berger, 2106). Research
has shown that in 2016 globally, 52 million children under 5 were wasted and 17
million were severely wasted. This translates into prevalence 7.7 per cent and
2.5 per cent, respectively. In 2016, more than half of all wasted children
lived in South Asia and about one quarter in sub-Saharan Africa, with similar
proportions for severely wasted children. At 16.0 per cent, South Asia’s
wasting prevalence represents a ‘critical’ public health problem; that of the
Middle East and North Africa is approaching a ‘serious’ need for intervention
with appropriate treatment programs. Under 5 wasting and severe wasting are
highly sensitive to change. Thus, estimates for these indicators are only
reported for current levels (UNICEF, 2016). As I move forward in my Early Childhood career
I will work passionately to stamp out the presence of malnutrition in my classroom
and the world. This is so important to the well-being and passion for children.
They are our future and we need protect and help them to grow and develop. This
is an important crusade that has changed and is still changing my life and the
legacy that I want to leave behind.
References
Berger, K. S.
(2016). The developing person through
childhood (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth
Publishers.
Your point is relevent and I am glad that you encourage breakfast in your classroom. Being that research proves that it is the most imprtant meal of the day. Also, I speak to child care center staff often about suggesting a policy with in their program that dicourages out side food being brought into the center. If they participate in USDA programs who promote and require nutritious foods being served. This may decrease malnutrion and prevent childhood obesity.
ReplyDeleteLashawn your post makes some great points. Breakfast is the most important meal and it sets the tone for how you'll eat the rest of the day. Children need to be given healthy options daily. Its hard to feed children sometimes because they can be picky eaters- I have a picky three year old- but you have to reinforce the healthy choices so that healthy growth and development will continue to take place.
ReplyDeleteMalnutrition is such a real issue in our world today. I find it to be incredibly heartbreaking. Thank you for making a vow to put an end to childhood hunger and malnutrition. How do you plan to make your impact; what steps are you going to take? I would like to join you in your efforts.
ReplyDelete