Introduction
"Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is."
-Yoda
What is more crucial for the future of humankind than enabling our children to develop healthy minds and bodies? Parents can quickly identify their children's physical needs: nutritious food, weather-appropriate clothing, and a good bedtime routine. Nevertheless, the child's psychological and emotional needs may be obscure. Children must have good mental health to learn new skills, develop socially, and think clearly. Children need good friends and encouraging words from adults to build self-confidence, self-esteem, and a healthy emotional outlook. We all want to see children happy, thoughtful, focused, active, alert, motivated, and full of life; instead, we are to see a total shift in children's ethical, intellectual, physical and emotional abilities today. This paper aims to highlight the importance of creating an environment that promotes a healthy mind in children.
“Mental health” is often interpreted as the absence of mental illness. However, good mental health is more than just the lack of mental illness. Good mental health is a state of welfare that permits one to lead a happy and fulfilling life and assists children in enduring life's difficulties (Winston & Chicot, 2016). Good physical health is significant in children, but first, good mental health is vital for their development and welfare. It helps children construct healthy relationships, persist in stressful circumstances, and change difficulties into opportunities (Winston & Chicot, 2016). Good mental health assists in learning and advancing constructively and creating a means for triumph at school and in real life. Therefore, good mental health can assist children in being strong, happy, and courageous. Secondly, good mental health is a vital element for healthy child growth. It fosters children to construct good emotional, social, cognitive, and communication skills (Winston & Chicot, 2016). Therefore, it lays the basis for positive behaviour and attitudes to assist them in dealing with their lives as children and adults.
Additionally, they develop feelings of self-worth and learn from their mistakes by taking risks. Children with good mental health can control their emotions and establish healthy relationships, which is vital for their welfare even in adulthood. Furthermore, they foster life skills like problem-solving and decision-making, which are coping tactics for handling apprehension, stress, and complex circumstances. A solid basis for children's mental health at a young age can result in a happy and fulfilling life.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2019), children's lives have improved dramatically in the past two decades thanks to public safety and physical and mental health support improvements. It is common for children to have smartphones and access the limitless opportunities the digital world provides at a very young age. However, 21st-century children report more psychological, behavioural and socio-emotional problems and challenges than ever. Cyberbullying, pervasive in the digital world, follows children from the schoolyard to home. Physically, children report less sleep; Child obesity is increasing. Children spend more time on computers than on old-fashioned activities like running and playing outside, leading to concerns about a lack of physical activity; as a result, childhood obesity is increasing (OECD, 2019).
There is mounting evidence that children's development, learning, social behaviour, independence, mental health, and physical health are enhanced by risky play, including physical activity and a healthy weight. In one study, when exposed to 14-week risky play activities, children in an experimental group displayed improved risk detection and competence, improved self-esteem and decreased conflict sensitivity when compared to pre-intervention children in an experimental group (Brussoni et al., 2015; Lavrysen et al., 2017). A healthy diet, physical activity, and quality sleep are essential for a young person's physical well-being. These benefits result from multifactorial effects on neurobiological and psychosocial development (Hosker et al., 2019). According to Hosker et al. (2019), emerging evidence supports the importance of nutritional awareness for physical and mental health well-being. In addition to diet and exercise, sleep plays a vital role in emotional and physical development, health, and well-being.
In one study (Paruthi et al., 2016), the authors found that good sleep enhances attention, learning, academic performance, memory, cognition, behaviour, emotion regulation, self-esteem, self-acceptance, optimism, and overall quality of life. Sleeping less than the recommended hours is associated with attention, behaviour, and learning difficulties. As a result of inadequate sleep, there is an increased risk of accidents, injuries, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and depression (Paruthi et al., 2016).
Intervention
Exercise:
Michael et al. (2015) suggested that a physically active student tends to achieve better grades, attend school more often, and have better cognitive performance (e.g., memory) and classroom behaviours (e.g., on-task behaviour). Regular physical activity and high-quality education in schools can help kids become more active and prevent obesity. Children are getting far less physical activity in a given week because of less physical education (PE) and recess/play time in school. Parents, teachers, or other concerned community members lobby for more time in PE courses, intramural sports, and organized athletics after school. Children should be physically active for sixty minutes a day to stay healthy. Since they spend most of their waking time at school, it is logical for this to take place there. Also, playing together keeps families together. Schools can organize hikes, walks, and gym sessions for family fun. Teachers can incorporate movement into their classrooms by offering stretching breaks, jogging in place, opportunities to walk, or even walking around the halls for a few minutes. As a result, students will be more energized and focused. It is just a matter of moving often!
Nutritional Eating:
Providing children with nutrition education enables them to choose healthy food and beverages. Nutrition education can be included in health education curriculums and other classes. Students could, for instance, practice counting with pictures of fruits and vegetables, grow vegetables for their school projects and explore cultural food traditions. Parents should offer a healthy breakfast as it effectively improves academic performance and cognitive functioning. Parents should be encouraged to give their kids only healthy lunches and ensure they eat healthy breakfasts. According to Taras (2005), studies found improvements in verbal fluency, arithmetic, attention, memory, creativity, physical endurance, general academic achievement and cognitive functioning. Staying hydrated and eating a healthy diet are essential for brain function.
Sleep:
To get adequate sleep, children must develop good sleep hygiene habits. Poor sleep hygiene contributes to many sleep struggles. A busy schedule between academics, social activities, and extracurriculars can make it difficult for school-age children to sleep well. As a general rule, optimizing sleep schedules before and after classes is likely to benefit learning (Ribeiro & Stickgold, 2014). Whenever possible, they should maintain a consistent schedule and wind down before bed at the end of the day. If possible, they should do their homework or other activities in a different room so that the bedroom becomes associated with sleep. At least an hour before bedtime, parents should discourage their children from using screens/electronics, and they should instead do a quiet activity such as reading. Obesity has been linked to not getting enough sleep. However, even more troubling, research indicates that children who do not get enough sleep can struggle academically and behaviorally for years, affecting their lives forever.
Target population
Children aged 5-12 are the target group to be educated about mental health and wellbeing, or educators and parents who can improve things for children. Interventions will be designed for children <12 years of age, both from the general population and vulnerable groups. Interventions could target the child directly or others, including parents/caregivers, teachers, friends, or healthcare professionals (potential helpers).
Conclusion
As a result of raising healthy, mindful children, our society will take a more active interest in our communities’ welfare, assistance, and care. Currently, we are on a trajectory that will leave future generations physically unhealthy, with large percentages of society obese. Evidence indicates that children who experience positive mental health are more resilient and capable of learning, succeeding, and forming healthy relationships. Parents, educators, and community partners share responsibility for promoting positive mental health in schools. It involves educating children, youth, and their families, partnering with community organizations,
implementing mental health policies, and creating a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment.
References
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