Health in education

HEALTH IN EDUCATION College One essential ingredient for effective learning is good health. It is common knowledge that health problems can negatively affect the ability to learn, growth, and the development of a child. Parents, health professionals, and teachers all play a very vital role in ensuring sound health for the children. Early childhood health for some reason is coordinated by eight components, which are practically unrelated but they’re interdependence ensures good health for children. This paper aims at discussing these eight components for coordinated early childhood health, ascertain the rationale behind them and evaluate the role played by parents, teachers and health professionals in ensuring good health for the children. These components include counseling, health education, social and psychological services, health services, healthy school environment, physical activity/education, nutrition, staff wellness, and parent/student/community involvement.
Discussion
The ability to learn, develop, and grow depends hugely on the state of a child’s health. In order to ensure children’s good health, the role of teachers, parents, the community, and the environment cannot be underplayed. Their contribution in any way offers vital information regarding their mental, physical, emotional, and social well-being (Marotz, 2011). Health education for all the stakeholders; students, parents, teachers, and health professional is essential. This helps equip everyone with necessary information concerning procedures, steps to be taken, and ideal safety measures that need to be observed so that good health for children is ensured.
Whatever observations have been made concerning the health of a child by the teacher, parent, or community is vital and essential in identifying changes in the health status of a child (Marotz, 2011). More often than not, teachers and parents refer these types of illnesses and many others to the appropriate health professionals such as counselors. Counseling is a vital component of the coordinated early childhood health since it helps address health issues such as trauma, stress disorders, etc. Counseling can also help families appreciate and understand the need for professional health care especially in circumstances that they do not seem to see the need. Through counseling, psychological and social disorders can easily be handled and thus ensure sound health for the child.
As noted earlier, the community, parents, and teachers are only observers and cannot in any way attempt to diagnose the health problems of a child. This is where health services come in handy since it is the responsibility for health practitioners to diagnose and recommend proper actions (Marotz, 2011). There are several preventive measures that can as well be taken into consideration when dealing with the health of a child. Measures such as ensuring a clean and health school environment, staff wellness, and encouraging physical education/activity ensure that children stay healthy. The environment also affects the growth and development of a child in all aspects. Therefore, it should be properly and thoughtfully planned. Nutrition also plays a significant role in ensuring that children stay healthy. This helps parents and caregivers the capability to anticipate and plan for common food-related issues such as vomiting, allergies, ear infections, colic, etc. that children may develop. They get to understand when and which foods to give to the children.
Reference
Marotz, L. R., Cross, M. Z. & Rush, J. M. (2011). Health, Safety, and Nutrition for the Young Child, Florence: Cengage Learning.