Name: _____________________________ Course and Year _________ Date: / /
UNIT 1: Promoting Children’s Health: Healthy Lifestyles and Health Concerns
Topic 1: Children’s Well-Being and Early Childhood Education
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the topic, the students must:
• Explain why health and well-being in early childhood is so important.
• Describe current trends affecting health, safety, and nutrition
LESSON NOTES
Evidence shows that experiences in childhood are extremely important for a child’s healthy
development and lifelong learning. How a child develops during this time affects future cognitive,
social, emotional, language, and physical development, which in turn influences school readiness
and later success in life. Research on a number of adult health and medical conditions points to pre-
disease pathways that have their beginnings in early and middle childhood.
During early childhood, the human brain grows to 90 percent of its adult size by age 3. Early
childhood represents the period when young children reach developmental milestones that include:
• Emotional regulation and attachment
• Language development
• Cognitive development
• Physical development (motor skills)
All of these milestones can be significantly delayed when young children experience inadequate
caregiving, environmental stressors, and other negative risk factors. These stressors and factors can
affect the brain and may seriously compromise a child’s physical, social-emotional, and cognitive
growth and development.
More than any other developmental periods, childhood sets the stage for:
• School success
• Health literacy
• Self-discipline
• The ability to make good decisions about risky situations
• Eating habits
• Conflict negotiation and healthy relationships with family and friends
Understanding Childhood Health Concerns
Although young children are typically healthy, it is during this time that they are at risk for
conditions such as:
• Developmental and behavioral disorders
• Child maltreatment
• Asthma and other chronic conditions
• Obesity
• Dental caries (cavities)
• Unintentional injuries
While typically nonfatal, these conditions affect children, their education, their relationships with
others, and the health and well-being of the adolescents and adults they will become.
Emerging Issues in Childhood Health
The keys to understanding childhood health are recognizing the important roles these periods play
in adult health and well-being and focusing on conditions and illnesses that can seriously limit
children’s abilities to learn, grow, play, and become healthy adults. Prevention efforts in early and
middle childhood can have lasting benefits. Emerging issues in early and middle childhood include
implementing and evaluating multidisciplinary public health interventions that address social
determinants of health by:
• Fostering knowledgeable and nurturing families, parents, and caregivers
• Creating supportive and safe environments in home, schools, and communities
• Increasing access to high-quality health care
Early Childhood Development and Education
Early childhood, particularly the first 5 years of life, impacts long–term social, cognitive,
emotional, and physical development. Healthy development in early childhood helps prepare
children for the educational experiences of kindergarten and beyond. Early childhood development
and education opportunities are affected by various environmental and social factors, including:
• Early life stress
• Socioeconomic status
• Relationships with parents and caregivers
• Access to early education programs
Early life stress and adverse events can have a lasting impact on the mental and physical health of
children. Specifically, early life stress can contribute to developmental delays and poor health
outcomes in the future. Stressors such as physical abuse, family instability, unsafe neighborhoods,
and poverty can cause children to have inadequate coping skills, difficulty regulating emotions, and
reduced social functioning compared to other children their age.
Additionally, exposure to environmental hazards, such as lead in the home, can negatively
affect a child's health and cause cognitive developmental delays. Research shows that lead
exposure disproportionately affects children from minority and low–income households and can
adversely affect their readiness for school. The socioeconomic status of young children's families
and communities also significantly affects their educational outcomes. Specifically, poverty has
been shown to negatively influence the academic achievement of young children. Research shows
that, in their later years, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to need special
education, repeat grades, and drop out of high school. Children from communities with higher
socioeconomic status and more resources experience safer and more supportive environments and
better early education programs
Early childhood programs are a critical outlet for fostering the mental and physical development of
young children. According to the Center on the Development Child at Harvard University’s A
Science-Based Framework for Early Childhood Policy, “The principal elements that have
consistently produced positive impacts include:
• Highly skilled teachers;
• Small class sizes and high adult-to-child ratios;
• Age-appropriate curricula and stimulating materials in a safe physical setting;
• a language-rich environment
• warm, responsive interactions between staff and children; and
• high and consistent levels of child participation.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE EDUCATION FOR YOUNG
The National Association for The Education for Young Children says that high quality programs:
• Create caring communities of learners in which children develop relationships with each and
the teachers and each child and family are included.
• Teach to support children’s development and learning by being intentional with the
environmental design, materials, and activities and by providing positive guidance for
children’s behavior.
• Have developmentally appropriate curriculum that helps children learn and grow that sets
challenging, yet achievable goals for children, balances adult instruction and group activities
with play and child-chosen experiences, provides enough time for deep engagement, and is
based on the children’s interests, abilities, and knowledge.
• Regularly assesses children’s development and learning to inform their environmental design,
curriculum, and interactions with children and their families.
• Is founded on partnerships with families in which families are respected and valued, share
their goals and concerns, are encouraged to participate, and with clear communication (in a
family’s home language whenever possible)
ACTIVITY
Instruction: Look for any professional readings (article, e-journals) in the internet related to child’s
development (see the suggested links below) and their respective effect to teaching and learning
and identify the 3 underlying issues/problems (left) as well as 3 possible solutions (right) based on
the following aspects and provide at least 3 recommendations for each aspect. (30 + 10= 40 pts.)
CHALLENGE/ISSUE/PROBLEM ASPECT POSSIBLE RESPONSE SOLUTION
HEALTH
CHALLENGE/ISSUE/PROBLEM POSSIBLE RESPONSE/SOLUTION
SAFETY
POSSIBLE RESPONSE SOLUTION POSSIBLE RESPONSE/SOLUTION
NUTRITION
Recommendations:
1.
2.
3.
Suggested References:
American Psychological Association. (2020). Effects of Poverty, Hunger and Homelessness on
Children and Youth. Retrieved from [Link]
ChildFund International. (2013). The Effects of Poverty on Education in the United States. Retrieved
from [Link]
*PLEASE SEARCH FOR OTHER RELIABLE ARTICLES/JOURNALS IN THE INTERNET.
Reflection:
Guide question: Based on the professional readings you’ve read, What is your
recommendations/advice to all government agencies related to child’s welfare? (10 pts.)
