AS we celebrate Nutrition Month in July, it is imperative to remind all parents, educators, including health workers, about the importance of rearing healthy children.
Healthy children are more ready and able to learn and, in the longer term, are more likely to become healthy adults who will contribute as productive citizens. Healthy people can help build a strong and prosperous nation.
To raise healthy children and create a healthy nation, policy-makers must have meaningful information or a useful database to support a broader conceptualization of health. Local and national policy-makers must use this database to inform those crafting interventions, programs and policies designed specifically for our students in elementary and high school.
The concern we face today points to our less than adequate attention to our children’s health. It looks like we have forgotten the importance of teaching our children the basic, but effective, health practices, like washing their hands and eating healthy food, like fruits and vegetables. Unwittingly perhaps, parents are guilty when it comes to the quality of food that our children eat. What is alarming is that childhood obesity has become a global problem. We can help prevent this kind of problem among our children by religiously monitoring the kind of food they eat.
Because unhealthy children often become unhealthy adults, health during childhood must be a major concern because children are important in their own right and because the nation cannot thrive if it has large numbers of unhealthy adults.
As educators, we must remember that children are vital assets of society, and teaching them healthy habits while they are young is as important as teaching them how to read and write.
We must teach children such important topics, like food nutrition and personal hygiene. For adolescents, we can open communications lines, for example, about the dangers of smoking, drinking alcohol and using illegal drugs.
Being in good physical shape is not just helpful for climbing the rope in Physical Education subjects. Students need to know that those who get good grades are often those who are healthier and physically fit.
Sleep is another factor that may affect our student’s health and study. Since adolescents devote less time to sleep as they age, especially when they sacrifice the precious time they have for sleeping to have more time for studying, they have to be informed about the negative consequences of the lack of sleep on their academic performance.
Parents can help their students avoid late-night cramming sessions by helping them develop good study routines. For example, parents can help their teens stay on top of academic deadlines. Discipline and a good study habit will help ensure that our students remain healthy and wise.
It pays to remember that a healthy student will help build a better nation in the future.
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The author is Teacher 3 in Pattao National High School in Buguey, Cagayan.