Importance of Health and Well-being in Children

Importance of Health and Well-being in Children
Children’s health and wellbeing is one of the most important part of life and education. Donaldson (2015, p. 30) associates being healthy and having a good well-being with “developing confidence, resilience and empathy – apply knowledge about the impact of diet and exercise on physical and mental health in their daily lives– know how to find the information and support to keep safe and well – take part in physical activity – take measured decisions about lifestyle and manage risk– have the confidence to participate in performance”. Health and well-being is part of the six areas of learning in the new successful futures curriculum and it will be linked across the curriculum through subjects such as Expressive arts and languages, Literacy and Communication, also Humanities and Science and Technology. 

Impacts on Health and Well-being 
Obesity in children has increased dramatically in the last few years and a big reason for that is the advancement of technology, Ferrai et al (2015) states
“children spend more time in sedentary activities like watching TV, internet and playing video games”
The advancement of technology has made children want to stay indoors sitting down watching television or play video games all day rather than going outside and being active or participating in any kind of physical activity. A report by Greca (2016) discovered that watching television and playing video games is more common in young people as they spend more than “half hours a day” watching television, this is a concerning finding as it shows how technology is contributing to children having a sedentary lifestyle. Mental health is an important part of a child’s well-being and in today’s society, mental health is being negatively impacted by the increasing use of social media, Anon (2018, p.2) backs up the idea that social media has an impact on your mental health in the quote 
“excessive social media use may be associated with high anxiety and depression.”

Hancock (2018) suggests the same idea that social media has a negative effect on mental health as he stated
“Overwhelmingly technology is a force for good, but we are seeing more and more evidence that children using social media sites for hours on end each day is having a detrimental impact on their mental health.”
Another impact on health and well-being in children is what they eat. In a study conducted by MacFarlane (2007) suggested that bad eating habits can have an impact on your health which then has a negative effect on a child’s education, it was discovered that skipping breakfast would be more likely to do worse in school. 

Improving Health and Well-being
 There are so many ways in which children can improve their Health and Well-being and it can be improved in both in school and at home, for example tohelp children overcome mental health issues like stress or depression, they can participate in mindfulness activities. Mindfulness is
“paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p.4).
It is suggested by O’Donnell (2015, p.189) that children in this society need mindfulness 

“the emergence of new technologies has led to a ‘phase shift’ in the way in which human’s interface with technological artefacts. This is of particular concern in the case of children and young people and research into the implications of this for human development is only in its infancy.”
Even though Health and Well-being is not just physical activity anymore Evans et al, (2008), it is still an important factor in children’s Health and Well-being, so improving it is important. St Ninianas Primary school in Scotland incorporated a 15 minute run/walk/jog every day called “The Daily Mile” because they believed that many children were unfit, this simple and quick activity has shown numerous benefits
“The children in the school that introduced the Daily Mile increased their moderate/vigorous physical activity by nine minutes per day (around 15%), and cut their sedentary time by 18 minutes per day (around 6%). They saw a 40-metre increase (circa 5%) in how far they could run, while their skin folds reduced by an average of 1.4mm or 4%.” (Chesham et al, 2018, p.3) 
By doing some kind of physical activity everyday can help decrease a sedentary lifestyle. Physical activity can also help improve your mental health. 
“improved self-esteem and confidence, reduction in stress, anxiety and depression improved mood and sense of well-being, improved concentration, enhanced memory and learning, and better performance at school, reduced feelings of fatigue and depression and improved psychological well-being and mental awareness” (Queensland Government & Government of Western Australia, 2005).
This finding suggests how by participating in some kind of physical activity can help your mental health and benefit children’s education is well, this finding is backed up by (Ortega et al., 2008) as it is implied from research that children who are active and taking part in some kind of physical activity are less likely to develop a mental health illness compared to children who do not have a physically active lifestyle. Mindfulness and physical activity are both very important parts for children having good Health and Well-being, however another important part is making sure children are eating healthy and appropriately. Anon (2005) conducted a study which implied that if children were to eat fruit and vegetables, it would help increase their memory which will then have a positive effect on their learning. Healthy eating is becoming more important in education and there are policies put in place to make sure that schools reach the standards of healthy eating and educating children on how to eat healthy, McKenna (2005) states how it has become a policy in schools to teach nutritional education to children to help them learn about why they need to eat healthy, what are healthy foods and why children should not eat “junk food”, although this is a good policy to have in education it is however not taught often within schools as other subjects take up more time and are seen as more of a priority. 
Health and Well-being is very important and is right to be part of the new curriculum “Successful Futures” as it is important that children learn how to live and have a healthy lifestyle but also how to recognise and know what to do when they begin to struggle with issues like mental and physical health. 






































Reference list 
·     Anon, 2018. Studies show social media's impact on mental health. University Wire, 
pp.University Wire, Oct 10, 2018.

·      Anon, Southerly: art songs of the American South. Albany Records,.

·      Anon, 2005. 5-A-Day Fruit and Veg Could Boost Your Memory: Groundbreaking New Research. PR Newswire Europe Including UK Disclose, p.n/a.

·      Donaldson, G. (2015) Successful Futures: Independent review of curriculum and assessmentarrangements in Wales,retrieved:http://gov.wales/docs/dcells/publications/150225-successful-Futures-en.pdf

·      Ferrari GL, Araujo TL, Oliveira LC, Matsudo V, Fisgerb M. Association between electronic equipment in the bedroom and sedentary lifestyle, physical activity and body mass index of children. J Pediatr. 2015;91:574–82. 
·      Greca JP, Silva DA, Loch MR. Physical activity and screen time in children and adolescents in medium size town in south of Brazil. Rev Paul Pediatr. 2016;34(3):316–22. 
·      Groupe, G., Doom: Doom 3, Id Tech 1, Doom II: Hell on Earth, Bestiaire de Doom, Id Tech 4, Final Doom, Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil, Whe. (s.n.).

·      Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go. There you are: mindfulness meditation in everyday life.London: Hachette Books.
·      MacFarlane, A., 2007. What Do Teenagers Eat? Issues, 84, pp.21–23.

·      McKenna, M., 2010. Policy Options to Support Healthy Eating in Schools. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 101, pp.S14–7.


·      Navti, L.K., Atanga, M.B. & Niba, L.L., 2017. Associations of out of school physical activity, sedentary lifestyle and socioeconomic status with weight status and adiposity of Cameroon children. BMC obesity, 4(1), p.35.

·      Ortega, F., Ruiz, J., Castillo, M., & Sjöström, M. (2008). Physical fitness in childhood and adolescence: a powerful marker of health. International Journal of Obesity, 32(1), 1-11.


·      Queensland Government & Government of Western Australia (2005). (15/11/2010: date of retrieval). Benefi ts of physical activity. http://wwwJiealth.qld.gov.au/npag/evidence.asp


·      Ross chesham. 2018. The Conversation. [Online]. [10 December 2018]. Available from: http://theconversation.com/when-kids-run-for-15-minutes-in-school-every-day-heres-what-happens-to-their-health-96371

·      wwwgovuk. 2018. GOVUK. [Online]. [10 December 2018]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/matt-hancock-warns-of-dangers-of-social-media-on-childrens-mental-health












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