1.

Lecture 1 and 2 Health

What is Health?
2. Children are more formative in their early years.
Holistic??
3. “A state of complete physical, emotional and social well -being, and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity” (World Health Organisation )

Health is holistic
1. They are all interconnected just cause someone healthy physically doesn’t mean
they are emotionally. It doesn’t stay the same but changes ex you’re not as some
social days. More than absence of disease different and specific to each child it can
be influenced. Helping children optimal health of continuum.
2. Food, choices, relationships, diet are all different
aspects that can support our health.
3. Ex remote areas traveling long to doctor.
4. Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for all Children from
Birth to Eight Years. Outcome 3: children have a strong sense of wellbeing.
• good mental and physical health
• attachment, positive affect and self-regulation
.• Being able to manage emotions productively and build resilience and persistence,
being adaptable and confident, and experiencing feelings of satisfaction and
happiness.
Recognize emotion and deal with that strong emotion.
This begins in the early years the earlier self assertion is made self awareness self
esteem and relationships. Being able to develop and maintain.
• Birth to 12 are formative years– laying foundations for later life. • Brain
development • Physical health (e.g., nutrition) • Relationships • Emotional
wellbeing. We will have a direct impact on this. Opportunities to relax and learn and
explore give strong relationships. Encourage to run, skip and climb range of activities
in strengthening bones and muscles.
Relationships how we can support express themselves, share problem solve
empathize.

Beliefs, philosophies and evidence

Beliefs, philosophies and evidence • Consider treatment of your own illnesses. •

Your own practice may not always fit with evidence • Sometimes you may be
involved in treatments that do not fit with your own beliefs and are not based on
evidence. This can be a major ethical dilemma. • Recent controversial cases in
Australia relate to withholding medical interventions in favour of alternative
therapies and infant death has occurred. Criminal prosecutions have resulted.
There can be legal ramfications be aware of the policies and rules.
Two approaches to Health…..
Individuals have the right to make choices and they can make good choices. Ex
smoking.
• Australians use a mix of neoliberalist and social justice arguments regarding
health reforms. • Neoliberalist arguments relate to individualism, privatisation and
decentralisation. A basic idea is that individuals should be allowed to make choices
about their health care and health risks.

Community based approach. Government led. Prevention and treating illness. •

Social Justice Approaches are community based and often government led. It is
assumed that the role of government is to make sound policy to prevent and treat
illness. • You will see some of the debates as applied to current diets in the Secrets
of Sugar from National Geographic ex brining tax in sugary food to fight obesity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3ksKkCOgTw

Neoliberalism v social justice

Smoking. Plain packets take away people choices. Social justice they are hoping to
make smoking less protective. Usually it’s the industry that’s driving force ex tobacco
industry would want people to keep smoking they would be choices.

Problems with Neoliberalism or Social Justice Approaches Problems with Social Justice
Approach • Individuals feel their freedom is impacted. • Businesses and other agencies such
as schools often enforce compliance at a cost. Problems with Neo-liberalist Approach •
Assumes it is easy to make appropriate healthy choices e.g., ingredients lists on food lables.
• Assumes adults can make choices for children. It was money but the benefits were worth
it. No Hat no play policy there was cost involved healthy canteen.

ex parents not smoking in front of children.

Should they make choice are they able to make them?? Sometimes parents and
adults don’t make the best choices ex numbers on the package backs. Important to
understand it cab be hard to make informed choices.

Who takes responsibility?

Some argue parents but not information available how we can support to make better.
Promotion of food products is an example: slogans. Implications of selling chocolate
fundraiser.
• Do we introduce greater government regulation?
• Or it is a parental responsibility– we should not be a ‘Nanny State’.
• What about schools and childcare centres- should they be more proactive? Reflect here on
junk food with fund raising and selling junk food in school canteens.
• Whatever the decision, it is also important that children are educated about making good
food choices – they are not passive recipients.

Changes in Australian Health over time 1901 Now Birth-rate 3.5 children per female Less
than 2 Maternal mortality at birth 7.2% Less than 1 per thousand Infant mortality in the first
year 11% Less than 0.5%

Are we going to have enough young kids who become older to support them or should we
prepare?

Infant mortality in the first year strongly linked to socio-economic status.

It has improved in hygiene and sanitization, vaccines. Better access to health care.

Changes in Health over time Common and killer problems for children 1901:
• Common: gastroenteritis, malnourishment
• Killers: pneumonia, tuberculosis
Now: • Common: asthma, obesity, diabetes, anxiety. Things are being identified and how
we can support them.
• Killers: accidents

Obesity
Eating junk food mindlessly and exposed to ads. Look beyond and think critically is that the
only factor or impact.
• Large study (n = 4000) : watching TV correlates with obesity but very complex – many
variables.
• Reduced activity linked to greater food intake
• Type and amount of food intake also linked to accessibility and cost • Exposure to
advertising linked to junk food.

At-risk populations (children)

• Indigenous children
• Children who experience disability
• Children of parents with drug dependency problems
• Children of parents with mental illness. How this includes range od symptoms.
• Children born prematurely
• Children living in poverty

Changes over time Changes due to changes in practices: Vaccination Anti-smoking

campaigns Medical drugs Better education Changes in attitude: Breastfeeding Childbirth
Interventions Medicines Cleanliness really easily spread.

Vaccines to get paid half. Medical drugs advancement in technology. Becoming better
educators.
IQ can gives us a small understanding on maybe academic implicaton ex social situation and
how they can self regulate.

Variations on ‘typical’. Narrow snapshot is used.

• We are all on different. This is advantageous
• Changes in diagnoses criteria. Ex autism is identified more information is available maybe
change in focus and perspective.
• Focus on strengths not deficits. We don’t look at what wrong How we can support them
what do they like? How we can create environment. What we can change in external factors
to support children inclusion.
• Inclusion is an ethical process of recognising and adapting
• Discourses can warp inclusion
• Terminology can be problematic (“special needs” “disabilities” “normal” “typical” and so
on) when accompanied by exclusion attitudes. 20s list like imbecile.

Recognize that all children are different know children and their individualities.

Variations on ‘typical’
• Children are born without prejudice and pick it up with world around them.
• It is imperative to include all children.
• Collaborate in decision making. Work with parents.
• Listen to children’s voices. Ask them preferences ex apple or banana ex indoor or outside
let them have decision making process.
• Celebrate difference –humans need it and thrive on it
• NSW schools policy is inclusive; however practices in each early childhood setting and
school vary. Is not yet being put into practice everywhere.

Prevention – can be at an individual or population level. For example, I may be at low risk of
contracting ‘whooping cough’ (Pertussis), but may work with infants who are at risk. By
receiving the vaccination, I am preventing the spread of the illness.
Interventions – sometimes are for individuals, but can often be class-wide or schoolwide.
Many interventions are fun for everyone, not just those at risk (e.g., some interventions for
coping with stress involving play). Ex munch and sip in a peer supported environment.
Treatments – tend to be individually based and often monitored by a clinician. Specific and
personal.
Cure – Some illness are cured, but for many illnesses, the severity of symptoms is lowered.
Be wary of proposed of cures in areas such as autism. But not disease.

Socioecological policies

Government guidelines are usually research based and developed by expert panels. In the
areas of child physical activity and nutrition, the Get Up and Grow guidelines are the best to
access. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing .nsf/Content/phd-early-
childhood-nutritionresources • Government guidelines change in response to changes in
research. In recent years, there have been increases in the minimum amounts of physical
emerging.

Guidelines look beyond diet and exercise but holistic experience. Ex person who looks fit but
doesn’t do any exercise.

Government guidelines are usually research based and developed by expert panels. In the
areas of child physical activity and nutrition, the Get Up and Grow guidelines are the best to
access. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing .nsf/Content/phd-early-
childhood-nutritionresources • Government guidelines change in response to changes in
research. In recent years, there have been increases in the minimum amounts of physical
activity recommend at all age levels. Recommendations relating to sedentary time are also
emerging.

Public Health Experts Manufactures and Distributors Lobby for government based
interventions; - taxes - restrictions - prohibition Lobby for: - self regulation - education to
support individual choice - Personal responsibility

Health at home vs health in child care and schools

The younger the more careful we need to be. That we teach children to develop this habit.
• Family germs are different to community germs – always remember that!! • Our hygiene
practices at home do not need to be as strict as they are in community settings. • In general,
the younger the age-group you are working with, the more vigilant you need to be about
hygiene. Infectious diseases spread easily in settings with large numbers of infants and
children. • It is important to teach children about the differences between what we do at
day care and what we do at home.