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Unit 9 Assignment: Final Project

Thomas Knox

Purdue University Global

HW410 Models of Health & Wellness

Dr. D.

6/22/2021
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Unit 9 Assignment: Final Project

Stressors in everyday lives of children are one of the most critical issues that society

faces. The children of the world have many stressors from school to home to social. It is how we

help them develop and fight these stressors that will be key to their success as adults. Especially

with the last year with the pandemic, the children and society faced challenges like we have

never seen in modern history.

Explained Stressors

The first stressors that many children face is worrying about schoolwork and grades. This

is a great one to start with as many children have this worry while in school. They want to please

their parents and teachers so much, that they worry about a certain grade or class. To add into the

previous comment, if they have added responsibilities such as work or sports, they then are

trying to juggle everything will add stress. The added stress of social media to children has

grown exponentially with the need of computers and education. The bullying and peer pressures

of the youth today is great. Changing schools can be another stressor that the children have to

battle through. The unknown of the school’s layout, loss of friends, trying to gain new friends are

all part of the stressors when it comes to moving or dealing with housing issues. When we speak

about children and the stress that they face, many have negative thoughts about themselves and

they also struggle with body changes. This especially true when it comes to pre-teen and teens.

Their bodies grow so rapidly throughout these years, they tend to look poorly at themselves.

There are also stressors if the children’s parents are going through a divorce where it is not

explained and is more violent than needed. Money issues in families also add stress to the whole

family. Not only is it one of the main causes in divorce which I explained above, it is a major

added stress to children. Lastly, where the children live is another key contributor to stress. If
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their neighborhood or home is not safe, the children will worry about their safety. (Kaneshiro,

2020).

Stressor Importance

Identifying stressors early on is important in the development of children. Not all

stressors will damage children and are actually helpful in their development. This important

stressor is when the child learns “fight or flight” response. This helps them with potentially life-

threatening situations. This is not effective if that life-threatening situation is everyday at home.

Stressors do affect the brain development and how it handles the stressors. Not only is the brain

affected, but diabetes, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, liver disease, and

potential cancer can affect the youth later in life. Other items that are identifiers of childhood

stress can be physical or emotional. Decreased appetite or other eating habits can be issues. They

could eat more and stress eat. There are other eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia that

children face because of how other children tease their looks. They can get headaches because of

the stress of school and worrying too much about homework or grades. Nightmares, bedwetting,

and sleep disturbances can be other causes that children can face. They can also face stomach

pain or other physical symptoms with no physical illness. Emotionally, these children can face

anxiety and not be able to relax. There could be new fears or reoccurring ones like fear of the

dark. They could be clingy or show different emotional responses like anger, crying, or whining.

They could not control their emotions by being aggressive or being stubborn. They could also

start to not wanting to participate in family or school activities. These stressors can be important

in identifying the issues and being able to address the issues that they are facing. We can then

make the proper plan and get the proper people involved in their health program. (Kaneshiro,

2020) (Phang, 2017)

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Program Descriptions

In this program, we will focus on teaching and education of teachers, parents,

grandparents and other people that help develop the children’s lives how to tell if there are issues

that are potential health issues. These educational series will cover the importance of being a part

of the children’s lives and how to ask the correct questions if there are any indicators to the

child’s diminishing health. This program will also teach children the coping skills it takes to deal

with hard situations. “Roughly, only 25% of children get the help needed, so this program will

the outreach needed to provide care and understanding to a larger group of children” (Melnyk,

2020).

Program Implementation

The implementation of the program is first to build a unique team of individuals that span

from professionals to peers to those children that have battled through some tough times. Once

this team is built, next is to start on a web base informational guide to what we are about and

what we will provide. This will broaden our outreach to those who need it. We will provide

support to the communities that we serve. This can be done by holding sessions for teachers,

counselors, and other professionals that deal with children directly. This program will also

provide support and sessions to under privilege youths in inner cities. This program will help

those who can’t help themselves or know how to find it. We will utilize local community centers

to hold meetings and sessions to parents. This will be a non-profit organization that will not take

from those who have too little to give. There will also be days that we will supply food to those

that are less fortunate. We will do this by outreaching to local restaurants and grocery stores for

any leftover or supplies. We will have support lines that we will set up for anything that people
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will need answers to and more importantly, have someone there to support the children when

they are feeling the stresses of life. (Melnyk, 2020)

Program Obstacles

The programs biggest obstacle is participation especially from the parents. Sometimes

pride gets in the way and will blind them. Another obstacle would be the participation from the

local businesses to provide meals to the children. Space can be another obstacle that we face. As

a non-profit, we will require help from outside sources to provide the space. Confidentiality

might be another obstacle as we want to teach how to handle stress, but that is not all that we will

provide. The counselors that will work with the children, will have obligations if they think that

child is in a dangerous spot. Which then leads to possible legal issues in the process of the courts.

Transportation to certain meetings or events can lead to another possible challenge. Lastly, the

access to technology especially to lower income families. (RHIhub, 2021)

Health Professionals

Within this program we will have a multitude of health professionals. This will range

from Doctors to Nutritionists. We will have therapists and phycologist on staff to help with the

mental stressors and how to deal with them. We will also have nutritionists and Health and

Wellness educators to help with the physical parts. We will also staff peers that have gone

through similar situations and how they overcame their situations.

Program Measurements

The program measurement and outcome will to supply a safe environment to all the

children in the community. To help them handle their stressors in a positive way and learn to

cope with the stressors in a better way. Be a good role model and teach others how to read

certain situations to benefit the children’s growth. This program will encourage physical activity
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and positive thinking to children. Ultimately, the program will provide an environment that

children can grow and develop. (Kaneshiro, 2020).

Summary

Everyday lives of children are important in them developing into healthy adults. This

program will help these children cope and develop into healthy adults in the future. We will

explain and teach coping techniques when the child’s stressors arise and be there for any youth

or person that would like help. For a healthy society, we need healthy children to grow it.

Children are seeds and they will grow into whatever we feed them. Bad feed leads to bad growth

and we will be the positive feed in the child’s life.

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References

Kaneshiro, Neil K., 2020. MedlinePlus. Stress in Childhood,

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002059.htm

Melnyk, Bernadette PhD., 2020. COPE. Evidence-based Programs for Primary and Secondary

Schools, Universities, Primary Care Practices, Healthcare Systems and Professionals,

Parents and Children, https://www.cope2thrive.com/

Phang, Kari MD., 2017. Nationwide Childrens’. Toxic Stress: How the Body’s Response Can

Harm a Child’s Development, https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-

education/700childrens/2017/07/toxic-stress-how-the-bodys-response-can-harm-a-

childs-development

Rural Health Info Hub, 2021, Implementation Challenges,

https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/toolkits/services-integration/3/implementation-

challenges

Seaward, B. (2018). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being (9th

ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2019). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook (2nd ed.). New

Harbinger Publications.