Wellness Basics For You & Your Child

Wellness is a fairly recent concept that combines conventional ideas of physical health with larger issues of emotional stability, psychological and emotional comfort, and sometimes even spiritual or mental fulfillment. Not surprisingly, it’s one of the leading areas of interest for parents planning the best for their child.

Wellness & Health Definitions
A slightly more comprehensive concept of wellness comes in part from The World Health Organization’s definition of health: "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Since the 1970s, many experts believe that lifestyle choices, environment, health care awareness and access to health care choices greatly influence the quality of someone’s wellness.

A scientific explanation of health is also helpful in determining wellness. Many biologists describe health as an organism’s ability to resist and recover from stress-inducing influences in their environment, achieving a state of balance called homeostasis.

Wellness can also be simply described as the ability to feel "fine" – to feel comfortable and well given an individual’s surroundings and circumstances. Feeling fine, however, requires a lot of cultivation.

Physical Health & Illness Prevention
Parents wanting to develop the physical health component inevitably hear two words most often: diet and exercise. Current medical research indicates a low-fat, high fruits and vegetable diet works best for helping children achieve their maximum growth potential. Many minerals found in vegetables are shown to encourage development of a child’s immune system and mental faculties, while at the same time resisting susceptibility to certain diseases.

Government nutritional guidelines indicate children should have three meals and two snacks a day for optimum calorie intake. Parents should also exercise portion control – making sure their children don’t eat too much of one food at a sitting. Guidelines for buildings your child’s diet can be found free at http://www.mypyramid.gov.
Exercise requirements vary by the age of the child and metabolism, but remain a crucial factor in building wellness. Routine physical exercise stimulates the body and provides powerful emotional comfort in the form of endorphins, or chemicals which send messages of well-being to the brain. Endorphins are sometimes referred to as "nature’s painkillers" and are often believed to combat depression.

Emotional Health & Psychological Well-Being

A child’s emotional health depends to a great extent on their ability to function within their environment. Stressors such as problems at school, unrecognized learning disabilities, and strife in the home can seriously impair emotional comfort and present psychological challenges later in life. If your child is acting up or responding to events in a different manner, such behavior is commonly a sign of an emotional maladjustment and could indicate a need for your guidance. If problems persist, seeking the advice and services of a social worker or counselor is also recommended.Pychological problems also sometimes become apparent during childhood, and might include any number of issues that can be resolved either with medication or through therapy. Warning signs of psychological issues are tricky, so do careful research and consult a pediatrician before making any steps towards professional psychological help.

Spiritual and Mental Fulfillment
In most countries, spiritual development is a matter left to the parents to determine and guide. As children grow, parents may wish to allow them to continue or change faiths on their own.

Mental fulfillment and cultivation remain the responsibility not just of the schools a child attends but also to an even greater degree on parents. Taking steps to bring children educational opportunities – a day at the museum, a diverse home library, limiting time with the television – can allow for great strides in the child’s education. Children crave mental stimulation and interaction, possibly almost as much as parental affection. Giving them "something to think about" will go a long way in making them happy and well.

Michael Kabel is Senior Creative Writer at Smart Marketing, Inc. He is the author of hundreds of articles for www.cornerstorkbabygifts.com and other websites.