Child Development and Public Health

The public Health topic I choose for this week was nutrition/malnutrition. The reason I choose this topic was because after working in a Head Start program I came across many dietary issues with my children and their families. For example, some of my children were not being feed appropriate foods to foster healthy growth and development. I would have children come in on mornings drinking a soda and eating a cupcake as their breakfast. The one thing I admire about the Head Start program was that we provided 2 nutritious meals a day along with a snack to our children, This way even though they were not always getting the healthiest food at home we were able to give it to them when they were in school.

I chose to explore the topic of nutrition and malnutrition in the children of Ghana. I found an article entitled, Associations Among Provery and Children's Nutritional Halth Status and Schholing in Ghana. This article explored how the poverty in Ghana has an impact on nutrition, health, and education of children (Ashiabi, 2007). The article found that all three of these topics are intertwined with each other. Poverty has an impact on parents and caregiver’s ability to provide suitable health care and nutrition to children. This is when malnutrition of children comes into play. Under nourished children's health is affected which affects their academic performance. When academic performance is affected it then can affect later areas on life. For example, it hinders children’s ability to be successful in school and set them on the path towards higher education.

This information is very helpful yet upsetting. Its difficult knowing there are nations that just don’t have the resources to properly nourish their children. This information makes me realize even more Just how important it is to promote a healthy life style and healthy dietary choices to children and parents. It is important for parents to know the negative impacts poor nutrition can have on their children in the future.

Resources

 ASHIABI, G. S. (2007). Associations Among Poverty and Children's Nutritional Health Status and Schooling in Ghana. Western Journal of Black Studies, 31(2), 11-21. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.