Child Health and Human Development over the Lifespan

Introduction

The article Child health and human development over the lifespan was published on March 19, 2013, in the Front Public Health Journal of Psychology. It covers the topic of human development over a lifespan and child health which is a wide area of study; the stages discusses are child delivery, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and the end of life. The author states that a child goes through a wide range of issues before birth that affects their health; general childhood illness is one of them. Eating habits determine obesity and health levels, the development of human beings including children spans over a lifetime which is a collection of various stages.

Child health has always been an important problem in society that deserved attention. Child health pediatrics emerged in the 19thcentury due to the awareness and increase in child health problems. The child’s health problems were not the same as the problems of adults including illness, medications, and diagnosis. In a particular age group, the illness of children leads to many child healthcare hospitals for caring for ill children. Child health research expanded due to the same factors to research on lifelong health issues. The article explores the current issues in child health through the lifespan and provides their solutions.

Child Growth and Development Current Issues

The researchers have found out that in the United States, the following concerns of child issues are most prevalent in society. The issue is represented in percentages to get an exact idea of how severe they are on a scale of 100. In the United States, children have been found to have numerous physical health and mental health problems including asthma, alcohol usage, drug usage, physical violence and neglect, suicide, internet safety issues, school violence, depression, anxiety, euphoria, dementia, sexting and not enough opportunities for taking part in healthy activities. The children have their perception of health which does not relate much to the perception of their parents. A sample of 130 children in Portugal also discovered that children value healthy food and like to take part in physical and mental activities to boost their confidence. There is a link detected between their diet and physical exercise.

Moreover, social inequality also affects the well-being of children in contemporary society over their lifespans. The condition of poverty cuts life short in children and adults as discovered in the 20th century. Mass poverty is existing in many areas of America. Decades of studies have enabled researchers to find out a relationship between the health and social condition of children. The social process is important to understand the underlying differences that mediate these processes. From birth to death, researchers have found a link between health and social status.

The relevant periods in a child’s life are childhood, adolescence, mid-life and old age. Their social experience also contributes to the growth of disease; the social status is directly related to factors like the income of parents, educational opportunities, race, gender, ethnicity, and occupational status. Schooling is important for children’s growth. From the LSD Life Span Development perspective, child development and aging is a lifelong processes, and their social status affects health.

Method

The University of Michigan at Children’s Hospital conducted a national poll to determine the state of Children’s health for monitoring their future. The Knowledge Networks also collaborated with the university in the national household survey which selected a random group of adults with or without children.

Results

Childhood obesity is found to be 38% in U.S children, drug abuse 30%, smoking 29%, internet safety 25%, stress 24%, bullying 23%, teen pregnancy 23%, child neglect and abuse 21%, alcohol usage by children of underage 20%, the low opportunity for physical and health activities 20%, sexting 16%, depression 15%, school violence 13% and asthma 10%.

Conclusion

It is a fact that children have numerous mental and physical health challenges in contemporary society. The United States has a diverse set of population where children face issues like disease, drug use, suicide, alcohol use, teenage pregnancy, and depression on a daily basis. A few children survive in the early years when diagnosed with genetic abnormalities and heart disease. They suffer from major problems in their metabolism and suffer from cancer and many other types of dangerous diseases which take their life. The primary care professionals do not have the opportunity to detect these problems in children therefore unable to provide appropriate care for children.

Technology and medicine have been advancing rapidly over the years; it has helped to increase the life expectancy of many children in the country. With the lifespan approach, a new medical healthcare challenge has arisen. The most important topic for the research is an intellectual disability in children, human development, and child health over the lifespan. Moreover, the research also indicates that the social status of a child is an important aspect of their physical and mental well-being. there are many lifespan theoretical principles to determine the social status which helps to refine the hypothesis about the relationship of health and social status of children.

At any point of birth, the social status of a child can affect the child’s health; many healthcare professionals have found out that the social status of a child before birth and during lifespan development is a constant feature for improving their health.

References

Merrick, J. (2013). Child health and human development over the lifespan. Retrieved 18 April 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3854993/