As part of our Teaching across the Curriculum module, in Health and wellbeing, we have been asked to watch and reflect upon two videos regarding issues around the health and wellbeing of children, and reflect upon what we have learnt from these in relation to our future practice.
One of the videos focussed on the importance of relationships in the lives of babies and young people; in particular the influence relationships have in creating the environment in which the developing brain responds to and grows accordingly to cope with.
The points made in the video emphasised to me just how significant the relationships a child grows up experiencing are – they seem to be the foundation of a humans psychological development. I understood that this influence over an initially ‘fragile’ developing brain, creates ‘key pathways’ in the brain that remain relatively fixed in adult life; and although not always apparent, these can effect a persons wellbeing.
Therefore, the relationships we provide children with have great impact on the way their brain develops and operates throughout their lives; and resultantly, I appreciated the importance of Suzanne (the video’s speaker) ending question. As professionals, we must ask ourselves: what kind of brain am I allowing children to develop? What environment am I creating for this child’s brain development to be framed by? By doing so, we can ensure that we actively address any potentially problematic influence we are having; and ensure that the environment we do create has a positive impact. it is clear that the relationships we provide pupils with, and promote between pupils, must be positive, respectful, and, in particular, ones that the children feel secure in. As Suzanne said, experiencing threatening relationships as opposed to secure ones can lead to a brain developing into one that is highly stressed and impacted negatively. The importance of establishing safety and security in a relationship has been further emphasised to me in my reading for placement; I have been looking into some of the additional support needs that are present in my placement class and have found a lot of literature on the topic to focus on the role that promoting and maintaining safe relationships in the classroom has in reducing the anxieties common in young people with additional needs such as attachment disorder and autism.
I also watched ‘Sugar crash’, a documentary exploring the detrimental effect of too much sugar being a part of our everyday diet. from a teaching perspective, i was struck by a comment made in the beginning of the documentary regarding a little girl who had tooth decay as a result of excess sugar – the video explained that she “had stopped smiling” which emphasised to me the issues that the impact of unhealthy diets have not only on the physical wellbeing of a child but also the social and emotional. Her tooth decay must have led to issues regarding self esteem and confidence, and resultantly would limit her self expression and communication. As a teacher, it is important i am mindful of the severity of this effect, and work towards increasing knowledge as to avoid it, but also to support children adequately when required.
I further noticed just how unaware I was of the ‘hidden’ sugars in everyday foods – foods that I have often seen in children’s lunch boxes, such as yoghurt drinks. These foods are often marketed as ‘healthy’, which could lead to confusion in parents and children as to what they should include in their daily diet. Teachers, by being aware of this and promoting this knowledge, could perhaps help establish a critical view in children and families of the marketing of food, equipping them with the skills needed to understand what is good to involve in daily diets.
I was very surprised to find that at 4 years old, a child should only consume 3tsp of sugar a day – clearly, this is not often the case. What does this mean for the health, behaviour and overall wellbeing of the young children I will teach? This information could be useful for me to draw upon in practice when trying to unpick the cause of disruptive behaviours in children. I am interested to explore further the possible effects of this, and will be mindful of promoting this information in classroom learning.
