Physical Health and Growth of a Child

This article throws light upon the four major factors contributing to physical health and growth. The factors are: 1. Family-Line, Heredity (Race) 2. Socioeconomic Status, Health, Family, Surroundings 3. Emotions 4. Other Extrinsic Reasons. 

Physical Health and Growth: Factor # 1.

Family-Line, Heredity (Race):

“The moment of conception, when the parents’ cells fuse, and when a unique biological pattern is fixed, is the most important moment in the life of a child. At that time a pattern for future growth and development of the individual is set.”

The potentialities of the child are something which the child is born with. To what extent the same will be realised, depends upon the kind of postnatal environment of the child. Direction of development is also dependent upon his environment.

If the child does not get a congenial environment for the realisation of his inherited potentialities, which are an endowment of nature, a part or the whole of some potentialities may be depressed—”a potential genius may become a moron” because of brain injury. However, it depends upon the endowments of nature as to how he will make use of his environment [nurture].

Musical environment may be very stimulating for one whose pitch and tune discriminations are sensitive, and, who is also, emotionally, able to respond to music. On the other hand, a child who has not been so equipped by nature or heredity will not be able to be benefited even by the congenial environment.

Two children, brought up in a similar environment may not grow up to the same level in different fields of growth and development because of the hereditary differences. One, who by birth is intellectually superior to the other endowed less in intellectual potentialities, will be able to exploit his environment in a better way.

Some defects and deficiencies may be congenital, transmitted in the family-line from generation to generation and will prove such hurdles in the growth and development of the child, as can hardly be removed. Again, there may be a case where one may succeed in achieving a certain level of growth and development, in spite of the environment not being so suitable, only because of this better heredity.

Some individuals are more susceptible to certain diseases because of “certain genetic combinations”. Tuberculosis, diabetes or certain mental illnesses are common diseases; but these diseases may be there also were no such family history is available.

For example, tuberculosis may be caused:

(i) Because of exposure to tubercle bacillus;

(ii) Because of genetic make-up; or

(iii) Because of unhy­gienic living conditions and nutrition.

Some people are born with such a poor resistance, that even the best possible environment may not prove to be very protective for them. Diabetes is a hereditary disease but it, too may develop, partly because of one’s diet, and, partly because of one’s physical conditions of living—though a family history may not exist.

Some disease or injury to pancreas, may also cause diabetes. If a child has got constitutionally a weak nervous system, he may develop certain types of mental illness because of a certain environmental factor.

Soldiers posted at very difficult places, difficult because of inclement weather conditions, may be due to great altitudes or desert or other geographical reasons; and also because of living lonely, far-far away from their near and dear ones, have been found, sometimes to have developed some or the other sort of mental illness. Even the best psychological constitution may break down, because of strong nervous strain.

If a child has a familial tendency towards disease, then the environmental factors need to be more carefully controlled. Sleeping, eating, activities, adjustments to one’s circumstances and two people are all included in the environment. Children with constitutional weaknesses, require particular help in meeting their needs.

Every child needs to be developed in such a way that he can assume his responsibilities to his satisfaction and to the satisfaction of others who are concerned. Children having hereditary or some sort of congenital problem, may be having inborn constitutional frailty and need particular help. Such children are more likely to suffer from undue fear and anxiety.

All genetic differences are produced because of differences in physiological processes of cells. By means of these processes, tissues and organs emerge, and they arrange themselves into a harmonious whole which bears the unique characteristics of the individual.

Certain abnormalities may be caused by abnormal chromosomal behaviour. For example, if instead of 46, there are 47 chromosomes, the child will be a mongoloid, and, characterised by some specific abnormalities in structure. His physical and mental developments are also retarded.

One single characteristic may be the result of many genes; as genes do not act in isolation by themselves, but they react with the cytoplasm of the cell. The genes also act upon one another. Nevertheless, it is one single gene which first becomes active in the process, that involves other genes, and the cytoplasm of the cell.

Height, pigmentation, longevity, degree of intelligence, and resistance to disease much depend upon the different genetic processes. The regular metabolic process, may also be affected by inborn subnormal genetic interference.

The excessive secretion of the phenyl pyruvic acid in the urine, causes mental impairment; pigmentation of the hair is also a little disturbed by it—the condition thus developed, is called Phenylketonuria. Phenylketonuria is a hereditary defect caused by the genes inherited from both the parents. A special diet may go a long way to treat the condition.

Some genes are changed by mutation—though it occurs rarely. Sex chromosome, X and Y, produce characteristics that are sex-linked. Some characteristics are sex-limited, for example. Baldness is limited to males only. Baldness is an example which verifies sex control or modification.

If rickets is caused in spite of rich intake of vitamin D, the genetic action may be responsible for the same. A genetic action may not have its full impact on the growth and development of the child, if the impact of environment is to the other effect.

A good example of the impact of environment is the height, which differs from race to race, and country to country. Mark the difference in height between that of an American, and of Japanese.

Physical Health and Growth: Factor # 2.

Socioeconomic Status, Health, Family, Surroundings:

Broadly speaking, Nurture includes all—diet, child-care in general, family surroundings, health conditions of the child and other members of the family. All these reflect the socioeconomic status of the family. So, socioeconomic status is an important factor which has a great role to play in the processes of growth and development.

The impact of heredity (Nature) and that of family-environment (Nurture) or environment of the surroundings of the child in general, happen to be so interlocked, that it is very difficult to assess to what degree each has separately affected the growth and development of the child. Of course, the impact of each should be studied separately, to realise the importance of each factor.

First, we shall see how illness may affect the growth and development of the child. During the period of illness, the growth of height is slowed, or may even be suspended. So, long periods of illness would have their permanent effect on the process of growth.

Severe illness affects metabolic processes, and, it adversely affects the growth of heights. Prolonged illness also affects the muscles; they lose some of their tone and grow flabby. If the harm caused by illness is not timely corrected, fatigue would be very frequent and the postures of the body would be distorted.

Even bones are affected by some long serious illnesses, and the results may be rickets or even infantile paralysis. Illness may produce anaemia. Frequent lowered fatigue after illness, may be due to lowered haemoglobin cover.

Genuine recovery from illness, therefore, means not only to be free from the symptoms of illness but also return to the state of positive health. Even after the disappearance of the symptoms of illness, the parents should be in no hurry in sending their child to school, if the illness has been of the serious nature. For some days, the body lacks its usual reserve of energy, and because of that, tiredness becomes very frequent.

A prolonged rheumatic fever may cause damage to heart; scarlet fever may affect the kidneys in a bad way, or, deafness may be the sequel of this fever; poliomyelitis may cause paralysis, and encephalitis may damage the brain. Physical therapy may help a little in modifying these handicaps and, in enabling the child to adjust himself to the situation. So, all efforts should be made for the prevention of these diseases.

Socioeconomic status, in general, is such an important factor, upon which depends the diet, condition of the house and its sanitary arrangements, the locality of the house, and the general living standard of a family. AU these are very much relevant when we consider the growth and development of the child. Material well-being offers physical development.

Meredith (1951), after many studies, concluded that boys of the professional and major managerial classes were taller and heavier than those of the unskilled and semiskilled classes—”diet, housing conditions, health practices, occupational demands and selective mating are possible contributing factors.”

However, it is not always easy to determine as to what extent environment has affected growth and development in a certain case. This is because the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated are equally affected by a congenital or chronic disease. Some chronic diseases occur later in adulthood, with a much higher percentage of evidence among the poor.

Fielder (1951), in an attempt to survey the possible causes of hearing defects among the young school-going children, found that the great majority of such children were from the families with low socioeconomic status, and, were under-privileged.

Even parents of some of them were found to be suffering from long-term malnutrition and chronic diseases. Children, belonging to families with low socioeconomic status, generally, lack in vigour and ambition which are necessary to improve their condition.

Some children will not be having even normal intellects because of unsuitable family conditions—hereditary, nutritional and social factors, all may be contributing to thwart the normal course of physical growth and development.

Poverty may be compelling some children to do hazardous jobs. They suffer from malnutrition as the food they take does not happen to be containing the necessary ingredients in sufficient quantity. There are families which cannot afford food, milk, fruit in required quantity for their children and others.

Lack of vitamins, minerals, fats, protein, carbohydrates and so on, causes diseases of different nature, which in consequence, adversely affect the growth and development of the child. In some cases, because of lack of education, the desirable conception regarding food may not be there in the family.

For example. Vitamin A is essential for normal growth, formation of skin, glands and bones, and for the proper functioning of eye sight. Its deficiency causes imperfect calcium metabolism, formation of teeth, cartilage, imbalance of the intestinal flora and night blindness.

The amount of essential intake for infants, is 1,500 IU, and for children ranging between 2 and 5 years, it is 2,000 to 5,000 IU; adults require 5,000 IU daily. Its sources are liver, butter, margarine, milk, eggs, yellow and orange fruits, green vegetables, cod liver oil and halibut liver oil.

Deficiency of Vitamin B results in loss of appetite, impaired digestion of starches, constipation and diarrhoea, and beriberi. Severe deficiency of this vitamin results in various nervous disorders and loss of coordinating power of muscles. More specifically, lack of B₂ causes cheilosis, weakness and impaired growth; niacin deficiency results in pellagra, gastrointestinal disturbances, and mental disturbance. Cyanocobalamin deficiency results in anaemia.

Sources of vitamins B and a larger number of its related vitamins are as follows:

Thiamine (B₁): Wheat germ, bread, pork, potatoes, liver, milk; Riboflavine (B₆): liver, eggs, milk; Nicotine acid (Niacin): Yeast, liver, bread, wheat germ, milk, kidney; Pyridoxine (B^): meat, fish, milk, yeast; Biotin: liver, yeast, milk, butter; Pantothenic acid: liver, yeast, eggs, and many other foods; Cyanocobalamin (B₁₂): liver, kidney, eggs, fish; Folic Acid— (also called Vitamin Bc): green vegetables, liver, mushrooms, yeast.

Daily intake of vitamin B and the related vitamins, as recommended for the different age groups, is as under:

Deficiency of Vitamin C results in lowered vitality; flaccid joints; dental caries; lowered resistance to infection; fibrous tissue abnormalities. Severe deficiency results in haemorrhage, anaemia, and scurvy.

Sources of Vitamins C (ascorbic acid): Citrus fruits; rose-hip syrup, black currants, fresh vegetables, tomatoes.

Vitamin C increases resistance to infection; it keeps the skin in a healthy condition; it improves the circulation, the condition of gums and of other body tissues, and promotes healing of wounds.

Recommended daily intake of Vitamin C:

Vitamin D is essential for the proper utilisation of calcium and phosphorus, and thus directly influences the structure of bones and teeth.

Blood chemistry is also affected by it. Elderly people, living in temperate areas, and more especially, the dark skinned people, may fail to synthesise this vitamin in sufficient quantity.

Deficiency of vitamin D results in interference with calcium and phosphorus metabolism; weakness and irritability. Its severe deficiency in children may cause rickets, and osteomalacia in adults.

Its sources are—butter, egg yolk, fish liver oils and oily fish, yeast. The vitamin can be synthesised by the skin under the stimulus of sunlight or ultraviolet light.

Recommended daily intake of Vitamin D:

Note:

Where there is sufficient sun-lights available, its deficiency, generally, does not occur.

Vitamin E:

About the physiological activity of this vitamin, an exact and detailed knowledge is still lacking. Animal experiments have suggested that it is related to reproductive cycle and fertility. It may have its effect on the ageing process. It is available in most foods, particularly in green vegetables.

Vitamin K:

It is responsible for the biosynthesis of prothrombin and for maintaining plasma prothrombin levels.

Vitamin K is found in green leafy vegetables and in liver.

Regarding the per day needful quantity of this vitamin, nothing is known with definiteness. Nevertheless, it has been suggested that the daily intake of children should be 1 microgram. Protein is necessary for the growth of the body and for the repair of the body tissues.

They are found as amino acids formed by the combination of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen in various quantities. Beans, meat, eggs, fish and milk are rich in proteins.

Carbohydrates are organic compounds, and derive from sugar and starch. They are made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Carbohydrates provide energy to the body. Fat is the white or oily substance in the body. It stores energy and protects body against cold.

Especially, the type of food which supplies proteins and vitamins A and D, generally, happens to be fats. Lard or butter and other oily substances used for cooking, are rich in fat.

Fat is a necessary part of diet because it contains vitamins and energy giving calories. Fat may be available either from animals, that is animal fats; or from vegetables, that is vegetable fats. Butter, meat, cream, and other milk products, fall in the first category, and are saturated fatty acids.

Animal fats are more likely to raise the level of cholesterol in the blood to the risky point, while the vegetable fats in the diet keep down the level of cholesterol in the blood, and so, lessen the risk of atherosclerosis. To believe that a low fat diet can always reduce weight is a misconception. Saturated fat may prove harmful in some cases, as it contains the largest possible amount of hydrogen.

Minerals are inorganic substances, and are needed by the body for growth and for its proper functioning. The most important among them are calcium, iron, phosphorus, and iodine. Calcium is found in cheese, milk and green vegetables; it helps the growth of bones, and helps in blood clotting. Iron is found in bread and liver; it helps in producing red bloods cells.

Phosphorus is found in bread and fish; it is also helpful in the growth of bones and the metabolism of fats. Iodine is found in ordinary salt and in fish. It is essential for the functioning of thyroid gland. Its deficiency may cause goitre.

Water is very much essential for life. 50 per cent of our body is made up of water. A normal adult needs 2.5 litres (5 pints) of fluid each day. Water taken into the body, is passed out as urine or sweat.

There are families to whom even pure drinking water is not available easily in a sufficient quantity. The water that they consume may not be clean and hygienic as it may contain harmful organic and inorganic substances. Such water would cause diseases of different sorts, and the same would adversely affect the growth and development of the child.

The utensils used for storing and drinking water, should be clean and free of germs and other harmful substances. For the proper growth and development, wholesome living conditions and habits are essential. The wholesome living includes not only dietary pattern or food style but clothing and housing too.

Clothes should be clean through timely and proper washing, and, should not be too tight to obstruct the growth of body.

The house should be airy, with proper ventilation for the fresh air to enter and the exhaled air to pass out. If possible, proper sunlight should also come into the house, according to the need of the season. Care needs to be taken to keep the house free of dinginess and dampness.

Slum-dwellers or those compelled to living in narrow and dirty locations, cannot escape heaps of filth lying around and a foul smell emanating from the same. The people living there, generally, happen to be prone to different ailments and the children are the first to fall prey to infections.

Physical Health and Growth: Factor # 3.

Emotions:

Affection, especially of the mother for her child, is a great motivating factor in the process of development. It affects the biological chemistry of the child – the activity of glands or secretion of hormones is affected by the emotions of the child, or by the emotions and feelings of mother and other elders of the family to which the child reacts.

A background of love and security is a great help in the normal growth and development of the child. Its absence may affect the process of development adversely.

If the needs of the child are satisfied in time and in a proper way; if the room of the child is well—stocked with play things—these too serve as factors for keeping the child in a good mood, that is in keeping him emotionally satisfied and happy.

A stimulating family environment is very much needed for keeping the child emotionally healthy. The warmth of affection and a feeling of security, indirectly, help in the process of child’s development.

Physical Health and Growth: Factor # 4.

Other Extrinsic Reasons:

Various longitudinal studies on growth were conducted at the University of Michigan. It was found that “children of the same family tend to show a notable similarity in their patterns of growth.” Bayer and Bayley (1961) studied shifts in growth pattern.

Growth was induced by the use of 17 alpha-ethyl-19 non-testosterone or methandrostenoline. Growth was accelerated. In 7 of the 16 boys, there was gain in height because of treatment; two of the four girls, were likewise benefited. The treatment was continued over a period of six months. In case of three boys and two girls, there was no gain because of this treatment.

“There are some children, who, in spite of the best environments, are underweight, perhaps have poor muscular tone or are just not robust. When such a child is seen with his parents, he may be recognised as a cliff off the old block.”

School should also be included into the extrinsic reasons that affect the growth and development of the child. There was a time, when the general practice in India was to send children to school at around five years of age. Now, majority of the children are admitted into the nurseries by the age of three.

So, the impact of school, in the process of child’s development, has become very important. If there are a lot of nursery toys and other items of playing and physical activities, which can stimulate the children to indulge in different sorts of physical and mental activities, they would help in the development of the child.

Contrary to this, if schools still run as institutions, where only 3 Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic) are taught, and the children have to follow a strict routine, then the environment cannot be considered to be one conducive to the wholesome development of the child. If the physical environment is not hygienic, comfortable and pleasant, it may have negative impact on the normal process of development.

“The school should do everything possible to provide a physical environment which is conducive to the physical well-being and working efficiency; an atmosphere which is conducive to mental health, and in which stimulation to learn is provided without nervous tension.” The site for the school, the plan of the building, the equipment for the use of the students and the teachers, all are important.

The school, should be functional, adaptable and aesthetic. Nemir, A suggests that a school should be planned in such way, whose space, light, heat, ventilation, toilet facilities, locker space and equipment for work are provided in a manner which allows for safety, health and comfort of pupils and teachers.

Desks and chairs should be such where the child may sit comfortably in proper posture. “Bad postural habits cause physical and psychological difficulties.”

Health services should be child centered rather than defect-centered. They should be family-oriented too. “Home-school understanding and co­operation are generally accepted as basic to smooth continuity of growth, as the child moves from the home into the new and different environment of the school.” The child moves back and forth between home and school experiences.

Parents differ in their ambition, and expectations from the school but they should not forget that a school has to attend to the needs and comforts of many of its students. Partially, it cannot be always possible to attend to all the less important needs of all individual students.

Therefore, school and home co-operation is a must to cater to the needs of the children. Under a democracy, a parent has a right to expect many things from the state, essential for the growth and development of the child.

At the same time, if the attitude of the parent towards an institution of the state, as a school is not proper, it may sabotage anything the latter may be doing for the welfare of the child. “Home-school contact should be a conscious part of the programme of every school.”

Report-cards may serve as a means to keep the parents/guardians, informed of the developmental condition or needs of the child. The formal card system may be dispensed with if there is a regular system of having a personal conference with parents, to inform them of the developmental conditions and needs of their wards.