What are the manifestations of the relationship between parenting and children’s health?

The concept of parenting and daily behaviors will affect the health of children from head to toe, from body to emotion. Factors related to parenting can be found behind almost all health problems in children's growth period.

When I was doing children's health education in the community, I met many families where the elderly chased after feeding their babies, stuffing their babies with braised pork and fried chicken drumsticks for fear that they would not have enough to eat. As a result, many children were overweight when they were only three or four years old, accumulated food, and had recurrent respiratory infections. On the contrary, they were in poorer physical condition than babies who had a balanced diet. There has always been a lot of controversy in this part. Take the addition of complementary foods as an example. Traditional parenting experience always says that egg yolk rice cereal can be added at 4 months. There are also authoritative guidelines that clearly recommend adding high-iron complementary foods after 6 months of age. Some clinical pediatricians will also recommend that children with rapid development should try a small amount of complementary foods after more than 5 months of age based on the specific situation of the child's teething and loss of tongue thrust reflex. Different feeding plans are suitable for different situations. There is no absolute standard answer. There has also been a hot debate recently about "can we give snacks to babies?" Some people think that snacks with many additives should be banned. Some nutritionists also suggest that as long as you choose low-sodium and low-sugar snacks that meet national safety standards, giving them to your baby in appropriate amounts can help him establish correct dietary boundaries and avoid the problem of retaliatory eating when he grows up.

Many parents always think that "if a child is not sick, he is healthy", but they ignore the impact of parenting styles on children's mental health, which can even translate into real physical symptoms. I once had contact with a 7-year-old boy who always complained of headaches and stomachaches. He went to several departments for examinations but no organic problems were found. After asking for a long time, he found out that his parents were very strict with him. He had to get full marks in exams and would be scolded for making any mistakes. Finally, he was diagnosed by the psychology department as a somatic reaction caused by long-term anxiety. Discussions on this part have never stopped. Many parents advocate "frustration education" and believe that putting more pressure on children from an early age can develop a strong heart. Some child psychologists have clearly stated that suppressive "frustration education" without support is not education at all. It will only repeatedly consume the child's psychological energy, but will make his ability to resist frustration worse.

Another point that is easily overlooked is that the words and deeds during the parenting process will directly affect the child's social adaptability. This is also a very important component of the concept of "health" defined by the World Health Organization. There used to be a father in the community. When he took his baby downstairs to play, he always took the initiative to guide his child to share toys with other children. When there was a conflict, he would not scold the child. Instead, he would squat down and teach him how to communicate with his peers. His child had many friends in the kindergarten and was happy every day. He even caught fewer colds during the seasons than other children. Previous relevant research also mentioned that a stable and positive social status can indeed improve children's immunity to a certain extent.

In fact, to put it bluntly, parenting is like taking care of the growing environment for a young sapling that has just emerged. If you give it the right water, fertilizer, and enough light, it will naturally take root and grow strong. If it is either drought or flooded, and you still have nothing to do with its roots, it will naturally be prone to problems.