Child development issues
Old friends in the brain
Hong Kong is a knowledge-based society, and children, in addition to having healthy bodies, need to be bright and intelligent to cope with academic studies and the challenges of entering society in the future. Parents today are aware of this. Some begin teaching their children while they are still in the womb, while others spend vast sums on learning tools, etc., hoping to promote better brain development in their children.
From a doctor's perspective, childhood is indeed a golden period for brain development, and appropriate training during this time can certainly enhance intelligence. However, the method is not to force-feed knowledge into a child's brain. For example, flashcards for recognising words might seem to allow a child to learn to read early, but the result is merely that the child learns a few English words sooner, with little benefit to overall brain development. What children truly need is interaction with their parents, because every one of us initially learns through imitation. Close contact with parents, such as talking and playing, develops their language skills, imagination, and so on. Some parents often delegate the task of educating their children to domestic helpers, or let their children play alone with tablets or English learning tools, all of which are of little benefit to a child's brain development.
To promote a child's brain development, they should be encouraged to try a variety of activities, exposed to diverse things in the world, and provided with high-quality parent-child time. Static activities can include parents reading stories to their children, role-playing, or singing, while dynamic activities can involve taking children outdoors to see plants and animals, going for runs, or playing football. This allows children to experience and explore various things, discover their individual interests and talents, and thus achieve true holistic development.
Regarding nutrition, people often ask whether children should be given DHA supplements or specially selected milk formulas containing DHA. My opinion is that I don't object to taking such supplements, as they don't have any side effects; but in reality, breastfed babies are the smartest. Rather than worrying about supplements, why not breastfeed your child!
It is worth noting that parents go to great lengths to improve their children's intelligence, yet overlook some illnesses that can affect a child's intellect, such as meningitis and encephalitis. In the past, elders often said that children would have their "brains burnt out" by fever, but in reality, fever itself does not "burn out" the brain. What they were referring to are illnesses like meningitis and encephalitis. This is because both conditions cause high fever and can lead to brain damage, resulting in intellectual problems.
Meningitis and encephalitis can not only cause permanent intellectual damage, but also pose a risk of slow learning, hearing and vision impairment, cognitive decline, abnormal behaviour, and epilepsy. As brain cells cannot regenerate once damaged, these problems are permanent.
Meningococcal meningitis is generally spread by contact with a patient's oral and nasal secretions and is more easily transmitted in crowded places such as schools. Japanese encephalitis, on the other hand, is spread by mosquitoes. Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea have higher incidence rates, and children in these regions have been fully vaccinated under government arrangements. In their early stages, these diseases are very similar to the common cold, and by the time abnormalities are discovered, the brain is often affected, which is most regrettable. Vaccines for Haemophilus influenzae type b, meningococcal meningitis, and Japanese encephalitis can currently prevent different types of encephalitis and meningitis, but as they are not yet included in the government vaccination programme, it is recommended that parents pay for them themselves.
Source: Urban Daily
