Welcome to Issues in Child Development and Health.  This course was created for adults who care for or about children.  The course explores health content areas that are influential to child development, health, and the health and wellness of our society.  The information within this handbook is research-based and addressed from a scientific standpoint.  There is certainly much more information regarding child development and health. This document serves as a summary of core concepts that are important for the development and health of children now and for the future.

As adults, we are very influential in the lives of children. Children are not born knowing how to do things and therefore rely heavily on our guidance in learning how to make healthy decisions for themselves. Children learn from what they see and hear.  Thus, another aspect of this course involves discussion of adult role modeling of attitudes and behaviors. Human behavior is complex, and none of us are perfect.  We are all “works in progress” and doing our best to exemplify positive strategies for healthy behavior can be extremely helpful for children. How well are we able to work to incorporate the recommendations that exist for children into our own lives?

It can be overwhelming to think about sharing health-related information with children.  There are some individuals who are hesitant to share health information with children at all.  However, rest assured, research has found that providing factual information at an age appropriate level helps young people to reduce their risks of adverse outcomes.  There are general recommendations regarding what is age appropriate, but since each individual child is different, we often need to use our best judgement in determining what approach to use.  We can also refer young people to reliable resources and teach them how to differentiate between reliable and non-reliable health information. Since we can’t be there to guide them for their entire lives, it is beneficial to help them learn how to make educated decisions for themselves.

Thank you for being an advocate for children and for doing what you can to help them become healthy, positive contributors to society.