Give the importance of growth and development as a holistic framework for assessing and promoting health?

Question

Give the importance of growth and development as a holistic framework for assessing and promoting health?

Answer 1

Childhood is the foundation of life.  As Jesus pointed out, a house built on stone instead of sand is a house that will stand.

Children raised in a loving household will be more likely to be healthy in mind and body.  When I took my baby for his first checkup at the doctor, I had my child sitting on the table while I stood with my arms holding him, the doctor entered and said that he could tell a good mother because so many mothers are across the room from their child.  I remember a commerical by the Mormon church that went "have you hugged your child today."  In anthropology information, Neanderthals are believed to have included all members in the hunt which led to short lives. In psychology, a study done on WWII Germany blamed child abuse as the cause of war crimes.

Answer 2

All human communities have recognized growth and development as the primary task of parental responsibility, to be shared by the community, which supports and reinforces successful parents, and corrects and compensates the deficiencies of those who are not so successful. The children are the all important treasures of all communities.

In 'simple societies', i.e., where community is small, contact intimate, and technology unspecialized, the child and its world is not alien. Bringing up the children is part of the entire life cycle and belief system adopted by the community. The mother constantly keeps the baby close to her even while at work, tied to her back, and suckles it on demand. The young children form a group of their own, imbibing discipline along with the life style of the tribe. When the adults go out into the forest or for work, the grand parents too old to do so train the children in the myths, folk lore, tribal arts and skills. Many communities have elaborate coming of age ceremonies separately for boys and girls. Gender roles do not imply inferiority complexes.

In some, e.g., Abujh Maria, etc., Gonds, there is the institution of Ghotuls, or dormitories, for girls and boys separately. They say that as soon as a child starts noticing the sexuality of the parents, it is time to put him/her in the dormitory. The girls have one and the boys, another. Elderly women/men are in charge of it, but governance is by consensus. The children do all the work in the dormitory, and often work as labour contract societies to do work for others. The community as a whole maintains the ghotul. The children arrange for the customary art festivals, and help in the conduct of the religious rites. Girls and boys are allowed to mix freely. In one type of ghotul, if a boy and a girl date one another several times, the leaders of the ghotul try to stop that, and encourage them to seek other partners. In others, if the boy and the girl concerned are not prohibited from marrying each other by the community norms, then marriages are arranged. Please read Elwin's classical descriptions.

Modern societies, especially those as in India influenced by Mid-Victorian hypocrisies, adopted restrictive systems in the belief that children should be only heard, not seen. Post modern society seems to be returning to the wisdom of holistic integration, age-wise, of its different categories of members.