Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Blog 5: Development fears over half of English five-year-olds

Jordan Rolph
Blog 5
February 15, 2011
6:44 p.m.

Public health experts say, nearly half of children in England are not reaching a good level of development by the age of five. Developing a good level is a guide to better health in the future. Experts also say regular bedtimes are a key component to predict future health: life expectancy, disability-free life expectancy, and child development. Children at the age of five are assessed on their behavior and understanding. Experts say children should be able to share, self-motivate, co-operate and concentrate by the time they start school. Sir Michael Marmot, British Medical Association, found 44% of all five-year-old's in England are not considered by their teachers to have reached that level. This puts stress on the teachers because some of their students are at the “normal” level and others are behind. Child development experts say reading to your children every day and putting them to bed at regular times will have a positive impact on their development. Research shows poorer families are less likely to engage in these kinds of activities. The difference in life expectancy in England for men between the poorest and the wealthiest is more than nine years and for women it is about six years. In England, the difference in disability-free life expectancy between the wealthiest and poorest men is about ten years and for women it is nine years. Sir Michael said, “There is no question that inequalities in society are, in large measure, responsible for inequalities in early child development.” The other park of this problem is parenting. If parents are depressed, poor, and cannot support their children, we must be there for the parents. If parents cannot read to their child/children every day, then someone needs to step in and help because it can make a huge difference. Most importantly, these figures provide information that can be used to address and cure inequalities that are present in many societies.

Health leads to many issues and now we are seeing in England studies it is leading to the student’s performance in the classroom. Children need to have stable homes in order to go to school and perform their best. Also, it is not the teacher’s responsibility to have to get students who are behind in line with the others. Teachers are there to educate their students not make up for lost time. Parents are forgetting their role in their child's life and need to realize how important their impact at home is on them. Health affects someone from their childhood all the way to adulthood. It needs to be addressed, but it can’t always be put on the education system to fix global and social problems. Just like Sir Michael said in the quote above, inequalities in society are a large issue and responsible for a child’s development.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12423543

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