Introduction To Children’s Health
Parents are worried for their child’s health from the day they conceive to the days when they reach the age of adolescence. For the proper growth of a child, it is important for every child to be physically active and participate in every activity to their full potential.
Ayurveda lays an equal emphasis on a child’s health and dedicates one of its branches ‘kaumarbhritya’ to the complete healthcare of a child. There is a separate branch for child health in Ayurveda as the health problems in children are not the same as in adults. A child grows rapidly and early childhood is a critical phase for the physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development.
CHILDREN’S GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
A child’s growth and development largely depend upon the health of a mother and the care taken of an infant after delivery. There are many things that need to be followed when a child is born and if one is not prepared it becomes bit tough to manage things so soon. There are many healthcare appointments for vaccinations and a regular visit to the doctor for keeping in check the health and milestone of a child. It is very challenging for a parent to take care of the child as they grow so fast and soon enter the age of adolescence.
The balance of their doshas prevents the diseases and maintains a healthy growth and development in a child.
ILLNESS IN CHILDREN
Childhood is the age when the immunity is low and they are prone to catch bacterial and viral infections. At the same time, it is not necessary that children with low immunity are the ones getting ill. Unfortunately, even a healthy child falls sick. It is vital for the parents to study about the common childhood illness and visit the doctor once the symptom is seen. There are certain common diseases such as tonsillitis, ear infection, common cold, cough etc that you cannot avoid. However, diseases that can be prevented through vaccination must be taken due care of
Prevention is the most important and foremost tool for maintaining the health of a child. Rasayana drugs in Ayurveda is well known for enhancing the immunity. Ayurvedic medicines offer prevention and cure for digestive disorders such as krimiroga (worm infestation), shwasa(respiratory disorders) etc and also helps in development of milestones.
CHILDREN’S BEHAVIOUR
Children’s behaviour and their mental health are very important for their wellbeing. Children might go through the anxiety and depression, attention deficit hyperactive disorder and learning disorders.
It is important to encourage good behaviour and have a constructive approach towards guiding children’s behaviour.
CHILDREN’S MENTAL ILLNESS
In Ayurveda a person is said to be healthy when there is balance of physical and psychological elements with proper elimination of toxicity. Ayurveda has shown a significant result in treatment of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety etc in children and adults.
HEALTH CARE FOR CHILDREN
The future of our society is on the shoulders of today’s children. For a country to progress it is important to take complete care of a child’s health. A child’s health determines his/her mental and physical wellbeing across the lifespan. Even our ancient text has laid emphasis on health care of a child and this can be made out from the fact that ayurveda gives an importance to the position of Balchikitsa among the 8 branches. Different children respond in different way towards medication and diseases. Thus, appropriate care is required and Ayurvedic health care for children in tailored individually.