Unhealthy Practices Impacting Children's Brain Development
posted on Feb 21, 2024
We all want our children to grow into smart and intelligent individuals. However, in today’s fast-paced world where children are surrounded by digital distractions and are engulfed in a sedentary lifestyle
We all want our children to grow into smart and intelligent individuals. However, in today’s fast-paced world where children are surrounded by digital distractions and are engulfed in a sedentary lifestyle, a decline in the overall physical and cognitive health of children has been noticed. Whether it is about remaining glued to screens for hours and hours together, being highly picky about food, or lack of physical activity – there are numerous such factors that have been found to have a negative impact on the brain development of children.
Owing to the same, we at Gurukul The School, regarded as the best school in Ghaziabad, decided to delve into the alarming rise of unhealthy practices that are detrimentally affecting children's brain development and educate masses about the most common of such bad habits through this blog post. So, let’s quickly have a look without any further ado.
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Excess Addiction to Screens:
As a parent, if you sit down to compare your child’s life with your own childhood, one glaring difference that you are most likely to spot is in terms of physical activity. While the generation back then enjoyed spending time outdoors in the playground or a park, today’s children enjoy every bit of the indoors staying glued to screens that offer everything right from learning and games, to entertainment.
Even though this comes across as a new-age mechanism and technological upgrade, in the backdrop, excess screen time only ends up playing havoc with children’s brains. Screen time interferes with the normal structure and functioning of the brain. This, in turn, gives rise to problems such as interrupted sleep cycles, poor attention span, behavioral issues, and degrading mental health in the form of anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders.
Hence, limiting screen time is one of the first steps that need to be taken in order to take care of children’s brain.
You may find it hard to believe but poor eating habits with heavy inclination on junk are also known to deter brain health in children. This is exactly why we at Gurukul The School coax parents and guardians to take a personal interest in children’s nutrition.
We have seen that most children who are fussy about eating tend to miss out on a balanced diet, and as a result, they remain lacking in essential nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals like iron, zinc, and iodine, and micronutrients. This impacts neural growth and cognitive function very badly, and this is why taking cognizance of this bad habit becomes all the more important.
As you may already know, all of us are blessed with an internal body clock, which functions effectively when we have a well-defined sleep cycle and goes for a toss when our sleep schedule stays disturbed.
This becomes a matter of concern among children because an unstable body clock has a direct impact on children’s brain. This is exactly why it becomes necessary to pre-define children’s sleep and waking up times while keeping them constant for a continued period of time. Not to forget, sleep deprivation and concentration difficulties are closely related.
Even though children are often considered to be tiny, hyperactive beings who enjoy being all over the place, it is safe to state that times are changing. Today’s children have knowingly and unknowingly become accustomed to sedentary lifestyles. Physical activities have taken a backseat in their lives. This is one of the triggers behind the brain not responding as desired.
Poor physical activity restricts blood flow to the brain and fails to support brain function, which eventually stagnates children’s overall growth and development. Hence, the need of the hour is to encourage children to invest in movement too.
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Living with Perpetual Stress:
It is common for people to assume that children do not experience bouts of stress, which is why stress and stress-related problems go totally ignored. However, we at Gurukul The School, regarded as the top schools in Ghaziabad, would like to draw your attention to the very fact that children experience stress, in some cases chronic stress, which directly impacts children’s brain health. The problem with stress is that it interferes with brain development, impacts learning and memory, and is responsible for emotional aggravations, too. Hence, sitting down with children, having open-ended conversations with them, and seeking professional help whenever and wherever necessary are a few things you, as a parent, should never take for granted.
Summing Up:
All this while, if you have been keen about caring for your child’s brain, we at Gurukul The School recommend that you focus and work on helping your child get rid of the above-listed habits. Don’t forget to take children on your side by educating them about the damage the bad habits are doing to their brain. Of course, this is not something that can be brought to life overnight. However, with continued attention and effort in this direction, we are certain your child will definitely get over such unhealthy practices and begin leading a healthy life.