Part 2… Teaching our kids about holistic health

It’s important for children to understand that health is much more than healthy eating and exercise. We need to encourage a holistic view of health, which considers physical wellbeing, as well as mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health. Health reflects the complex interactions of a person’s genetics, lifestyle, and environment. We can unpack these various components of holistic health and provide examples to help children understand the concept.

It’s important to highlight that all of these key components have equal importance, and we must ensure that each aspect of our holistic health is being nurtured and fostered.

We can also look to and learn from our first nations people and the manner in which they define health.

”Aboriginal health” means not just the physical well-being of an individual but refers to the social, emotional and cultural well-being of the whole Community in which each individual is able to achieve their full potential as a human being thereby bringing about the total well-being of their Community. It is a whole of life view and includes the cyclical concept of life-death-life.’

Ideally when kids talk about health and being healthy, we want to see that they include components of health promoting behaviours such as;

- getting enough sleep,

-eating regularly throughout the day and eating a wide variety of foods for enjoyment and to fuel their mind and body

-practising dental hygiene

-participating in activities that promote positive mental health,

-being socially connected to family and community,

- participating in joyful movement regardless of their shape and size.