Guest post by David Shanklin, Senior Health Specialist, ChildFund International
When a child becomes malnourished, permanent physical and neurological changes may occur. A lack of iron, iodine and other micronutrients directly affect the growth of children, and may have permanent consequences on cognitive development, if not addressed.
At the same time, children with nutritional deficits often disengage and withdraw, which may be interpreted by the parent or caregiver as a sign of disinterest. The child may also become irritable and difficult, which creates an emotional tug-of-war within the already stressed family. Parents and children become at odds, with neither understanding the underlying causes, or possible simple solutions.
When undernourished children undergo physical and emotional changes, or behave differently from their siblings, parents involuntarily react to them differently. And when children perceive a change in how parents treat them, it reinforces their sense of being unwanted, or ignored. The stressed parents’ reaction may cause the child to even further withdraw and eat poorly. This vicious cycle can become self-reinforcing, with potentially mortal consequences.
Malnourished children will be more vulnerable to illnesses and tend to recover more slowly, setting in motion periods of inadequate growth, resulting in stunting.
It makes an enormous difference in a child’s life when parents understand child development—how their children acquire the skills they will need to become independent — and how the skills build on one another, from the most basic (such as voice recognition), to more complex skills (language and social).
So ChildFund trains not only parents but also community volunteers and teachers about the physical, social and cognitive development processes of the earliest years, in the context of healthy eating habits and a good diet. Education further focuses on how to provide a quality of experience that supports these processes.