Supporting the Emotional and Physical Wellbeing of Children

This course covers a range of important themes including:

• Defining health and well-being
• Professional roles in promoting health
• Integrating health led services within early years; challenges and dilemmas
• Theoretical frameworks for well-being e.g. ecological models
• Current issues in public health
• Emotional health, childhood obesity, poverty, allergies, sun sense, physical activity, nutrition etc.
• The effects of environment and society on health and well-being
• Changing demography - the effects of working mothers; increased divorce; older parents; multicultural effects; violence in the family; the child's place in society and the influences of family and parenting style.; inequalities in health, the relationship between child and adult health
• Psychological aspects of health and well-being
• Emotional health and well-being including attachment theories, the development of strong attachments and the consequences of poor attachment; the importance of good parenting and of developing resilience and coping strategies; bullying at school; stress in education; family life; mental health issues; developing emotional intelligence; analysis of attachment relationships with parents and professional carers including key worker roles
• Biological aspects of health
• The importance of brain development to physical and emotional health and well-being
• Promoting public health
• Health promotion theories and persuasive techniques
• Inter-professional working policy; legislation and governmental strategies
• The effects of childhood education on child health and life chances

On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:

• Discuss and review attachment theories.
• Critically analyse their work with multi-disciplinary teams.
• Explain the effects of attachment and poor attachment on the development of the brain.
• Reflect on and evaluate their own practice in relation to meeting the individual emotional needs of children.