Beijing Forum Focuses on Child Health, Development

Specialists on children's healthcare gathered at the "June 1st International Children Development Forum" held in Beijing to discuss the issue of children's mental and physical health, as well as their development, on June 1.

Taiwanese psychology expert Dr. Zhang Yijun attended the forum whilst delivering her speech titled "How to Best Encourage Children with a High Emotional Intelligence (EQ) to Embrace a Bright Future."

According to Zhang, parents play a significant role in child development both mentally and physically against a background of current social and technological change. Children who fell into bad habits were much influenced by their parents' improper behavior or wrongdoings.

Meanwhile, the highly-regarded educationist on children's EQ pointed out that parents should attach great importance to raising children's EQ, which has gained momentum against the long term reputed intelligence quotient (IQ) in recent years as people around the world became more connected to each other than ever before.

In Zhang's opinion, children's merits lie in high EQ and good habits, in place of high IQ, and that traditional morality promoted among children or students in the 1980s should remain in place. Obviously, it was necessary for children to keep fit no matter what has changed in terms of social trends including the increasingly urgent challenges with air pollution, smog and haze, and the global warming crisis.

Later, physician Jin Chunhua from the Children's Hospital Capital Institute of Pediatrics based in Beijing, shared her ideas on the topic of children's health. The nutritionist implied that shortages of iron and Vitamin D largely gave rise to the problem of today's worldwide malnutrition levels among children. To make matters worse, many parents are unaware of the dangers and even misguided by having their children take pain relief medicine as a treatment for diseases that are actually caused by a lack of iron and Vitamin D.

Jin stated that insufficient iron and Vitamin D intake can lead to mental disorders, asthma and obesity among children, something that may not easily be perceived or detailed by many parents. The specialist dedicated to improving children's health called on more parents to pay attention to children's diet whilst enhancing Chinese food safety.

Xie Hong, chief special advisor on parent-child relationships, who works for a leading Chinese infant food manufacturer, Beingmate, summarized that the forum advocated a well-balanced, all-around approach to child development. Xie reaffirmed that children's improper acts and unhealthy interests would exert a long term unwelcome effect on their future lives, and parents, along with the whole of society, should bear responsibility for guiding them to make sound choices.

Co-organized by Beingmate and Chinese organizations focused on women and children's health, the "7th International Children Development Forum" aimed to protect youngsters from harm and serve as a strong voice for supporting vulnerable groups of women and children.

(Source: Chinanews.com/Translated and edited by Women of China)