Child & Adolescent Health + sexual health Flashcards
(41 cards)
What does Honouring the Child mean?
It is putting the universal needs of children first. Strategies can be developed to meet our pressing needs:
* build a community
restore planet health
peace-making
creating a sustainable economy that supports the well-being of children & families
What are 3 givens when it comes to the philosophy of honouring the child?
- Primacy of the early days, since they are the gateway to being a humane being
- We face planet degradation
- Crisis calls for systemic response
What are the 9 guiding principles of honouring the child?
1- Respectful love
2- Diversity
3- Caring Community
4- Conscious Parenting
5- Emotional Intelligence
6- Nonviolence
7- Safe Environments
8- Sustainability
9- Ethical Commerce
What are the triggers for children/adolescent mental health?
- Familial History
- Challenges with emotions
- Internalizing stress
- loss/conflict with close friends or family members
- Relationships ending (romantic ones)
- Boredom/lack of routine
- Changes in eating/sleeping habits
- Personality Changes
- Mood swings
- Reckless behaviour
- Dropping grades
- Bullying/social exclusion
- Discrimination/stigma around sexual identity
- Social/Systemic racism & injustice
- Stressful, traumatic life events
- Physical/medical issues
- Disinterest in favourite hobbies
- Substance use
- Isolation from family & friends
- Hopelessness/feeling trapped
- Feeling like a burden/not belonging
What are the two things that help build resilience?
Fostering coping skills & having a lifestyle that help develop it.
What can you do to foster coping skills?
- Have a reliable presence of at least one relationship
- Support problem solving
- Reframe disappointments
- Face fears - with support
- Nurture optimism
- Encourage communication of needs, feelings & thoughts
What are some of the lifestyle habits that can build resilience?
- Establish routines
- Regulate sleep routine
- Optimize nutrition for brain health
- Connect with nature
- Move regularly
- Foster self-esteem & self-concept through physical activity
- Mastery of a skill
- Foster relationships with peers, coaches, teachers, family, etc.
- Foster spirituality
What is spirituality?
It is not the same as religion. Spirituality is the awareness of oneness, a sense of purpose/awe/discovery, realizing that life is bigger than you, and connecting to something bigger than yourself.
Where is spirituality from?
We’re all born with it. It is a muscle that needs to be nurtured and built. When it is, we are a LOT less likely to to be addicted & depressed/suicidal.
How can we foster spirituality as parents?
By transmitting the love of service (altruism) and love of neighbour (inclusion), through gratitude, and through mindful-based movement (yoga = deeper mind-spirit connection)
What are some of the disabilities that children can have?
- communication delays & disorders
- physical disabilities
- neurodevelopmental disabilities
- acquired brain injuries
- chronic and/or long-term medical conditions
- other specific diagnoses
What are some of the challenges that parents of children with disabilities can face?
- Giving them autonomy
- Planning activities,
- Caregiver burnout
- Being socially included
- Strained romance
- Neurotypical children may feel abandoned.
What is the statistic of autism diagnosis in Canada?
1 in 66 children is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Touches males more than females
The vast majority is diagnosed before 12
What are the 4 strategies to foster inclusion?
Be a role model: notice biases. speak up on discrimination/injustices/racism
Develop awareness & compassion: be friendly, respectful, helpful, loving, and aware of exclusion
Explain & celebrate differences
Educate through literature, media and personal experience.
What is body neutrality?
Focusing on what your body does for you instead of what it looks like.
What is body positivity?
Accepting, celebrating and loving the way your body looks, regardless of beauty standards.
How do you promote healthy body image and diversity in beauty for your child?
- modeling as a parent healthy body image (kids pick up on a lot)
- be conscious of your words and actions
- normalize all bodies
- media & social media literacy
- celebrating cultural diversity
- help them understand that bodies inevitably change and that it’s ok
- foster positive self-talk about the body
- DO NOT diet/weight control/instil metrics for their bodies to fit in
- instil a good body image through physical activity
- encourage intuitive eating
How do you support your child’s sexual identity/coming out?
- give them space
- listen to them without judgement
- do not make assumptions
- be conscious of what you are saying to them
- create a safe space and start the conversation around sexual identity when they are young
- ask about their ideas of gender
- read books that talk about the many different ways to be a boy/girl/other gender identities
- share & celebrate the community and make them understand that trans and gender-diverse people exist and belong to many communities who appreciate & love them
What should you be aware of when wondering if your child is ok/worrying about their gender?
- the school advocacy (what is the educational training/the school policies)
- your child may
- avoid school
- lose their concentration
- suffer from anxiety & depression
- their media exposure, their peer relations and their community support
- your own biases, use of language, lack of knowledge/compassion/understanding
What is the myth of virginity and where does it originate from?
Virginity was actually invented in the middle ages to ensure primogeniture
What is virginity testing? is it legal?
it is a gynaecological examination that checks if the hymen is intact. It is legal in Canada but banned in Quebec.
What is the danger of virginity testing?
It can usher into honour-based abuse, which is violence committed to protect the honour of an individual or a family or a community for an alleged breach of the code of behaviour
How does the myth of virginity harm women today?
- It is sexist
- It encourages shaming sex and sexuality
- It can escalate into violence
- It encourages cisheteronomativity
Why do we need STI destigmatization? How do we destigmatize?
Because even in our ex-positive society, STIs are taboo and associated with “improper” sexual behaviour. We must change the culture around STIs by changing the vocabulary (stop using clean & dirty) and by talking about STIs and safe sex practices aka GET TESTED
