AUTOGRAPHS

Taking Care of Little Ones

Taking Care of Little Ones

By Julie Webb Kelley, RN, BAC

We all agree that children are different — emotionally, mentally, an dphysically.  However, for most of us it can be difficult to fathom that children are not miniature-sized adults.  Their bodies are different – inside and out.

“What’s so different?” You may ask.  Following is a limited list of physical characteristics that will unearth the uniqueness of a child’s body.  We’ll start at the top:

Physical Differences

• The Head is proportionately larger than the rest of the body and is heavier, making it the primary site of injury in a fall.  Accidents remain the leading cause of death for children – be proactive.
• The Throat is short and narrow, more easily prone to obstruction – even a small amount of swelling in this area can cause big problems.
• Muscles and Bones lack tone, power and coordination.  Developing muscles are attached to growing bones that are soft, pliable and have a higher percentage of cartilage than older bones.  A major muscle — the tongue — is large and has inadequate coordination.  Children under the age of four should not eat foods like popcorn, gum, grapes, nuts, etc.
• The Nervous System is continually developing right alongside muscle growth.  Often clumsiness is viewed by adults as carelessness, when the truth is growing muscles and developing nerves are the cause of misjudgments with most hand-eye coordination activities like setting things down too abruptly.
• The Immune System is under-developed and prone to infection; their reserve and stamina are not that of an adult’s.  Body temperature is more erratic and easily disturbed by illness. Keep their hands washed and their bodies rested.
• Metabolism — Children have a higher metabolic rate and, thus, need more sleep and food.  Sleeping is when growth and cellular repair take place.  Growth spurts are very real; growth continues – in all areas– into the teen years.
• Circulatory System – One of the biggest physical needs your child has, you cannot even see – it’s hydration.  Children have less circulating blood volume making them more prone to dehydration.  Thirst and irritability are signs that dehydration has already begun.

1. These physical idiosyncrasies are the framework of each child’s distinction.   However, there are some internal characteristics that make children just as original beyond the fragile flesh that holds them together.

Intrinsic Differences

• Playfulness – Albert Einstein was called “the Perennial Child.”  He played imagination games and was known to take time daily for ‘creative daydreaming’.  Children learn more quickly and efficiently through positive, playful experiences than through negative ones.  The word discipline means ‘to teach’.  Don’t wait for negative behaviors to surface before dealing with them, go ahead and teach the positive behaviors you desire.
• Change – Children embrace change, it’s a natural process for them – remember, growth spurts are real.  Abu-Jamal wrote, they “show us with their innocence and clarity the very face of God in human form, by which I simply mean that they mirror the greatest good we can conceive of.”
• Wonder – Since children accept change so readily it allows them to remain constantly impressed with life.  The way they marvel at a blade of grass or twirl around in circles – where is there a more tangible experience of wonder?

Is it beyond our capacity to be as fully impressed with life?  Not if we’re willing to grasp the bundle of amazement that resides inside and outside of every child. A reverence for children is a willingness to accept childhood for its own sake and children for who they really are – children, not adults. Childhood is not simply a process to make them into adults, but it is, in and of itself, the most fascinating leg of the journey we call life.

About the Author

Julie is a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications. In the last 20 years she has written for newspapers, hospitals and websites. As a breast cancer conqueror, Julie’s passion is writing about women’s health and wellness, children’s health, and alternative approaches to medicine.

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