From September 2011 food technology will become a compulsory part of the curriculum and will have to include practical cookery, diet, nutrition, hygiene and healthy food shopping. Around 800 new food technology teachers will be trained in the next 3 years. The Government will provide £2.5 million a year to help poorer students to pay for the meals they cook.

 

Best Days of Your Life?

The Children’s Society recently published Section 5 of The Good Childhood Inquiry which focussed on Health. It included sections on Children and Young People’s Views and Adult and Professional Views on Health. It revealed that some 300 000 children, 10% of boys and 13% of girls aged 11-15 have mental health problems. Over a million children aged 5-16 have a clinically recognisable mental disorder ranging from depression, anxiety and anorexia to violent delinquency. UK children suffer from severe emotional and psychological distress. One person quoted in the report stated that there is a mental health epidemic in this country.

 

Over testing at school, binge drinking, over emphasis on body image through rampant marketing, poor family relationships with a lack of affection or a failure to set boundaries cause problems as does peer pressure and the celebrity culture. 66% of parents surveyed said TV and computer games stopped children being active. Also social networking sites can increase pressure on children to be cool or skinny. Over 55% of the respondents thought children were unhappier today than their parents were at the same age.

 

More information on the report can be found at www.goodchildhood.org.uk

 

Internet Addiction

The Institute for Public Policy Research has found that young people are constantly connected and lost in cyber space with many under-16s spending more than 20 hours per week on the Internet. 57% of children have seen on-line pornography. Many young people are also being exposed to scenes of violence on home video sites. On one site 117 ‘happy slap’ videos were posted in a week and 312 street fight videos. Children should receive advice on limiting the amount of information they give about themselves.

 

Insomniacs on the Increase

NHS figures show that in the past 5 years there has been a 26% increase in the number of children referred to hospitals for insomnia, sleep-walking and sleep-related breathing problems. Computer games and fast food have been blamed. Children are now allowed to play computer games and watch televisions in their rooms late at night. Too many sugary foods can cause sleep problems. Parents should enforce strict bedtimes and reduce use of television and computer games. Moving computers into communal areas would be good.