National Social Wellness Month: Supporting Social Wellness for KidsJuly 19, 2010 |
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 Given our society's focus on physical wellness, it's easy for the message of social wellness to get lost in the shuffle. July is National Social Wellness Month, which can help us all be a little more aware of what we can do to support social wellness for children 0 to 5 and ourselves as role models. Wellness, as defined by Arizona State University Professor Charles Corbin, is a state of existence in which an individual's positive health is exemplified by quality of life and a sense of well-being. Social wellness takes this definition a step further and adds the dimension of interdependence with the environment and one's community. "As it relates to children, social wellness has to be looked at through the total context of what circumstances the child lives in, the family's well-being, and the state of the community and environment where that child lives," said Jennifer Webb, a senior program officer at First 5 LA. A socially well child, according to Webb, "is a happy child, a healthy child, a safe child. These are the elements we at First 5 LA want to see in a child who is socially well." Several factors contribute to social wellness in children, Webb says. The most important variable is a child's family, since families are a child's primary caretakers and provide the lens through which a child will develop future relationships including friends, teachers, co-workers and partners. Communities and the greater environment are other factors that contribute to children's social wellness. "At First 5 LA, we look at how to support families and the communities in which they live," Webb said. Webb adds that Social Wellness Month is an opportunity even for people who may not have children in their lives to think about contributing to their own social wellness by engaging with their communities to promote the happiness, safety and health of children nationwide. After all, Webb said, "Raising healthy children is about raising healthy communities." ‹‹Back to this week's Monday Morning Report |
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