When discussing nutrition in toddlers and certain behavioral patterns, one of the first standpoints to pay attention to is the humanistic perspective that was primarily investigated by Carl Rogers. It appeared as a response to psychoanalysis developed by Freud, with a much bigger emphasis on creativity and self-actualization (Lally & Valentine-French, 2017). Some of the additional variables that could be seen influencing the humanistic theory are meditation, happiness, and self-concept. It was ultimately noted that the human personality could only be shaped by self-actualization. Proper reactions to external and internal changes could lead to significant improvements related to how people view the world around them.
The topic of nutrition is exceptionally important because babies are not the unique party that benefits from breastfeeding, for example. Lally and Valentine-French (2017) noted that breastfeeding mothers could experience uterus contractions and see the latter regaining its normal size after giving birth to the child. Another important reason to look into the topic of nutrition is a significantly lower percentage of women with breast cancer among those who breastfed their children. This is an exceptional finding that benefits high-risk groups associated with certain ethnic and racial backgrounds. The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis and type 2 diabetes also decreases in the case where mothers choose to breastfeed their toddlers. Nevertheless, it is known that the majority of nutrition benefits become available only when a mother breastfeeds for at least six months.
The current observations on the topic of nutrition and its impact on the child’s wellbeing dwell on how the percentage of breastfeeding mothers tends to increase quarterly. Lally and Valentine-French (2017) claim that the biggest issues might transpire in families where mothers stopped breastfeeding after approximately seven weeks to return to work. Moreover, there are numerous workplaces that do not approve of allocating feeding time or welcoming infants. This is one of the main reasons why the toddler’s and the mother’s wellbeing deteriorates over time, with no encouragement from the local government. There are also difficulties linked to mothers taking certain medications, as their condition might avert them from breastfeeding as well.
Knowing that there are issues related to nutrition in toddlers, it can be safe to assume that undernourishment could transpire into behavioral problems and other challenges in the future. Bleker et al. (2019) stated that such children could experience trouble in school and even suffer from trauma when keeping up in the workplace during adulthood. There is a need for a balanced diet that would include optimal nutrition and provide solutions to the most complex challenges experienced by mothers and their toddlers. From the humanistic perspective, mothers and children are expected to gain all the energy benefits of eating right while also maintaining a positive cognitive state over time.
One of the most recent research articles on the topic was written by Hosker et al. (2019), where the latter dwelled on how nutrition could affect a child’s mental health. There are neurotransmitters that regulate memory and mood via the interface of brain chemicals being synthesized. Thus, depression and anxiety could be caused by an imbalanced amount of neurotransmitters in a toddler’s body, causing unexpected mood-related conditions. On the other hand, children could become overweight or obese due to maintaining a diet that lacks essential nutrients (Hosker et al., 2019). Unnatural nutrition patterns positively affect the prevalence of depression in younger populations while also causing other health issues to transpire, such as type 2 diabetes.
References
Bleker, L. S., de Rooij, S. R., & Roseboom, T. J. (2019). Malnutrition and depression in pregnancy and associations with child behavior and cognitive function: A review of recent evidence on unique and joint effects. Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 97(3), 158-173. Web.
Hosker, D. K., Elkins, R. M., & Potter, M. P. (2019). Promoting mental health and wellness in youth through physical activity, nutrition, and sleep. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, 28(2), 171-193. Web.
Lally, M., & Valentine-French, S. (2017). Lifespan development: A psychological perspective. College of Lake County.