A Study on Health Aspects of Daily Life of Elementary School Children in an Urban Area

Goo, Way Haeng

Abstract

This study was carried out for the objectives to collect the basic informations on the health behaviors of the elementary school children in an urban area in Korea. Seven hundred students were drawn to fill in the designed questionnaire which carries variety of questions on health related behaviors in general, eating habits, disease history, mental health, and sex education. Questionnaire were filled in by their parents. Major findings are as follows: 1. 55.7% had habits of washing the hands before eating whereas 59.8% washing their hands after toilet. The others had no idea of washing hands before eating and after toilet. 2. 26.5% had habits of brushing the teeth twice a day 54.7% only once in the morning, and 2.6% once only in the evening. Thus, the idea of prevention from decayed teeth seems to be lacking among the school children. 3. Bathing habits were also inquired to get 40.3% of bathing more than once a week, 43.1% once every two weeks, and the rest of 16.6% once every one to three months. 4. 41.7% keep the regular bedding time whereas 58.3% irregular. Physical exercises were conducted by 76.6% on the ground while 23.5% did not practice any physical exceraiaes at all. Of those physical exercises, rope skipping occupied 37.5%, and the other 66.9% consisted of 14 different kinds of individual type physical exercises such as gymnastic exercise. The main reasons for not enjoying exercises were different by sex; boys largely complained the inadequacy and lack of gymnastic facilities and girls felt in short of friends who could join the exercises. 5. 31.9% of the school children had been taking not much of food while 28.3% had unbalanced diets. Of these unbalanced diets, meat occupied 33.2% to be the priority to have an order of the following items such as vegetables, bread or noodle, and fishes as next to each. For eating habits, 88.5% take simple snack such as bread (38.4%, cookies, fruits, and candies in order. 25.8% of the children were provided such snacks by their parents regularly. Breakfast was sufficiently taken by 45.0% whereas 8.4% had never sufficiently. As to the lunch, 63.6% had sufficiently while 16.8% insufficiently. 70.6% take breakfast with all family members together and 30.4% separately. Correlation of sufficient taking of breakfast and eating toget her of the family members seems to be significant when we compare 72.5% of sufficient takers who enjoy breakfast together with the family members with 55.6% of insufficient takers who enjoy it with the family. This finding allows the investigator to point out the importance of table circumstances for children's eating. 6. The most common disease was catching a cold (38.8%), and the second was stomach trouble to be followed by the frequency of car sickness, headache, and skin infection. Doctors are consulted only by 23.9% when they are sick whereas 59,7% resorted to the drug stores. The lower the educational attainment of the parents, the lower therate of visiting clinics. 7. 36.7% of their parents pointed out the problems of personality guidance as the most difficult thing at home. 71.3% of their parents worried about and unsatisfied with their children's personality traits. Of these complains of the parents, impatience stood at the top to be tabu-lated at 24.1%, and 21.1% indicated narrow-mindedness. In line with this primary socialization at home, the most crucial problem seems to be related with the lack or recognition of the parents' own rol3 when we find only 43.1% of the parents understood the importance of their own role for the home education of children; the latter group attributed the responsibility of personality formation to the children themselves. 8. As to the sex educational aspects, 30.9% of children have ever asked about the physiology of reproduction or sexual matters to their parents, of those parents only 17.0% could givc the constructive responses to the inquiries of the children. In comparis on with these data. 25.6% recognized their own role in sex education for their own children while the large seg ments of the parents (51.1%) attributed the responsibility of sex education to the low level of 38.3% who recognized the importance of sex education in the school curriculum and 25.1% of the parents insistad to wait until they get to know naturally about sex. 38.1% of the parents said they had some knowledge on sex from books while 16.9% through mass media. The next groups had common senses of sex from their own parents, schools, friends, and other sources.

A Study on Health Aspects of Daily Life of Elementary School Children in an Urban Area

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