The right of a child, which is also true for all humans, is to have good health and well-being. Everyone must have access to this natural law – that is, good health sustained by food, rest, and leisure which exhibited a balance and dynamic life.
Schools in the Philippines practice this fundamental scheme through various integration. For example, as related by the Department of Education, the public school canteen is not allowed to sell carbonated drinks, soft drinks, and other unhealthy beverages to its students. Studies show that consuming soft drinks and similar beverages have high sugar contents which may trigger diabetes. Therefore, soft drinks are not allowed for students’ consumption.
Secondly, snacks like junk food and sweet chocolates are also not allowed to be sold. Except for some junk food products which has “Buy Pinoy” or DOH logos. Furthermore, most junk foods that do not contain nutrients are not allowed to be sold in public school canteens.
In addition, schools are also teaching about the three basic food requirements, the three Gs or The Food Pyramid – Go, Grow, and Glow Food. The teachers taught the students about this set of food like – meat, fish, egg, wheat, legumes, beans and nuts, vegetables, and other healthy food under the food pyramid. School canteen managers applied these requirements in the management of the canteen. Hence, the students who were given money to buy their lunch and recess snacks are assured that what they are eating is nutritious.
The right of a child to good health is just one thing. Another one is the individual’s quality of life which is enveloped under the well-being of life. The quality of life is not portrayed through having a huge amount of money or owning many properties. There are other indexes where the quality of life is measured, like the environment at home. It is the vital role of the parents to integrate a strong foundation of life among their children. A good environment at home will serve as a pillar of the well-being of a child’s physical, mental, and emotional aspects of life.
By: MRS. ARMIE E. LUCENA | TEACHER III | BATAAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL | BALANGA CITY, BATAAN
