Discussion on Wellbeing and Quality of Life

If a child is in poor health then this will have an impact on their development. For example, a child with uncontrolled asthma or cystic fibrosis may not be able to run around and be as active as their peers. Therefore, this would mean that his physical development might not be the same. Not being able to play outside would almost certainly affect the social development, as children make many friendships on the playground and at after school clubs.

What does quality of life mean? How would a person define the concept of quality of life? Philosophers have studied questions similar to these in the aspect of what constitutes a “good” life for hundreds of years. There really is no certain date to the origin of quality of life as a specific term. In the years 1953 to 1954, two economists have been linked as the ones who used the concept in expressing their concern over ecological dangers of unlimited economic growth (Snoek, 2000). Other economists in the 1950s researched the ideas of what

Factors that can contribute to an individual’s wellbeing include physical and mental health, emotional and intellectual fulfilment and overall contentment. Contentment is often achieved by someone’s’ needs being met for example a person with housing issues may feel content once supported to get a property.

There are many examples that show how different aspects of development can impact one another. In majority of cases, one aspect will lead to another as a natural result, so for example, if a child has a speaks foreign language as his/her first and family just came to UK to live, this may lead to having language barrier, he/she may become shy, not very communicative, isolated, which affects emotional and intellectual development, further, he/she may have difficulty making friends, which can weaken his/her self esteem, affecting social and behavioral development.

The area a child grows up in has an effect, for example if a child is brought up on a council estate in poor housing they are more likely to have health problems. If parents are not working or have low income jobs they are likely to buy cheaper food and usually this means lower quality which can lead to health problems. Children and their families may have lower expectations. They might settle for the life that id mapped out. If a child lives in high rise flats or appartments they have less oppportunities to play. In poor quality housing there may not be a garden or safe playing area. This is reducing the childs opportunities to develop their physical gross motor skills. This of course is not always the case

Children and young people often experience many things which have a direct impact on their development; things such as their family environment and structure, personality, hospital visits, childcare arrangements, and culture.

The more economic prosperity the greater is the amount and degree of welfare generated and the likeliness in people is welcomed. However, social welfare is one of the major objectives of the nations. Along with this, it should also be noted down that, the government of all the countries and states should focus on the social welfare of the people where people live. It is again true that happiness follows good health. In this way, health is a very important consideration for all the economies of the world (Yih, 2011).

- Wellbeing is the condition or state of a human being, animal or plant. There are five types of wellbeing…

If a child grows up living in poverty then the child’s health may be affected. This could be down to poor or unbalanced diet. If a child has a bad diet then various conditions may occur such as :- Nutritional anaemia this is due in lack of iron folic acid and vitamin B12.

For example a child born with Autism might not mix well with his peers which in return could affect his behavioural, social and communicating development. There could also be health issue where a child could have contracted Meningitis as a baby and subsequently lost part of their limbs making their physical and development more difficult. Or a child who is not very nicely treated at home might not have the confidence to make new friends which will in turn affect all aspects of his development, make him shy and withdrawn.

When analyzing children growing up in poverty a lot of factors come into play such as their physical, psychological and emotional development. To grow up in poverty can have long term effect on a child. What should be emphasized in analyzing the effects of poverty on children is how it has caused many children around the world to suffer from physical disorders, malnutrition, and even diminishes their capacities to function in society. Poverty has played a major role in the functioning of families and the level of social and emotional competency that children are able to reach. Children in poverty stricken families are exposed to greater and emotional risks and stress level factors. They are even capable of understanding and dealing with

• Education. If for example a child has not attended a nursery or play group in their early years this can often set them back from what development stage they should be at when attending school. This could be the lack of nursery places, not good enough teachers to the child having a learning disability that has not been identified yet.

Even if we use the word “happiness” on daily basis, has anyone ever tried to define it? It’s harder than it seems. When do you feel happy? How is it when you feel happy? Is there any way to understand how much happiness to you experience? This is the main hypothesis of this paper – Can happiness or wellbeing be measured? And if it can be measured, how do we measure it? Happiness is feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life, situation (Meriam Webster). Pleasure and enjoyment are very subjective and means different things to different people. This is where the term subjective wellbeing comes from. There are a lot of things that can be included when measuring wellbeing. Various studies have been conducted to assess wellbeing and how does it affect other factors. For example Earlstin(1995) and later on Ferrer-i-Carbonell(2005) have examined the relationship between income and happiness. Gruber(2004) studies the relationship cigarette taxation and happier smokers. Richard, Clark, Gerogellis and Diener(2004) analyze the effect of unemployment on wellbeing.

As this period is considered to be the most integral developmental stage of life, the impact of social, environmental, and economic determinants can have long lasting, if not permanent effects (World Health Organization (WHO), 2015) . Children who in early life are subjected to adversities, such as poverty, inappropriate care, maltreatment, inadequate health care, or substandard education, are more likely to suffer difficulties later in life (Hertzman, 2013).

The health and well-being of a person depends on lots of different circumstances. It is about finding a good work / life balance and feeling healthy in body as well as mind. It is about feeling good in what you do and who you are as a person, it is about achieving personal goals and accomplishing your hopes and dreams.