Page 22 - Petelin, Ana, et al. 2019. Eds. Zdravje otrok in mladostnikov / Health of Children and Adolescents. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 22
avje otrok in mladostnikov | health of children and adolescents 20 meetings, strengthened the sense of individual responsibility for it. The kine-
siologist and dietitian helped the participants to raise awareness of unhealthy
eating and activity habits, and the task of the psychologist was to support the
kinesiologist and dietitian in helping to set goals.
When introducing changes, small steps must be taken. As the indivudal
should first begin to change adttitude, the way of thinking and only then his
behaviour (Kotnik et al., 2016). The motivation was built by the participants in
raising awareness of the benefits or advantages that would be brought about by
some concrete change. The goals and the reasons for the change were record-
ed on the motivation cards and by strengthening positive attitude. The psy-
chologist approached the children and their parents and explained the behav-
ioural cognitive model of human activity itself. How a person responds and
behaves depends on how he feels in a situation, what he experiences and how he
thinks. A healthy lifestyle is also a concern for mental health, so the psycholo-
gist has taught children and parents some basic relaxation techniques. For ex-
ample, a breathing technique helps to cope with a physical reaction to a stress-
ful situation and, consequently, it is easier for a person to control thoughts,
emotions, and behaviour. The visualization technique helps to divert thoughts,
but at the same time it offers an opportunity to train stop-technique, whereby
an individual overcomes temptation in a hypothetical imagined situation. In
the end, the psychologist also emphasizes the importance of positive self-help,
with children and parents recognizing important critical situations themselves
and forming positive claims and encouraging thoughts, which they also write
down on the motivation card and consolidate them with regular reading. Dur-
ing the entire intervention, the psychologist is paying attention to the occur-
rence of emotional and behavioural problems which, due to the stigmatization
of obesity, are a frequent and expected companion of overweight. At the same
time, she presents to her parents the importance of healthy education based
on emotional support and clear rules. When changing behavioural patterns,
which is definitely a demanding task for the child, it is important that the fam-
ily has been recognized and praised for the slightest progress towards the set
goals. Changing the lifestyle is a long run, so the psychologist encourages the
participants to make the steps small, but reliable.
An active lifestyle is the key factor in the child motor skills performance,
such as muscular fitness, aerobic fitness and motor intelligence (Kotnik et al.,
2016). Using the data of a motor history, the kinesiologist described the activity
habits and degree of motor development according to the age of the children.
At the individual interview, together with the family, they outlined the goals
that they will try to achieve through the duration of the project. The starting
points of the physical activity plan were also defined, covering the type, inten-
sity, duration and frequency of activities. A smart bracelet was proven to be an
excellent motivational tool to monitor daily and unorganized physical activity.
The training centre was held twice a week at the Health Promotion Centre. In
addition to regular treatment at the gym, they offered an entire period of out-
siologist and dietitian helped the participants to raise awareness of unhealthy
eating and activity habits, and the task of the psychologist was to support the
kinesiologist and dietitian in helping to set goals.
When introducing changes, small steps must be taken. As the indivudal
should first begin to change adttitude, the way of thinking and only then his
behaviour (Kotnik et al., 2016). The motivation was built by the participants in
raising awareness of the benefits or advantages that would be brought about by
some concrete change. The goals and the reasons for the change were record-
ed on the motivation cards and by strengthening positive attitude. The psy-
chologist approached the children and their parents and explained the behav-
ioural cognitive model of human activity itself. How a person responds and
behaves depends on how he feels in a situation, what he experiences and how he
thinks. A healthy lifestyle is also a concern for mental health, so the psycholo-
gist has taught children and parents some basic relaxation techniques. For ex-
ample, a breathing technique helps to cope with a physical reaction to a stress-
ful situation and, consequently, it is easier for a person to control thoughts,
emotions, and behaviour. The visualization technique helps to divert thoughts,
but at the same time it offers an opportunity to train stop-technique, whereby
an individual overcomes temptation in a hypothetical imagined situation. In
the end, the psychologist also emphasizes the importance of positive self-help,
with children and parents recognizing important critical situations themselves
and forming positive claims and encouraging thoughts, which they also write
down on the motivation card and consolidate them with regular reading. Dur-
ing the entire intervention, the psychologist is paying attention to the occur-
rence of emotional and behavioural problems which, due to the stigmatization
of obesity, are a frequent and expected companion of overweight. At the same
time, she presents to her parents the importance of healthy education based
on emotional support and clear rules. When changing behavioural patterns,
which is definitely a demanding task for the child, it is important that the fam-
ily has been recognized and praised for the slightest progress towards the set
goals. Changing the lifestyle is a long run, so the psychologist encourages the
participants to make the steps small, but reliable.
An active lifestyle is the key factor in the child motor skills performance,
such as muscular fitness, aerobic fitness and motor intelligence (Kotnik et al.,
2016). Using the data of a motor history, the kinesiologist described the activity
habits and degree of motor development according to the age of the children.
At the individual interview, together with the family, they outlined the goals
that they will try to achieve through the duration of the project. The starting
points of the physical activity plan were also defined, covering the type, inten-
sity, duration and frequency of activities. A smart bracelet was proven to be an
excellent motivational tool to monitor daily and unorganized physical activity.
The training centre was held twice a week at the Health Promotion Centre. In
addition to regular treatment at the gym, they offered an entire period of out-
