What do you consider to be the most important challenges regarding young people’s lifestyles?
According to De Jong, stress reduction and maintaining mental balance are the greatest challenges: “More and more is expected of children and young people. Taking part on social media, always being ‘on’, fitting in with all kinds of clubs, and in education there is a great deal of pressure on them to perform, driven by the ministry, which wants to see economically driven output in figures. Add to this the fact that many children are helped by their so-called ‘curling parents’ and therefore do not learn how to deal with disappointments and adversity. Sooner or later, this will affect them. The high percentage of young people with burnout is an example of this. It is not without reason that there is increasing attention to sleep, meditation and relaxation in education.”
Wessels adds: “A literature review by the NCJ on stress in children has already shown that chronic stress caused, for example, by performance pressure, a divorce or high-conflict separation, being bullied, or growing up amid violence or poverty can lead to serious health problems later in life, such as burnout, obesity, depression, addiction and cardiovascular disease. There are actually three ‘buttons’ we can push to address this preventively. One of them is the environmental button: increasing adults’ sensitivity to these stress factors, the pedagogical climate, and creating a ‘practice environment’ for children (learning to deal with stress so that it remains manageable and healthy).”
Yet this environment is often complex and difficult to change. Everyone wants to feel healthy, but changing to different, new behaviour is extremely difficult. “First, you have to want it. You need to have your own reason for wanting something and therefore be intrinsically motivated. You have to consider it important and it must fit who you are. Second, you also have to feel that you can do it. That it is feasible and that you are capable of doing and applying something different and new. And that brings us to the third element: it must also work in the environment where you are. We all know that if, for example, the entire school cafeteria is full of biscuits, sausage rolls and energy drinks, it is extremely difficult to maintain your new behaviour in that environment.”
What role does the school play in this?
According to Wessels, school has an enormously important role. “Schools are the learning and living environment of young people and can create an environment where health is not merely expressed in written policy, but where health is also translated into the organisation’s physical layout and activities. An intervention such as the Daily Mile helps children exercise more. It is embedded in the policy, so everyone does it and you take part. And by doing it regularly, their self-image can be positively adjusted to, for example, ‘I’m actually quite sporty’ or ‘I can actually persevere’, etc.
According to Wessels, schools can integrate lifestyle into many lessons. “It is about self-care and taking personal responsibility. About saying no to something, but also standing up for something. It is about providing opportunities for young people to further develop their own resilience and to experience school as a supportive environment, so that with support they can learn to deal with stress and life events in a healthy way and thereby prevent chronic stress.”
According to De Jong, primary education should not place too much emphasis on grades: “It would be great if, for example, we could adopt the Danish model, where children of primary-school age do not receive grades but are allowed to develop themselves without too many tests and pressure to perform.”
Why are the NCJ and GLOS Educatief joining forces?
According to De Jong, because GLOS Educatief is always looking for relevant knowledge partners. “First, to work with them to provide the platform gezondeleefstijlopschool.nl with news for education. Second, we place a high value on quality, so the content of the messages must be accurate. This can only be achieved if the information comes from reliable partners. NCJ is such a partner. Third, we often develop and initiate new tools or teaching materials for education together with partners. The NCJ is also innovative in this area.”
What will the collaboration involve?
Wessels is clear about this: “From now on, as the NCJ and GLOS Educatief, we will communicate that we are working together in the area of lifestyle because we share the same ambition: the healthiest and happiest possible childhood or generation. We also share the belief that starting early brings great benefits and that we therefore want to strengthen young people through prevention.
We also believe in a strong environment as a buffer and an ingredient for behavioural change, and in connecting with the target group itself.
We want to do what works, and to that end we are continually looking for new opportunities and new partners. For example, we both work with the Brain Foundation and the Eye Fund.
We share our knowledge and expertise on each other’s platforms and social media. A good example is GLOS Educatief’s contribution during JGZlive! on 18 November, where they will present and share their intervention Charge Your Brainzzz, a teaching package about sleep for secondary education, with the JGZ sector.”
About the NCJ
The Netherlands Center for Youth Health (NCJ) is the innovation and knowledge centre for Youth Health Care. Our aim: for every child to grow up healthy, safely and with opportunities. We apply our knowledge and expertise to achieve this. Because every child has the right to the best youth health care.
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