What are the differences between parenting and child health?

The core difference between the two is actually the difference in scope and goals - children's health focuses on the good state and related intervention actions in the three dimensions of children's physical, psychological and social adaptation, and belongs to a more vertical professional field； Parenting is the sum of all parenting decisions and behaviors, including health management, covering the entire growth cycle of children from birth to adulthood. The goals are more comprehensive and personalized.

Just like how mothers usually get together to chat downstairs in the community, one person said, "My family's parenting style is relaxed, and the children can play as they want." Another person responded, "My mind is now filled with children's health, and I don't dare to neglect vaccines, complementary foods, and vision screening." In fact, what the two people were talking about were not on the same level at all. Many novice parents easily equate the two when they first get started. They think that raising children with fewer illnesses and meeting all medical examination standards means parenting is in place. However, after raising children for a few years, they know that this is not the case. I met a mother before when I was doing parenting consultation in the community. Her child was 4 years old, and her height and weight were above the 90th percentile on the growth curve. She didn't catch two colds throughout the year. But she specifically asked why her child was so timid, hiding away from strangers, crying and tugging at adults' clothes when she wanted something, and couldn't even complete the words "I want a toy." She herself felt very aggrieved, saying that I had fulfilled all the health-related requirements, so why would something go wrong? This is a typical example of narrowing the scope of parenting to children's health management, leaving out aspects of parenting other than health such as emotional expression, social skills, and language enlightenment.

There are indeed two completely different views in the parenting circle today. Most of the older generation adhere to the "health priority" theory. They believe that good health is the foundation for children when they are young. All character development and enlightenment education are empty. They will grow up naturally.； Young parents are more likely to believe that health is just the basic line of parenting. In addition to preventing illness, they also need to help their children develop good personalities and habits, and even take into account the parenting status of the entire family. They should not make the whole family anxious just to keep an eye on the children's health indicators, which will in turn affect the children's mental state.

Of course, the two are not completely separated. In many cases, there is a state of you and me. For example, children's mental health, which we often talk about, is not only the core assessment dimension of children's health, but also the core goal of emotional education in daily parenting. You cannot put "helping children establish a sense of security" to one side. It is not only related to whether the child's mental state is up to standard, but also the result of every timely response and every patient companionship in daily parenting. To put it bluntly, children's health is the passing line that must be maintained on the road to parenting, while parenting is to go further and help children grow into what they want. The two are indispensable, but they cannot be confused.