Children Ready To Return To School! Be Alert, Lack Of Iron Can Threaten Children's Learning Ability

JAKARTA - When children are ready to go to school, it is important for parents to support their readiness because schools are also an environment that supports children's growth and development, including their intelligence. In addition to completing school equipment and supporting their learning spirit, it is important to ensure the right nutritional intake to help them stay focused and actively study at school.

This needs to be a serious concern given the fact that 4 out of 10 children who are difficult to focus often experience learning difficulties, which can hinder their academic progress. In fact, it is not uncommon for early childhood educators to report that children who find it difficult to concentrate tend to have difficulties in basic tasks such as reading, writing, calculating (Calistung), and following instructions consistently.

A Kindergarten (TK) teacher, Miftah Farid, S.Pd, believes that as a kindergarten teacher, she feels confused about why there are still junior high school students who have not memorized the alphabet, where a survey shows that more than 40 percent of junior high school children in Bali have not been able to memorize the alphabet.

From the experience of being a kindergarten teacher for more than 5 years, I realized that sometimes one of the challenges that children face at school is that it is difficult to focus when studying. In fact, focus on learning is very important so that children can master writing skills. By being able to focus, children will be able to understand and remember learning materials more easily, including letters, words, and the concept of reading and writing, "said Miftah, Wednesday, July 23.

It should be understood that it turns out that children who find it difficult to focus on learning are not necessarily because of laziness or unpleasant teaching methods, but it could be a sign that a child is experiencing health problems, one of which is a lack of iron. Because, conditions for iron deficiency from an early age can have an impact on cognitive developmental disorders or children's intelligence, because iron is an important micronutrient to support learning skills, especially when starting school.

But unfortunately, the data shows that nearly 30 percent of Indonesian children are at risk of iron deficiency because they do not consume iron-rich foods. This needs to be a serious concern for children in preschool, because iron shortages have short and long-term impacts such as difficulty concentrating, slow learning, and delayed development.

The WHO document also states that there is strong evidence through research that iron deficiency can be seen convincingly delaying the development of psychomotors and disrupting the cognitive performance of preschoolers and school-age children. Moreover, there are also facts that show that 80 percent of children who lack natural iron speech delays or delays in speech.

Most parents also do not realize that there is a relationship between children's intelligence and iron. In fact, 50 percent of Bunda did not know that the lack of iron could have an impact on children's intelligence.

Therefore, it is important that parents understand and meet the needs of preschoolers who need balanced nutritional intake and a supportive environment so that early detection and intervention can be carried out. and has no impact on children's learning skills and development skills, especially at the end of adolescence and early childhood.

A kindergarten teacher, Siti Alifah Faiz, S.Pd. also sees that it is better if the teaching and learning process in schools runs more optimally if children can focus on learning. So, children should not be disturbed by various problems, including child health constraints such as iron deficiency.

Cooperation between parents and educators is very important to support children's learning processes, including in basic education such as PAUD. As an educator, I hope that parents are more sensitive and do not ignore the symptoms of children's lack of iron, such as fatigue easily, pale skin and lack of focus. Parents must understand that stimulation alone is not enough, but it is also necessary to balance with the fulfillment of proper nutrition such as nutritious foods that contain iron to support children's intelligence," said Alifa.

To prepare children to focus on studying at school, it is important for parents to also be able to ensure that iron intake is routinely fulfilled. Parents can provide iron from animal food sources, where it is generally easier for the body to absorb than iron from plant-based sources, such as beef, chicken, liver, eggs, fish, and milk.

To help absorb iron, the consumption of foods containing vitamin C such as oranges and tomatoes also needs to be considered. Or, parents can also provide children with food and drinks that have been fortified with iron and vitamin C, such as growth milk which contains a unique combination of iron and vitamin C to support the increase in iron absorption by up to two times.

Head of the SGM Exploration Brand, Anggi Morika Septie understands that optimal fulfillment of iron is needed by your little one to be ready to focus on studying at school. Therefore, SGM Explores continues to be committed to supporting the progress of Indonesian children by presenting and developing product innovations for various stages of childhood age.

Like SGM Explorer 3Plus which is specially formulated to support your Little one ready to learn, the only one with IronC(TM) content - a unique combination of Iron & Vitamin C, which is useful for supporting up to twice the iron absorption, and is equipped with DHA, Tuna Fish Oil, Omega 3&6 to support the cognitive development of your Little one and grow optimally. This innovation is expected to help support the fulfillment of complete nutrients for children aged 3 years and over, so that they are ready to study well at school, "he explained.

Not only innovating through the only growth milk product containing IronC (TM), SGM Exploror also supports efforts to detect iron early on a regular basis through the Iron Calculator, non-medical aids for early detection of the risk factor for the first iron shortage in Indonesia and the results can be known in less than 3 minutes. Iron Can be used independently and can be used as a periodic monitoring tool before further examination by health workers.

Not only that, for parents who need information about the nutrition and adequacy of iron, SGM Explores also provides Friends of the Advanced Generation who have collaborated with professionals. This service can be accessed 24/7 via telephone or social media on the website www.generamaju.co.id and the social media account Aku Anak SGM on Instagram @akuanaksgm and Facebook.

Supporting every Indonesian child to fulfill their right to progress and achieve is our shared responsibility.

"SGM Explores continue to invite parents in Indonesia to be able to pay special attention in ensuring the daily needs of children's nutrition, especially iron, which is very important in supporting children's intelligence. Therefore, let's guard the child's iron and continue the nutrition from an early age so that it grows into an outstanding advanced generation so that it can support the realization of the Indonesian Golden Generation in 2045," concluded Anggi.