Welcoming National Children's Day, Parents Need To Create Care That Supports Immunity And Right Stimulation So That Children Become Winners

Illustration (Marta Wave/Pexels)

JAKARTA - Currently, parents face great challenges in adapting to the era of digital parenting, where information from various platforms can be easily accessed. Based on 2019 research results on millennial parents in Indonesia, more than half (55.9 percent) utilize the internet, especially social media to seek information about parenting. However, not all information circulating on the internet can be accounted for credibility. Therefore, it is important for parents to seek information from trusted sources, in order to implement child-friendly parenting and support the child's optimal development. Given that the health and cognitive development of children is an important issue in the world of parenting in today's digital era.

Please note, according to the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey (SKI), Acute Respiratory Channel Infections (ARI) are still a serious problem, around 34.2 percent or 3 of 10 Indonesian children experiencing ARI. This condition shows how important it is to maintain children's health, because the immune system plays an important role in supporting children's achievements, because good health directly affects children's academic learning skills and performance.

Meanwhile, based on PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) in 2018, the Indonesian child score was low. Of the 79 countries, Indonesia is ranked 73 for math, 74 for reading, and 71 for science. The low score of PISA indicates the need for an increase not only in education methods, but also in the health aspect of children. The right nutrition can be one solution to improve academic performance through increased body resistance and cognitive function.

Strong immune system plays an important role in protecting the brain from infection and inflammation. Weak immune systems can make children more susceptible to infection, which ultimately disrupts their brain learning and growth processes. When children are often sick, the learning and development processes of the brain can be disrupted. A healthy immune system helps ensure children stay active, study well, and develop optimally. Nutritions that support immunity and development of the child's brain, can be done by providing foods rich in prebiotics that can be obtained from fruits and vegetables, omega-3 which can be obtained from salmon and bloating fish, omega-6 which is sourced from foods such as eggs, vitamin C, one of which is from oranges, and vitamin E as contained in avocado fruit, which supports the health of the digestive tract, "said Pediatrician, dr. Atilla Dewanti, SpA(K).

Challenges in digital parenting and children's health are interrelated. Parents need to pay attention to credible sources of parenting information and ensure the proper provision of nutrition and stimulation for the optimal growth and development of children. In line with this, in commemoration of National Children's Day 2024: Children Protected, Children Growing To Winners, Nutricia emphasizes the importance of proper digital parenting through reliable sources to help support children's growth and development. This is conveyed in the webinar Talk of Nutrition with the theme 'Support Children Grows' Become Winners: Optimize the Immunization System and its Brain Development. In addition, education about the importance of nutrition and stimulation to support children's growth and development, so that children grow up to be winners must also be continuously pursued. Not until there, this multinational company also collaborates with various communities to reach more Indonesian families.

There is digital parenting service through Nutriclub which presents programs that aim to make it easier for parents to get information about children's immunity, nutrition, and growth and development. Parents can access hundreds of articles on various aspects of growth and nutrition, which have been validated by experts," said Medical Science Director of Danone Indonesia, Dr. dr. Ray Wagiu Basrowi, MKK, FRSPH.

dr. Ray added that in addition to providing education to parents, innovation to provide proper nutritional support is also continuously carried out. Because, in facing a digital era full of challenges, maintaining immunity to grow and develop and cognitive children is a top priority.

For this reason, the presence of Nutrilon Royal for children over 1 year, with the advantages of double biotics FOS:GOS, EPA, and DHA that have been clinically tested can help strengthen children's immunity and maximize their cognitiveness. This is milk without additional sucrose or sugar, ensuring that children get optimal nutrition. With the right nutritional support it will help increase children's cognitive immunity and development, so that they can grow to become winners in the future," concluded dr. Ray.