The nature of motivation for a healthy lifestyle in children of different ages

Abstract

Aim: To study the types of motives for a healthy lifestyle (HLS) in children of different ages. Materials and Methods: The research involved 150 children. The children were interviewed using the questionnaire developed by the authors, which contained 15 questions, using Google Forms. The survey was anonymous without any references to the authors made in the article. Methods: bibliosemantic, systematic analysis and generalization, medical and sociological, and statistical data processing. Results: The psychosocial stages of children’s development have been revealed and the motivation of children of different ages for a HLS has been characterized. It has been found that 72.0 % of the surveyed children have sufficient knowledge about the essence of a HLS, but most of them do not use this knowledge, only one-third regularly adhere to a HLS. Among the dominant motives for a HLS, children named the desire not to get sick (36.0 %), to be a physically healthy and spiritually rich individual (16.0%), to promote health and improve posture (12.0 %), to have a good physique (12.0 %). Conclusions: The availability of knowledge but the lack of appropriate skills and parental control lead to children’s neglect of a HLS and, consequently, their health. In the process of forming children’s HLS motivations, it is necessary to intensify the work of parents, taking into account the individual and age characteristics and needs of their children, and taking into account the priority sources of information about maintaining their health.