Potential-Attention-Nutrition campaign highlights steps parents can take to ensure healthy childhood development

08 Jul 2024 --- Japanese dairy company Morinaga Milk and Indonesian joint venture partner Kalbe Nutritionals are launching a new campaign to emphasize the importance of “Potential-Attention-Nutrition” in ensuring the healthy development of the so-called Generation Alpha, born between 2010 and 2024.

“For children to grow into multi-talented, global citizens with healthy intellectual, emotional and spiritual intelligence, a synergy of the three pillars of parenting is needed, namely, Potential-Attention-Nutrition, which parents should apply to their children from an early age,” explains Roes Mini Agoes Salim, a senior professor and psychologist, who also goes by Bunda Romy.

“The Potential pillar is about parents recognizing and optimizing their child’s innate abilities, such as learning modalities and multiple intelligences, which helps provide appropriate stimulation. Attention refers to caregiving patterns that allow children to grow healthily and holistically. The Nutrition pillar refers to meeting the right nutritional needs to support physical health and cognitive development,” explains Bunda Romy.

Nutritional needs overlooked
Morinaga Milk highlights a global systematic review and meta-analysis conducted by scientists at the University of Harvard, US, and published in PLOS, which suggests that around the world, parents still need to take all the vital steps necessary to ensure the proper development of their children. 

An earlier study by experts at the US Pennsylvania State University Center for Childhood Obesity Research revealed that parents often overlook their children’s nutritional needs, even when these can be easily met through their daily meals and milk.  

“It’s important for parents to effectively integrate these three pillars from an early age in a balanced way. So that children can grow well and ultimately be empowered to achieve their dreams,” says Bunda Romy.  

Pediatrician Dr. Bernie Endyarni Medise, a specialist on child growth and development, similarly outlines the importance of implementing the Potential-Attention-Nutrition pillars in the first 1000 days of life. This period, often referred to as “the golden period of growth,” is critical for behavioral and developmental progress, with close to 86% of the brain’s neurons being formed and both the brain and bodily organs developing most rapidly. 

Experts highlight the importance of the proper integration of Potential-Attention-Nutrition to children’s growth.Medise argues: “This period is crucial because it sets the blueprint for a child’s growth, development and behavior, affecting whether they will reach their full potential. Parents need to explore the child’s potential, give them the attention they need and make sure their nutritional needs are met.”

Nutrition for cognition
As nutrition is key during this period, finding the right balance between the consumption of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals is vital for healthy physical growth, immunity and cognition.

“Ideally, after the first year, 70% of a child’s nutritional needs should come from solid foods, while the remaining 30% can continue to be met through continued breastfeeding and/or formula feeding. This ensures that the child’s nutritional needs are met. Parents also need to provide appropriate stimulation to support optimal growth,” adds Medise.

“During the first 1000 days, fetal brain growth is rapid and by birth the brain contains approximately 100 billion neurons ready to form synaptic connections. Lack of nutrition and stimulation during this period can significantly slow brain development, which is linked to cognitive growth and future intelligence.”

Dr. Muliaman Mansyur, medical head at Kalbe Nutritionals, argues that the choice of infant formula is critical to ensuring intelligence, immunity and optimal growth. “Parents can choose milk with high levels of AA and DHA, choline and iron to support brain development, as well as alpha-lactalbumin that is rich in the amino acids tryptophan and cysteine to help regulate sleep and produce the growth hormone for growing taller.” 

“In addition, milk fortified with Triple Bifidus probiotics supports digestive health and immunity and contains lactoferrin, which is clinically proven to increase resistance to respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in children,” Mansyur concludes.