CHILDREN SHOULD BE EXPOSED TO OUTSIDE WORLD

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 (Bernama) -- If parents think keeping children cooped
up in their homes the best method to ensuring their children grow up healthy,
letting them explore the world outside may prove to be more beneficial.

Paediatrician Dr Azam Mohd Nor said that a child who was not exposed to the
environment was at a higher risk of contracting illness.

"A child slowly builds resistance to diseases if he or she is given proper
diet and rest.

"The more active and exposed they are, the stronger their immunity against
infections," he said at a forum here, Monday.

He said such a method could also keep a child from developing autism.

"If children are cooped up in their homes, and their lives only revolve
around television sets with no chances of communication, it can contribute to
the development of autism, which sees a rise in cases lately," he said.

Echoing Dr Azam's sentiment, Sheila said she too subscribed to the method
extolled by the paediatrician in raising her child, two-year-old Khalefa Laila
Murshim Hashridz Murshim.

"My parents raised me the same way. That's why, as a mother, I believe in
letting my children roam outside the house to play," she said to 30 mothers
attending the forum.

However, she said, in doing so, parents needed to also focus on the safety
of their children to prevent untoward incidents.
-- BERNAMA