HEALTH FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CHILDREN BETWEEN 3-6 YEARS

The first 6 years of life are important in the development of children. These years are both the period when development is the fastest in all areas and children acquire basic habits. For this reason, the introduction of individuals to the concept of health from early childhood is an important determinant of their attitudes and behaviors regarding health in their future lives. In this context, our study aimed to evaluate the opinions of children between the ages of 3-6 on the concept of health. The study group of the study consisted of 24 children who attended and did not attend pre-school education in Amasya city center. In the study where the qualitative research method was used, the data were collected with semi-structured interview questions created by the researchers. Content analysis method was used in the analysis of the data. The data were organized and interpreted in categories. The results showed that children's views on the concept of health focused on nutrition at 36-60 months, while children aged 61 months and older were associated with not being sick. It has been observed that the responses of children about what needs to be healthy consist mostly of nutrition-related responses, while health behaviors such as hygiene and exercise are less expressed. Children have been found to frequently associate indicators of health and/or ill-health with symptoms of illness. Similarly, it was found that participants in all age groups expressed the opinion that they would be sick when health was not taken care of. The results were discussed within the framework of the literature and suggestions for supporting children's health behaviors were presented.