Opportunities and mechanisms for compensatory development of frequently sick children of the senior preschool age

Problem and purpose. At present, in science and practice, there is an increasing interest in strengthening children's health, since statistics show an annual increase in the number of somatic diseases among children, and a big number of them are pre-school children. So a question is brought up about the necessity to increase the motivation of children for a healthy way of life. The search for compensatory means to help frequently ill children to overcome their health problems should be based on developing volition powers in a child. The purpose of the article is to study the opportunities and mechanisms of compensatory development for senior preschool children. Methodology of the study. A psychosomatic approach, based on the unity of physical and psychic factors in man (M. Jacobi, F. Alexander, F. Dunbar), and on the activity approach (S.L. Rubinstein, A.N. Leontiev). Methods. The method of collecting of empirical data - that is the analysis of individual medical cards of children - is the basic approach. There are also diagnostic approaches for studying the development of moral and volitional powers in senior preschool children: “Don,t spy” and “Paint out the figures” games [Klyuchnikova, 2008]; “Peculiarities of preschool children's volition manifestations (recommendations)” [Salmina, Filimonova, 2006]; “Discussions, gameplaying situations, observations” [Novikova, 2009]. The research involved 73 frequently ill senior preschool children, 73 healthy children of senior preschool age and 12 educators. Results. Differences were found in the levels of volition qualities development and in children»s interpretation of the notions of health and a healthy way of life. Healthy senior preschool children enjoy better understanding of these notions, while frequently ill senior preschool children have a very vague idea about them. So, an average level of emotional and a low level of cognitive and behavioral aspects of development were demonstrated by frequently ill preschool children. A connection was found between the levels of understanding the ideas of health and a healthy way of life, on the one hand, and volition qualities of the children, on the other. It was found out that the manifestations of emotional and behavioral aspects and the level of self-sufficiency in children are closely connected. The conclusion. In comparison with their healthy peers, frequently ill children are less persistent, have a low level of purposefulness and self-sufficiency, they also have a smaller volume of knowledge about health and its factors. The ideas of health and a healthy way of life children who frequently fall ill are superficial and insufficient. Because of this they fail to recover quickly and to a full extent. There is an urgent need for multi-aspect, profound work in search of proper compensatory approaches to children's healthy development.