2008 child health issue watch list

2008 Child Health Issue Watch List

Our health care system is complicated and becoming more so every day.

When deciding on health options for your family, the decisions are not

always easy and sometimes we all have days we just toss up our hands

in exasperation. Those are days one of these could come in handy:

The way health care feels for many people, the accuracy of a magic 8

ball may be about right on par with our experiences in the health care

system - mine included! The problem is that for many issues in child

health today we don't need a magic ball to predict the future and the

writing is actually accurately on the wall. And, if we had a child

health magic 8 ball, the problem is less the answers and more our

ability to listen to them. For example:

*We know, for example, that unaddressed childhood obesity will

create detrimental problems for those kids as teens and adults such

as heart disease, high blood pressure and even diabetes and back

problems.

*We know that are kids are being pushed too hard in sports, yet we

still enroll our kids in the same sports that push them in the

wrong direction.

*We know that kids don't have enough time to just play, yet we keep

over extending them in all sorts of areas.

*We know that over the counter medications are unsafe for kids, yet

many parents still have trouble with this concept and keep using

them.

*We know that too many kids in our country are uninsured, yet we

have a government not taking enough positive steps to actively

insure those kids.

So, I was not surprised when I discovered today that KidsHealth not

only created a list of predictions for important health issues 2008,

but that their list contained many of the above child health issues.

As KidsHealth editors pointed out, this list is not all inclusive but

sure covers the biggies:

1. Bullying

2. Over training Young Athletes

3. Retail Health Care

4. Toy Safety

5. The Rise of Food Allergies

6. Lost Childhoods Due To War

7. Childhood Obesity

8. Children's Health Insurance

9. MRSA

10. "Rethinking a pill for every ill": OTC med safety and our kids

The KidsHealth article not only summarizes the issue now but gives

predictions for the future and links for more information. I'd

encourage you to take some time to read through each and every one and

really consider the implications of each of these on your kids. While

not all will apply to every child, many of these apply to all our

kids. Some of these issues are clearly issues we can address in our

own homes (if we are brave enough to buck the Jones') while some are

more global and will involve our government and community leaders

taking the bull by the horn.

It will be interesting to see just how far we get into 2008 before any

of these issues emerges as a health headline. My prediction is it

won't take too much longer. I'll keep you posted.

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Posted by DrGwenn at 8:39 AM