From Your Health Journal…..”An excellent article today in the Huffington Post by Deborah Klein Walker called Time To Put Children And Youth At The Top Of The Agenda. The author starts off by stating the nation has gone a very long time without a true commitment to the health and welfare of our children. Babies are passing at birth at higher rates than those in all other developed countries and some developing countries. Many children live in poverty or suffer from lack of access to regular health care, dental care or mental health services. Childhood obesity is still very high in many areas of the country with no direct relief in site. The key point Ms. Walker brings up is children cannot vote, so it is our ethical duty to be their voice in a democracy. We need the political will to embrace a national agenda that addresses child and adolescent issues in every state and across the country and invests in their futures. Please visit the Huffington Post web site to read and support Mr. Walker’s article. I have provided a link below.”

Snip from the article…..

Let’s make sure the health of children and families get addressed in the president’s second term.

We’re not doing enough as a nation to protect our children. These were the words of President Obama, speaking about the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School that resulted in the deaths of 20 children. The murders have sparked serious debate on what needs to happen to protect the safety our children — the hope and investment for the future. President Obama was right. We are not doing enough for children. And sadly, we are failing them at every turn.

The nation has gone too long without a real commitment to the health and welfare of children and youth. Babies are dying at birth at higher rates than those in all other developed countries and some developing countries. Too many children live in poverty or suffer from lack of access to regular health care, dental care or mental health services. The president’s next administration, along with a new Congress, presents us with opportunities to address these needs and help solve problems, such as our shamefully high infant mortality rate, child poverty, teen pregnancy and childhood obesity. There are two steps we can take now to show that the United States is committed to children, youth and families.

First, there has been no White House Conference on Children and Youth for more than 40 years. The first conference, convened by President Theodore Roosevelt, included delegates from across the United States to find solutions to the care of dependent and neglected children. After that, there was a conference every decade under Presidents Wilson, Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt and Eisenhower, until the most recent conference in 1971 convened by President Richard Nixon. Such a conference could address the alarming disparities in health that children across this country face.

To read the full article…..Click here