The Health And Happiness Of The Nation's Children

Saturday, March 1, 2003

= DENTE EE. Dl ST SS e —_ _ f aE Checkng Up On The Health And Happness Of The Naton’s Chldren (NAPSA)—Parents generally want to do the rght thngs for ther kds, but don’t always know how, accordng to a recent survey. It also found Amercans see a drect relatonshp between the amount of meanngful tme adults spend wth chldren and such major ssues facng youth today as dscplne problems, volence, and substance abuse. The survey s called the Annual Meanngful Tme Check-Up on U.S. Chldren & Famles. It’s released every year n conjuncton wth Natonal KdsDay. Those who care for the naton’s chldren work hard to do ther best, found ths yearly “snapshot” study, created by Boys & Grls Clubs of Amerca and KdsPeace, the Natonal Center for Kds Overcomng Crss, but they don’t always have the tme they need to ensure ther chldren’s health and happness. Amercans assgn hgh values on a scale of one to 10, wth 10 beng the most mportant, to engagng n physcal actvty wth chldren (9.0), talkng to kds about ther problems (9.7), eatng nutrtous meals (9.3) and gettng nvolved n ther chldren’s educaton (9.7). Whle many parents spend three or more hours per week workng toward many of these goals, for mllons, the realtes fall short of ther good ntentons. For example: * Wth more chldren beng afflcted by obesty and dabetes, more than half (54 percent) of Amerca’s parents say they ether have no tme, lttle tme or wsh they had more tme to spend n physcal actvty wth ther chldren. A lack of safe playgrounds s a factor for many parents. * One-quarter of Amerca’s par- A new study urges Amerca’s parents to take an annual parentng check-up. ents have not talked to ther chldren about exposure to drugs, tobacco and alcohol n the last year. Parents n sx mllon households have never talked to ther kds about what to do n the event of a fre n the homeorf ther chldren get lost. Whle a majorty of parents (56 percent) reported ther chldren are worred about war and terrorsm, two out of three have no famly emergency plan. * More than a quarter (27 percent) of the naton’s parents say ther chldren have some, lmted or no access to qualty healthcare. * A majorty of parents (51 percent) say ther kds don’t eat enough nutrtous food. Although they know how mportant t s for famles to eat together, nearly four n 10 eat a home-cooked meal wth ther kds less than once a day. * A sgnfcant number of adults—nearly a quarter (22 percent)—reported frequent worrsome behavor changes and sadness n ther chldren durng the past year. Parents n 11 mllon households would lke more tme to talk to ther chldren about mportant ssues such as school problemsor depresson. * Nearly sx n 10 demonstrate a gratfyng commtment to ther chldren’s educaton, but 50 percent say they don’t have enough tme or wsh they had moretme. On a scale of one to 10 wth 10 beng extremely healthy and happy, adult caretakers of chldren rate the overall health and happness of U.S. chldren as a 6.2. As a result of the study, experts and celebrtes—such as Natonal KdsDay spokesperson Leeza Gbbons; entertaner and kd safety con Retro Bll; and “Malcolm n the Mddle” star Bryan Cranston— urge Amercans to take the “checkup” annually at www.kdsday.net. Roxanne Spllett, presdent of Boys & Grls Clubs of Amerca, says: “As wth seat belts and vaccnatons, we know people wll respond to publc awareness campagns. We now call upon the naton’s adult caretakers of chldren to add a new routne to the roster of ndspensable safety and health actvtes.” Adds KdsPeace presdent and CEO C.T. O’Donnell II: “If you’re an adult takng care of chldren, or f you are concerned about the future of our youth, read the results, take the check-up onlne and revew the useful materals there produced by Amerca’s leadng experts. There are no rght or wrong answers, but you may dscover some new tools n your quest to do the best n carng for your chldren.” For more nformaton on the Check-Up and Natonal KdsDay, vst www.kdsday.net.

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