A roundup of recent newspaper stories about children's health...
Monday, Dec. 4:
School
Board Addresses Student Stress
In an effort to reduce student stress, the Palo Alto Board of
Education has voted to start school a week later than usual and eliminate
"ski week" mid-year. However, the board did not agree with several
students and parents who suggested that moving finals week to before winter
break would significantly reduce stress, citing a lack of data on the
subject. Stanford School of Education lecturer Denise Clark Pope, who
co-founded Stanford's Stressed Out Students project with our foundation,
is mentioned. (PA Weekly, 12/1/06, by Rocha)
In
Second Term, Governor Plans to Expand Health Coverage for Kids
Gov. Schwarzenegger plans to put health care reform at the top
of his list of issues to tackle during his new term, according to his
spokesperson. Plans for health care reform include expanding health care
coverage for children. (SJ Mercury, 11/27/06, by Folmar and Zapler)
Environment
Affects Girls' Physical Activity Levels
Girls who live within a half mile of a park are more physically
active than those who don't, according to a RAND Corporation study of
1,556 sixth-grade girls living in six U.S. cities. (Reuters, 11/16/06,
by Harding)
Ethical
Issues Surrounding the Delivering of Tiniest Preemies
A debate surrounding the ethical implications of providing medical
care to extremely premature babies has experts wondering whether it is
always right to save an infant born too early just because the technology
exists to do so. New medical guidelines in England say that babies born
at 22 weeks of gestation should not be given intensive care. While practices
in the U.S. are similar, the development of official guidelines worries
some medical experts. ( Hartford Courant, 11/19/06, by Waldman)
Preteens
Growing Up Faster, Experts Say
Behavioral and developmental changes that would be typical of
teens decades ago now increasingly are common among preteens, experts
say. The change is due to many factors including marketing influences,
physical changes happening earlier, and a willingness among parents to
let their children grow up faster, psychologists say. (AP, 11/28/06 )
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