National Children’s Week – The Pedia Blog
This is a guest post from Ned Ketyer, M.D. of The PediaBlog from June 15, 2020.
Nearly 8 years have passed since the very first PediaBlog post promised “an informative and, hopefully, entertaining way that we at Pediatric Alliance can communicate important topics unique to pediatrics.” Regular readers know that The PediaBlog covers uniquely pediatric medical topics and health challenges. We also aren’t shy in covering difficult or uncomfortable subjects:
Pollution, environmental degradation and climate change. Education, poverty, racism. Gun violence. Healthcare. COVID-19. Civic engagement. Conversations about these issues — chronic, intractable problems, today seemingly all in crisis — have been featured here and scattered there among all the other topics that pediatricians and parents are intimately familiar with.
This morning’s blog post (number 3,023 for those keeping track) shines a light on a hopeful movement that aims to put kids first in the minds of adults who think they run the show. The National Children’s Campaign is a youth-led organization committed to “fighting to ensure that America’s 74 million children are made a national priority.” Here is NCC’s mission explained on its website:
A national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that serves as a catalyst to inspire and empower America to make children a priority by promoting health, education, safety, economic and environmental security through the power of media, grassroots, internet partnerships, business and community leaders, celebrities and subject matter experts.
NCC is leading a diverse collection of advocates and partners in the observance of National Children’s Week. The press release reminds us that 2020 is an election year:
“Young people like myself are more politically engaged because the stakes are too high to sit on the sidelines while politicians determine our future,” said NCC Executive Director and Co-Founder Jonah Gottlieb. “Soon I will graduate from high school and later this year I will vote for the first time. The National Children’s Week is a voter education and mobilization tool. We hope those joining our six days of virtual activities will be more informed about the issues and more willing to vote on those same issues this November.”
In a prerecorded video produced by SWPA Environmental Health Project* that will play during this week’s event, I point out the risks posed by fossil-fuel pollution on the health and safety of children*:
“It should come as no surprise that women and children are most vulnerable to pollution, environmental degradation, and climate disruption that comes from the extraction and consumption of fossil fuels liked coal, oil, and fracked natural gas..
“Pediatricians like me, and most parents too, understand that poor health in childhood increases the likelihood of poor health in adulthood. We know that 30 years from now, children will live in a world shaped by the choices we make today. For all of our kids and our grandkids, everything depends on how wisely, and how quickly, we choose — to end our dependence on fossil fuels like fracked gas and chart a different course for a safer and healthier future.”
It’s really hard for this old pediatrician not to get excited about National Children’s Week! Each day has its own theme:
• Sunday, June 14 – National Children’s Day Celebration
• Monday, June 15 – Climate & Environment
• Tuesday, June 16 – Education, Child Poverty & COVID-19
• Wednesday June 17 – Gun Violence & Child Welfare
• Thursday June 18 – Healthcare
• Friday, June 19 – Voter & Civic Engagement
Here’s the lineup for this afternoon’s and evening’s panels on climate and the environment:
To view the original post you can go here.