A report released this week by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) indicates that “media—both foreground and background—have potentially negative effects and no known positive effects for children younger than 2 years” (p. 4).

And it’s not just television that’s at issue. According to this New York Times article, the AAP recommends limiting screen time of all types — computers, electronic games, and televisions turned on for background noise — recognizing that screen time can reduce opportunities for educational and enriching activities that are important for healthy development. The AAP recommendation actually is less restrictive than its previous policy, in an attempt to be realistic about screen use in today’s households. Some research shows that between 40 and 60 percent of American households report having a TV on for much of the day, the article notes.

Here in California, our foundation’s 2010 Parent Survey (at right) asked about parental perceptions of media use on children. Parents of more than half of children, 57%, believed that media (TV, movies, music) had a positive impact on their children, whereas parents of 24% thought the media had a negative effect. Teens ages 14‐17 were more likely to have parents who thought media had a negative effect than young children ages 0‐5 (33% vs. 10%, respectively).

For more research and information about the influence of media on children, see kidsdata.org’s Research & Links section.

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Tags: Child Health Issues

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October 17th, 2011

Domestic violence is an increasingly prevalent issue for California youth. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in 30 percent to 60 percent of families that experience domestic violence, children also are abused (some estimates of this co-occurrence are even higher).

Additionally, children who witness domestic violence — even if they are not targets of the violence — tend to exhibit the same emotional, behavioral, and academic problems as abused children. Children raised in violent family environments also are at risk of becoming abusers or victims themselves during adolescence or adulthood.

Here in California, about 7% of 11th graders report dating violence, meaning they had been hit, slapped, punched, or otherwise hurt by a boyfriend/girlfriend in the past year, according to 2006-08 data.
See the reported percentage of youth dating violence for your county or school district >>

There were also a total of 166,343 calls for domestic violence related assistance in California in 2008.

Learn more about dating and domestic violence in California >>

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Tags: Child Health Issues, Health Observances

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New Census Data Show Local Poverty Rates, Income Levels for 2010

September 22nd, 2011

Median family incomes for counties across California decreased from 2009 to 2010, according to data released today by the Census Bureau. This set of data, from the American Community Survey, also includes local data for educational attainment, health insurance coverage, and several demographic measures.

On kidsdata.org, we include many measures of child well being from the American Community Survey, including the aforementioned median family income. 2010 data from this Census release will be added soon.

Given today’s news about family income data, the impact of the recession on California communities is becoming more evident. For more perspective on these data, here are some news articles from across the state:

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Tags: Child Health Issues, Data Sources

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New Census Data: More Than 1 in 5 American Kids Live in Poverty

September 13th, 2011

A new report released today by the Census Bureau notes concerning increases in child poverty from 2009 to 2010 across the country.

According to the report, Income, Coverage and Health Insurance in the United States: 2010, 22% of U.S. children lived in poverty in 2010 — that’s up from 20.7% in ’09, which translates to nearly 1 million more children in poverty. Also, in 2010, 9.8% of U.S. children were uninsured, but among children in poverty, the percentage was higher, at 15.4%.

The report is particularly timely, given that tomorrow we’ll be participating in a New America Media briefing about childhood poverty. The event will illustrate the challenges faced by low-income youth and families in the Bay Area from several different perspectives.

Here are a few other highlights of the census report:

Annual median income levels in U.S. family households declined from $62,276 in 2009 to $61,544 in 2010 (Table 1, pg. 6)
Households in the West experienced a greater decline in median household income than any other region across the country — 2.9% (Table 1, pg. 6)

Visit kidsdata.org for additional data on poverty, health care, and family income for your region.

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Tags: Child Health Issues, Data Sources

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Join Us for a Media Forum: Growing Up Poor in the Bay Area

September 9th, 2011

As the number of California children living in poverty has risen in recent years, key programs serving children and families have been cut. A media forum planned for next week aims to address these issues — and hopefully spur action.

The New America Media forum, Growing Up Poor in the Bay Area, will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 14, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in San Francisco, and is sponsored by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. This event will feature information about youth poverty from several perspectives:

A presentation of local poverty data on kidsdata.org;
Multimedia stories from youth reporters who will translate these data into real lives, describing how they’ve seen poverty affect local youth; and
Comments/discussion from youth development organizations and others about troubling trends and recommendations for action.

We hope that this forum will help illustrate challenges faced by low income youth and families — and perhaps inspire some media coverage of these issues. Stay tuned to Data Points for a re-cap of this event.

If you’d like to attend Wednesday’s event, contact Dana Levine at dlevine@newamericamedia.org or 415-503-4170.

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Tags: Child Health Issues, Data Projects

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Health Observance Highlights Importance of Childhood Injury Prevention

August 29th, 2011

National Child Injury Prevention Week begins this Thursday, Sept. 1. How many children suffer from injuries in your county? You can find out at kidsdata.org.

According to data recently updated on kidsdata.org, after a 7-year decline, the rate of hospitalizations for unintentional injuries in California has increased in recent years for children ages 1 to 4. In fact, the unintentional injury hospitalization rate declined for every other age group between 2007 and 2009 — 1-4-year-olds were the only age group for which rates increased.

These data are underscored by a recent American Academy of Pediatrics report about injuries from children accidentally falling out of windows, which found that children under age 4 were more likely to suffer head injuries and be hospitalized for their injuries than older children.

Organizations such as Safe Kids USA, the California Injury Prevention Network, and the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System offer information and tips on keeping kids safe. If you know of other resources, please list them here.

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Tags: Child Health Issues, Data Sources, Health Observances

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Back to School Checklist Helps Get Kids Off to a Healthy Start

August 15th, 2011

PICO California and the 100% campaign (a joint venture of the Children’s Partnership, Children Now, and the Children’s Defense Fund) have released a new checklist to help parents get their kids off to a healthy start this school year. The checklist reminds parents to schedule dental appointments (and set a reminder to re-schedule every six months), obtain required immunizations and physicals, and ensure coverage in a healthcare insurance plan.

According to 2007 data on kidsdata.org, over 6% of children had not seen a dentist in over 12 months, and another 13% of children had never seen a dentist.

In 2009, 5% of children ages 0-17 in California did not have any health coverage.

See the checklist to make sure your child is healthy for back-to-school >>

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Tags: Child Health Issues

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Brief Ranks CA Counties on Healthful Food Options

August 8th, 2011

A recent study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows that providing accessible, healthier food options where children live leads to healthier kids. The study focuses on the food environments in which teens live and go to school, and particularly on the amount of healthy and unhealthy food outlets available in those environments.

The brief measures the Home and School Retail Food Environment Index for each county. Healthful food outlets include grocery stores and produce vendors, and unhealthy food outlets include liquor stores, fast food restaurants, and convenience stores.

According to the brief, a majority of California counties have too many unhealthy food outlets and not enough healthy outlets in the vicinity of children and teens.

So how does your county fare? Overall, the county with the most healthful food options is Nevada County, whereas the county with least amount of healthful food options is Sutter County. See how your county fared in the study>>

Results are also broken down regionally. The Central Coast is the region with the healthiest food options, and the Sacramento area has the unhealthiest food choices. See how healthy your region’s food options are>>

On kidsdata.org, you can find related data on nutrition and children’s weight.

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Tags: Child Health Issues, Data Sources

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