Blog

Over the past five years, drug abuse and teen pregnancy have been rated consistently in the National Poll on Children’s Health as two of the top children’s health concerns in the eyes of adults across the U.S.

Every 10 minutes in the United States, a child younger than 6 years old is taken to the emergency room for possible poisoning from swallowing a medicine. Each year, unintentional poisonings from medicines cause more emergency room visits for young children than car accidents.

The issue of sexting – sending sexually explicit, nude, or semi-nude photos by cell phone – has taken center stage in recent legislation in several states in the U.S. To date, 17 states have sexting laws on the books. Another 13 states have sexting legislation pending in 2012.

For more than 10 years, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended limiting fruit juice to one serving per day for children 1-6 years old.  Drinking less juice helps prevent health problems such as childhood obesity and early tooth decay.

A recent article in TIME Ideas continues the national discussion about childhood obesity and eating disorders.

Our National Poll on Children’s Health report in January 2012  addressed two health concerns facing kids today: childhood obesity and eating disorders.

Welcome to The Pulse, the new blog of the University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health!