When I was a preschooler, my favorite hobbies included chewing on lead-based paint chips, smoking candy cigarettes and watching hyper-violent cartoons on TV.
“Die, Road Runner, die!”
My 3-year-old daughter takes a yoga class and snacks on organic mangos while immersing herself in a nonviolent (but painfully preachy) bilingual cartoon.
“Swiper, no swiping!”
This is generational progress – from the evil machinations of Wile E. Coyote to the gentle multicultural nagging of Dora the Explorer.
Unlike my parents, whose idea of give-and-take was scowling followed by pointing, we engage in intense tripartite negotiations with my daughter to persuade her to … well, to persuade her to do anything. But I’m willing to be a sap. Especially when it comes to her health.
And there is good news on that front.
If you’re under the impression that children are being poisoned by pollutants; that they’re victims of tobacco and liquor conglomerates; that they’re a bunch of soda-swilling, potato-chip-gobbling fatsos, you’re wrong.
You need only visit your kid’s pediatrician to realize this is a myth.
You’ll notice the “sick” waiting area will always be virtually empty and the “healthy” side will be crammed with rosy-cheeked, overachieving, veggie- chomping toddlers waiting for a physician’s assistant to confirm their extraordinary health.
But if you need more than my word for it, a recent report by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics found that children are healthier than ever, dispelling the myth that our kids are on the precipice of the black plague.
According to the report, the death rate for children between ages 1 and 4 is its lowest ever. And around 83 percent of parents reported their children were in “excellent” or “very good” health.
True, kids are a bit plumper these days – obesity among children edged up only slightly – but at the same time they are a bit healthier, which should cause more consternation for the obesity alarmists.
Why the change?
“In part, it’s because parents are much more educated and informed in terms of reading print media and the Internet,” explains Dr. Dean Prina of Partners in Pediatrics in Denver. “There is also a progressive movement for a more holistic approach that’s outside traditional medicine but one that incorporates a complementary approach that includes nutrition and, in some cases, homeopathic and herbal solutions.”
The new report found other factors that should interest parents.
Twice as many boys as girls, for instance, were likely to suffer from emotional or behavioral problems.
And if you’re like me, and believe teenagers are all meth-snorting video-game junkies, you’ll be happy to learn that Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign may finally be kicking into high gear.
The percentage of students who reported having had five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks remained at 11 percent among 8th-graders and at 29 percent among 12th-graders.
More good news. Between 2003 and 2004, illicit drug use declined from 10 percent to 8 percent among 8th-graders.
And yes, I’m freaked out that any 8th- grader uses illicit drugs.
The report also showed that, in general, kids living with two married parents had the best chance of succeeding in the categories examined.
What about our state? A recent WebMD study ranked Colorado 19th-best for raising healthy kids. And if you needed another reason not to move to Alaska, it’s at the bottom of the list.
“When you see things like Vitamin Cottage and Whole Foods spring up in Colorado and become so popular, it means a lot of families have a strong interest in healthy living. It’s positive,” explains Dr. Prina. “For that reason, I think we are seeing more kids being more healthy.”
Now, if only Dora could teach kids to keep tranquilo so parents could get some sueño, we’d really be cooking with monounsaturated oil.
David Harsanyi’s column appears Monday and Thursday. Reach him at 303-820-1255 or dharsanyi@denverpost.com.
