The Future of Us: What the Dreams of Children Mean for Twenty-First Century America
America needs every child — regardless of socioeconomic status —to be a success story. Period.
The Future of Us addresses the very serious, grown-up business of fulfilling the promises and potential of all children, and how this could impact America’s future in a #postpandemic world. Plus, see my own wild journey!
Health screenings help kids succeed in the classroom
Sanctuary Magazine Special Issue: Celebrating the Men in Our Lives
The Trump Administration Is the Worst for Children in the Country’s History
From the immoral border policy to the environment to the effects of the shutdown and more, the Trump administration has all but declared war on vulnerable children.
It was already clear that Donald Trump’s policies, actions, and words have put millions of children at risk. But although the longest government shutdown in American history is coming to an end, this nearly 40 day financial crisis added a whole new dimension to the challenges facing children living in poor, working poor, and even many middle-class families.
Salon Talks: Children’s health care in crisis
From limited access to health care, to contaminated drinking water and the growing opioid epidemic, America’s health is constantly being threatened and children are often hit the hardest. Co-founder of the Children's Health Fund and public health activist Dr. Irwin Redlener joins Salon’s Amanda Marcotte to discuss his new book, “The Future of Us: What the Dreams of Children Mean for Twenty-First-Century America,” and the biggest threats to children’s health today.
We still haven’t made things right in Flint
In many ways my trip last month to Flint, Mich. — now the symbolic epicenter of how bad decisions, bad politics and ill-advised money-saving measures can seriously and permanently harm children — was more depressing than the first time I visited that struggling city in 2016.
You’ll recall that in 2014, the state of Michigan, led by Gov. Rick Snyder (R), replaced Flint’s clean, safe water from Detroit’s system with improperly treated water from the Flint River. Lead leached from pipes into the water supply. The state’s irresponsible — in fact, criminally negligent — decision precipitated one of the worst public health crises in recent U.S. history.
Missed opportunities: Do states require screening of children for health conditions that interfere with learning?
Strong evidence supports the existence of Health Barriers to Learning (HBLs)—health conditions that when untreated or unmanaged can interfere with a child’s ability to learn and succeed in school. These HBLs include vision and hearing deficits, uncontrolled asthma, mental and behavioral problems, dental pain, persistent hunger, and the effects of lead exposure. However, 19% of US children aged 6 to 11 did not receive their annual checkup in the past year. School requirements for health screenings can help identify children with HBLs. This study explores which states require health screening for children in elementary school, and the extent to which the 7 HBLs are included.
Dreams deferred: Dr. Irwin Redlener makes a case for fulfilling all kids' dreams
William wouldn't show his eyes.
The guarded, gaunt 10-year-old gazed at the floor of Dr. Irwin Redlener’s mobile pediatric unit parked in his Brooklyn neighborhood, answering the pediatrician's questions in monosyllables.
Then Redlener, who dreamed up the mobile unit — a big blue bus — with his wife, Karen, and singer-songwriter Paul Simon to bring health care to the inner-city poor, asked William what he calls “the big question”: What do you want to be when you grow up?
The Health and Well-Being of Children
Irwin Redlener talks with Brian Lehrer about his life and work dedicated to removing barriers for children to realize their potential, from healthcare to education, and discusses the recent disasters in Puerto Rico and Mexico, as well as the current efforts to repeal the ACA.