Children of Today v.s. Children in the Past Generations
Who are healthier? The children of today or the children in the past generations? The American adults have concrete answers to this question.
In a poll conducted by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital on Children’s Health, American adults speak about their perceptions of the children of new generations compared to children over the past several decades. In the latest national poll to gain insight into adults’ perceptions of children’s health today, it was revealed that adults in the U.S. broadly agree: children’s health today seems worse than it was for children of earlier generations.
The result may be a surprise to all. But it sounded an alarm for urgency to address the issue.
Adults believe that children of today are more stressed and not living a healthier life. Children are mentally and emotionally unstable as well.
According to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. Childhood obesity is common and behavior problems are becoming a prevailing issue among the young generation.
Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the poll and professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital revealed the results of the study. The poll showed that 55 percent of adults polled believe kids’ mental and emotional health is worse today than when they were children.
“Coping and personal friendships for children were also widely viewed as worse than for children in the past.” – Dr. Davis.
Perceptions on Children’s Health
The perception is that children’s health is worse today in multiple ways, than it was in the past, and this was the dominant view from the poll.
Poll also highlighted alarming and poor emotional and mental health of today’s children. Along with this, adults said children of today have worse physical health as well. To support this outcome, 42% percent of adults say kids today are in worse physical health compared to what they remember of their own childhood days.
Adult’s perception also varies according to their generation. For the pre-baby boomers ages 70 and older, they said children’s physical health today is better than when they were growing up. Meanwhile, the baby boomers (ages 51-69), generation Xers (ages 35-50) and millennials in the 18-34 age group less likely perceived that children’s physical health is better now.
In addition, there are more obese children than there have ever been before. Childhood diabetes is more prevalent among children of today than children in the past generations as well.
The respondents of the study include nearly 2,700 adults in a nationally representative sample. The respondents were asked to assess key variables for children growing up today, compared to those in previous decades. The key results linked to behavioral health are consistent with previous Mott polls that cited stress, bullying, depression and suicide as dominant child health concerns identified by adults across the United States of America.
