Most parents and school districts have been so vigilant about seeing to it that children receive at least the minimum vaccinations that many of these diseases have all but disappeared from post-industrial countries like the United States. So what are parents and pediatricians focusing their attention on these days?
“Children’s psychological, emotional, cognitive and developmental concerns have now come to the fore,” said Oscar Taube, M.D. Taube is the director of Adolescent Medicine and Outpatient Services for The Children’s Hospital at Sinai.
Despite the new focus, Taube said he would never minimize the importance of scheduled vaccinations.
“Once we become complacent about vaccinations, the diseases return,” he said, as evidenced by an outbreak of diphtheria in Britain during the late 1980s. Infectious childhood diseases are still rampant in developing countries. The AAP has recently expanded its list to include annual flu shots for children from 6 months. (See chart.)
“But, in the last 50 years, this world has become a more stressful place for families,” Taube said. While medicine has helped reduce the risk of infectious disease to children, some, Taube said, think that our society has created new risk factors to childhood development.
Taube also treats patients at Greenspring Pediatric Associates, part of Park West Medical Center, which is partially funded through a Sinai community benefit grant. There, he sees instances of maternal drug use during pregnancy, lead poisoning and unstable family situations. The result is that parents notice more developmental and cognitive delays and more emotional and behavioral problems in their children.
To meet these challenges, pediatricians have to adjust how they are trained and how they treat what Taube refers to as the “new morbidity” among children. He offers three recommended new “immunizations” to guard against the risks of living in the 21st century.
- Breastfeed babies as long as possible. Each year, Taube said, the list of medical advantages of breast milk over formula grows.
- Read to children from the first months of life.Success in school equals success in reading and success in reading comes from being read to, Taube said.
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Take an active role in your child’s development during his or her teen years. Parents have an enormous influence over the direction their child chooses to go, he said. “Help them navigate the teen years so that they can be physically healthy, psychologically healthy, able to create meaningful relationships and live up to their full potential.”
Immunization still best way to deter diesease
| Age |
Vaccination |
| Birth |
Hep B #1 |
| 1-4 months |
Hep B #2 |
| 2 months |
DTaP, Hib, IPV, PCV |
| 4 months |
DTaP, Hib, IPV, PCV |
| 6 months |
DTaP, Hib, PCV, Hep B #3, IPV
**Influenza for children ≥ 6 months |
| 12-15 months |
Hib, MMR #1, PCV |
| 12-18 months |
Var |
| 12-18 months |
DTaP |
| 4-6 years |
DTaP, MMR #2, IPV, Hep B series* |
| 11-18 years |
Td, MMR #2*, Var*, Hep B series*
*If not previously given
**for selected populations
|
Key:
Hep B - Hepatitus B vaccine
DTaP - Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine
Hib - Haemophilus influenza type b vaccine
IPV - Inactivated poliovirus vaccine
PCV - Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine
MMR - Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine
Td - Tetanus, diphtheria
Var - Varicella vaccine; may be given at any visit after first birthday
|
Related Links
Adolescent Medicine and Outpatient Services
The Children’s Hospital at Sinai
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