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Suicide Rates in Children Have Continued to Climb Across 15 Years, Study Finds
The suicide rate for U.S. children 8 to 12 years old has steadily climbed in the past decade and a half, with a disproportionate rise among girls, data released Tuesday by the National Institute of Mental Health shows.
The findings, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, highlight pervasive issues regarding mental health that affect U.S. children daily, the study authors said.
The authors of the study blame no single reason for the increase, but experts not involved in the study say the problem is multifaceted, citing technology, social media and guns as the main culprits.
School Can’t Be Sued After Child Received COVID Vax Against Parents’ Wishes, Court Rules
The Vermont Supreme Court ruled Friday a family cannot sue their child’s school district after the then-6-year-old was given a COVID-19 vaccine without their consent.
The child, labeled L.P. in the original complaint, was vaccinated at a November 2021 clinic hosted by the Windham Southeast School District and the Vermont Department of Health. L.P. was a student at the district’s Academy School at the time.
L.P.’s father told a school official days prior to the clinic the child was not to be vaccinated, court documents say. The school official acknowledged the father’s directive, according to Friday’s ruling.
Clinic workers gave L.P. one dose of the Pfizer vaccine after the child was mistakenly given a name tag reading the name of another student, according to the ruling. The second student had allegedly already received a vaccination earlier that day.
L.P. “verbally protested,” saying, “Dad said no,” the ruling reads.
Academy School officials eventually realized the error and called L.P.’s parents to apologize, who later removed their child from the school, according to the ruling.
Most Antibiotic Prescriptions for Kids’ Ear Infections Are Too Long, Study Finds
A study conducted at two large pediatric academic healthcare systems found that three-quarters of antibiotic prescriptions for children with ear infections were longer than recommended, researchers reported on July 26 in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.
Using electronic medical record (EMR) data, researchers analyzed outpatient encounters for acute otitis media (AOM) in children ages 2 to 17 years at 135 care locations affiliated with Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and Washington University from 2019 through 2022.
The primary outcome was the proportion of 5-day antibiotic prescriptions. The researchers also looked at the proportion of 7-day and 10-day prescriptions, as well as treatment failure, AOM recurrence, hospitalization and adverse drug events.
AOM accounts for roughly 25% of all antibiotics prescribed to children annually. The American Academy of Pediatrics AOM guidelines, published in 2013, recommend durations of 5 to 7 days for children ages 2 years and older with uncomplicated AOM. But previous studies have found most children receive longer durations.
A School Used Facial Recognition Tech for Cafeteria Payments. An Internet Law Expert Says It’s Rarely Worth the Risk.
A school in England broke the law when it introduced facial recognition technology, or FRT, to take student lunch payments.
The U.K.’s data protection regulator issued a formal reprimand to a 1,200-pupil high school in Essex, a county in southeast England, for not conducting a data protection impact assessment before installing the FRT.
The assessment looks at the risks associated with processing sensitive data and establishes how to manage them.
The Information Commissioner’s Office, or ICO, said the school for kids aged 11 to 18 did not have explicit permission to process their data.
“Handling people’s information correctly in a school canteen environment is as important as the handling of the food itself,” Lynne Currie, the head of privacy innovation at the ICO, said.
“We’ve taken action against this school to show introducing measures such as FRT should not be taken lightly, particularly when it involves children,” she added.
Jason Kelce Hits Back at Claim His New Cereal Venture With Brother Travis ‘Destroys Kids’ Health
Jason Kelce has hit back at criticism over his new breakfast cereal with brother Travis Kelce, amid concerns that the product will pose a risk to children’s health.
The retired NFL star, 36, and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 34, recently announced the launch of their new cereal, called the “Kelce Mix,” in partnership with General Mills.
After the Today show posted a clip about their new “Kelce Mix” cereal, Calley Means — the co-founder of health payment company TrueMed — voiced his disapproval over the product launch.
“Athletes should stop sponsoring food that destroys kids’ metabolic health,” Means claimed in a post shared to X, formerly Twitter, on July 26. “Some things are more important than money.”
Survey Asked Parents What Worries Them About Their Child’s Health. Here’s What They Said
As families prepare for children to return to class, a recent national survey found nearly 80% of parents believe schools should provide an employed mental health professional at their school.
The Parent and Child Mental Health Survey asked more than 1,000 parents and caregivers what worries them about their child’s health.
Some findings from the survey include:
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- Nearly two-thirds of parents want training to better understand and support their child’s mental health and well-being.
- Nearly 70% of parents indicated their child feels safe and supported at school when there is at least one trusted adult they can talk to.
- The biggest obstacle for kids getting help with mental health at school, according to parents, is the child themself thinking they do not need it.
