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Too little parent, too much media a risky mix: child health editor

In anticipation of the start of a new school year, AAP News asked Ed Schor, M.D., FAAP, to discuss the key issues facing school-age children and their parents. Dr. Schor is the editor-in-chief of the Academy's newest book for parents, the revised edition of Caring for Your School-Age Child: Ages 5 to 12 (Bantam Books, 1999).

Q: What do you think is the greatest concern right now for the parents of school-age children?

A: Ofcourse, parents' greatest concerns always center on the health and safety of their children. Depending on the age of their child and on their community, parents' specific concerns will vary. Parents of younger school children worry, appropriately, about injuries. Older children's parents start to add drugs and violence to their list of concerns. These are pretty obvious and legitimate things to think about, but I wish they would devote their concern to the extraordinary social development their school-age children are going through during these middle years. Some lifetime patterns are being established and they deserve a lot of parental attention. Children are learning whether school is a stimulating, engaging experience or not. They are learning that the world outside their family is often quite different from inside their home in terms of customs and values. And they are learning how to communicate effectively with friends and family, learning about relationships, learning about themselves and making value judgments about all of those things.