Poll Reports

Failing grades are most commonly given for nutrition education and the amount of time schools allow for physical activity. Parents of overweight children are more likely to give failing grades to their children’s schools for efforts to address obesity.

26% of parents report that their children 2-5 years old have 3 or more hours of entertainment screen time a day. 53% of parents of young children limit the locations where their children can use media devices. 13% of parents report no limits on media device location or screen time limits for their young children.

Parents of nut-allergic children vary in their views of how schools should manage their child’s lunchtime. Most parents of children without nut allergies (58%) think schools should have nut-allergic children eat lunch in a designated area, such as a nut-free table. Less than 40% of parents support a school-wide ban on nut-containing products.

26% of all parents with a child age 0-3 report having attended a breastfeeding class. 40% of first-time parents attend breastfeeding classes. Only 12% of uninsured parents attend breastfeeding classes.

Parents vary widely in views about their responsibilities in getting specialty care for their children. Parents were most divided about who is responsible for choosing the specialist: 52% say primary care providers, 48% say parents. Parents see clinical expertise & training in pediatrics as most important characteristics of specialists & convenience of appointment less.

44% of adults believe e-cigarettes will encourage kids to use tobacco products. Nearly half of parents are concerned their child will try e-cigarettes. 86% of adults support prohibiting sale of e-cigarettes to youth under age 18.

5% of parents say their children have taken part in medical research. 44% of parents would consider allowing their children to participate in medical research if their children had the disease being studied.

6% of parents say they can currently get email advice from their children’s usual site of health care. 77% of parents said they would be likely to seek email advice for their children’s minor illness if that service were available. 49% of parents say the co-pay for an email consultation should be $0.

Childhood cancer is rated as the top priority for children’s health research, with 76% of adults rating it as “very important” to improving children’s health. Diabetes (70%) is the 2nd priority, and birth defects & other genetic problems (68%) are 3rd. Priorities for children’s health research differ by parent status and by race/ethnicity of the respondent.

Adults across the US rate childhood obesity at the top of the list of big health problems for children in their communities. Hispanic adults rate bullying as the #2 health concern for children in their communities. Black adults rate school violence as the #3 health concern for children in their communities; Hispanic adults also rate school violence in their top 10.