It's rarely going to be a direct cause-and-effect, a storm would not cause a well-balanced kid to kill themselves. But this is mostly worrisome for the vulnerable children -- that is, (children) who have had some preexisting challenges like depression ... Kids who tend to be loners and not very communicative. Kids with other types of mental health conditions ... This is the last straw.

Irwin Redlener

Categorized in : Top News

Many children face chronic stress from nutritional deprivation or persistent violence at home or in the community. By addressing their medical, emotional and developmental needs through a comprehensive clinical care model, we can lower their risk of developing long-term physical and mental health issues.

Irwin Redlener

stress home children

Police officers and firemen are so visible in their daily work, there's no mistaking they're there - and that presence makes people feel secure.

Irwin Redlener

fireman police people

Immigrant children are highly vulnerable. Their level of disadvantage and fragility has consistently grown due to factors outside their control.

Irwin Redlener

fragility levels children

Disasters like Oklahoma City and 9/11 were time-limited. The children who were affected psychologically could go to a place of normalcy.

Irwin Redlener

oklahoma-city cities children

There are several very good websites which describe the details of preparedness planning for citizens.

Irwin Redlener

details planning citizens

Every school should have well-rehearsed emergency response protocols covering a variety of possible scenarios, from fire to armed intruders. Schools should have good lines of communications with local emergency response officials and practice those relationships in drills and special exercises.

Irwin Redlener

communication exercise school

There's detailed information on how to assemble a nuclear weapon from parts. There's books about how to build a nuclear bomb.

Irwin Redlener

nuclear bombs book

Having insurance doesn't guarantee good health outcomes, but it is a critical factor.

Irwin Redlener

good-health outcomes guarantees

There has been a transition from a nuclear-annihilation scenario to an isolated-terrorist-nuclear-bomb scenario. But we're still locked into a mind-set that nuclear war would be so overwhelming that any kind of preparedness would be futile.

Irwin Redlener

transition mind war

The reality is that it's harder to recruit pediatric subspecialists if you're not recruiting them for a children's hospital.

Irwin Redlener

harder children reality

When children are hungry, sleepy from a night spent fighting untreated asthma, or hobbled by symptoms of undiagnosed illnesses, they are less likely to do well in school.

Irwin Redlener

fighting children school

Kids get a lot of lip service in disaster planning, but they tend to get far fewer resources than they need. The mantra of 'children are our most valuable resource' is almost never matched by actual funding.

Irwin Redlener

kids children needs

The best way to get a sense of what kinds of emergencies might present themselves in your community is by contacting local chapters of the American Red Cross or offices of emergency management in the region or state. Most large cities will have their own offices of emergency management.

Irwin Redlener

community office cities

Poverty leads to hardship and failure.

Irwin Redlener

hardship poverty

Poverty-fighting programs are not handouts - they are investments.

Irwin Redlener

investment poverty fighting

Even the best community organizations and faith-based initiatives and the extraordinary charity of Americans across the country can't carry the brunt of eliminating poverty.

Irwin Redlener

community organization country

There isn't a single American city, in my estimation, that has sufficient plans for a nuclear terrorist event.

Irwin Redlener

nuclear events cities

The risks are far greater to your child of not getting immunized than any kind of speculative potential relationship between the vaccine and the development of autism.

Irwin Redlener

autism vaccines children

Fallout shelters are like bell-bottoms. They've gone in and out of favor.

Irwin Redlener

bells shelter gone

Seven million ship cargo containers come into the United States every year. Five to seven percent only are inspected - five to seven percent.

Irwin Redlener

ships united-states years