Promoting healthy development: The Promoting Healthy Development Survey Implementation Guidelines

Child Development Basics | CDC

New study: 1 in 3 children don’t get enough sleep.

Children with special health care needs are especially at risk. Learn more

Physical Developmental Delays:
What to look for

Healthy Development

The early years of a child’s life are very important for his or her health and development. Healthy development means that children of all abilities, including those with special health care needs, are able to grow up where their social, emotional and educational needs are met. Having a safe and loving home and spending time with family―playing, singing, reading, and talking―are very important. Proper nutrition, exercise, and sleep also can make a big difference.

Effective Parenting Practices

Parenting takes many different forms. However, some positive parenting practices work well across diverse families and in diverse settings when providing the care that children need to be happy and healthy, and to grow and develop well. A recent report looked at the evidence in scientific publications for what works, and found these key ways that parents can support their child’s healthy development:

• Responding to children in a predictable way
• Showing warmth and sensitivity
• Having routines and household rules
• Sharing books and talking with children
• Supporting health and safety
• Using appropriate discipline without harshness

Parents who use these practices can help their child stay healthy, be safe, and be successful in many areas—emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and social. Read more about the report here.

Positive Parenting Tips

Get parenting, health, and safety tips for children from birth through 17 years of age

New, easy-to-use, interactive web tools for children and teens to deal with thoughts and feelings in a healthy way.

Developmental Milestones

Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye-bye” are called developmental milestones. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (for example, crawling and walking).

Children develop at their own pace, so it’s impossible to tell exactly when a child will learn a given skill. However, the developmental milestones give a general idea of the changes to expect as a child gets older.

As a parent, you know your child best. If your child is not meeting the milestones for his or her age, or if you think there could be a problem with your child’s development, talk with your child’s doctor and share your concerns. Don’t wait.

Milestones children should reach from birth through 5 years of age

Learn more about milestones and parenting tips from the National Institutes of Health:

• Normal growth and developmentexternal icon
• Preschoolersexternal icon
• School age childrenexternal icon
• Adolescentsexternal icon

Developmental Monitoring and Screening

Parents, grandparents, early childhood providers, and other caregivers can participate in developmental monitoring, which observes how your child grows and changes over time and whether your child meets the typical developmental milestones in playing, learning, speaking, behaving, and moving.

Developmental screening takes a closer look at how your child is developing. A missed milestone could be a sign of a problem, so when you take your child to a well visit, the doctor, nurse, or another specialist might give your child a brief test, or you will complete a questionnaire about your child.

If the screening tool identifies an area of concern, a formal developmental evaluation may be needed, where a trained specialist takes an in-depth look at a child’s development.

If a child has a developmental delay, it is important to get help as soon as possible. When a developmental delay is not found early, children must wait to get the help they need to do well in social and educational settings.

Learn more about developmental monitoring and screening

If You’re Concerned

If your child is not meeting the milestones for his or her age, or you are concerned about your child’s development, talk with your child’s doctor and share your concerns. Don’t wait!

Learn more about what to do if you’re concerned

Promoting Health for Children and Adolescents

How CDC is Promoting Health for Children and Adolescents

• Reducing Obesity Risk in ECE Facilities
• Improving Healthy Food Options in School
• Improving PE and Physical Activity
• Preventing Tobacco Use
• Helping Children and Adolescents Manage Chronic Conditions
• Supporting Social and Emotional Learning
• Promoting the Use of Dental Sealants
• Promoting Better Sleep

Establishing healthy behaviors to prevent chronic disease is easier and more effective during childhood and adolescence than trying to change unhealthy behaviors during adulthood. CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion works with parents, early care and education (ECE) facilities, schools, health systems, and communities to keep children healthy.

Childhood obesity is a serious national problem. In the United States, over 12% of children aged 2 to 5 years have obesity. Children’s health behaviors are shaped by many settings, including their home, ECE facilities, schools, and communities.

ECE settings—which include day care, preschool and pre-K facilities, and care provided in homes—are ideal places to encourage good nutrition and physical activity for early obesity prevention. CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity funds recipients who work to improve the quality of ECE programs across state and local levels—for example, through standards and licensing, technical assistance networks, and training requirements for providers.

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The percentage of obesity is over 20% for children aged 6 to 11 and over 21% for adolescents aged 12 to 19. Children who have obesity are at higher risk of having obesity as adults. School is an ideal setting for children to learn and practice healthy eating.

Most US children attend school for 6 to 7 hours a day and consume as much as half of their daily calories at school. CDC Healthy Schools in the Division of Population Health recommends that schools create an environment that helps students make healthy choices about foods and beverages.

Some examples of CDC-recommended actions to improve nutrition in schools are:

• Promote access to and participation in school breakfast and lunch.
• Ensure that all foods and drinks sold or served outside of school meal programs are nutritious and appealing.
• Offer healthy foods and drinks at school celebrations and events. Use only nonfood items as rewards.
• Provide more access to drinking water.
• Promote healthy foods and drinks—for example, by pricing them lower than less healthy items.
• Teach nutrition in health education classes, throughout the school day, and in after-school programs—for example, through school gardens and farm-to-school activities.
• Provide students enough time (at least 20 minutes) once they are seated to enjoy their meal.

CDC funds state departments of education to increase the number of students who consume nutritious foods and drinks.

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About one-fourth of adolescents get the recommended 60 minutes a day of physical activity. CDC Healthy Schools recommends that schools offer students multiple ways to be physically active, which will help them build healthy habits for a lifetime.

Schools are encouraged to:

• Offer physical education to increase students’ knowledge, skills, and confidence to be physically active. Physical education can also help improve academic outcomes, like grades and standardized test scores, and classroom behavior.
• Offer recess at all grade levels to encourage students to be physically active and engaged with their peers in activities of their choice.
• Integrate physical activity into classroom instruction.
• Promote before- and after-school opportunities to be physically active, through walking or biking programs, physical activity clubs, intramural programs, and competitive sports.
• Provide equal opportunities for students with disabilities to be physically active.

CDC funds state departments of education to increase the number of students who participate in daily physical education and physical activity.

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Nearly 9 in 10 adults who smoke cigarettes in the United States first tried a cigarette before age 18. Every day, about 1,600 young people under 18 try their first cigarette, and nearly 200 end up smoking cigarettes daily. About 7 of every 100 middle school students and about 24 of every 100 high school students report current use of some type of tobacco product.

Any tobacco use among young people—whether smoked, smokeless, or electronic—is unsafe because nicotine is addictive and can harm the developing brain. Nicotine exposure during adolescence affects learning, memory, and attention and primes the brain for addiction.

CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health is at the forefront of the nation’s efforts to reduce deaths and prevent chronic diseases that result from commercial* tobacco use. CDC’s activities include:

• Monitoring youth tobacco use through the National Youth Tobacco Survey, which focuses on use, beliefs, and knowledge about tobacco among middle and high school students.
• Funding 50 states and the District of Columbia, 8 US territories and freely associated states, 26 tribes, 8 national networks, and several other partners to support their efforts to prevent youth tobacco use and reduce tobacco-related disease and death.
• Helping parents, educators, health care providers, and other youth influencers understand and talk to young people about the risks of tobacco products by developing easy-to-understand materials.

* When CDC references tobacco on this web page, we are referring to the use of commercial tobacco and not the sacred and traditional use of tobacco by some American Indian communities.

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About 2 in 5 US students aged 6 to 17 has a chronic health condition such as asthma, diabetes, or epilepsy. Managing students’ chronic health conditions can be a challenge for school personnel. A coordinated effort that involves family members, community groups, social service agencies, and medical providers working with teachers, school nurses, and staff is crucial.

The health care needs of children with chronic health conditions can be complex and continuous and include both daily management and potential emergencies. Ensuring that students have the health services they need to manage their chronic conditions while at school is important in helping them stay healthy and ready to learn.

CDC funds state education agencies to improve the delivery of health services in schools and increase the number of students who can effectively manage their chronic health conditions.

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Social and emotional learning can help children and adolescents develop the skills they need to recognize and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, appreciate the perspectives of others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. A positive social and emotional climate at school enables students to develop these skills.

CDC supports school policies and practices for social and emotional learning and creating a positive social and emotional climate to improve students’ overall health and academic achievement.

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Dental sealants are protective coatings applied to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth, where most cavities start. Although use of sealants has increased, this effective intervention remains underused. Less than half of children aged 6 to 11 have dental sealants. The use of dental sealants also varies among racial and ethnic groups, as does the prevalence of treated and untreated cavities. Children from lower-income households are twice as likely to have untreated cavities as those from higher-income households. They are also less likely to have dental sealants.

School sealant programs provide dental sealants at no charge to children who are less likely to receive private dental care. These programs provide sealants to students at school using mobile dental equipment. Providing these services at school is especially effective at reaching children at risk of developing cavities.

Programs funded by CDC’s Division of Oral Health focus on schools that serve children at high risk of cavities. CDC provides guidance to state and community programs to help them plan, set up, and evaluate school sealant programs and to complement services provided by private dentists. An online data collection tool called SEALS allows programs to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of their efforts.

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Sleep is increasingly recognized as a component of good health. Children who don’t get enough sleep are at increased risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes, attention and behavior problems, poor mental health, and injuries. Children aged 6 to 12 need 9 to 12 hours of sleep a night. Teens aged 13 to 18 need 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night.

CDC works to increase parents’ awareness about their children’s need for good sleep and how they can help their children get enough—for example, by setting the same bed and wake-up times each day, including on the weekends, and by modeling good sleep behaviors.

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Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages – Sustainability

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Goal 3: Ensuring healthy lifestyles and promoting well-being for all at all agesElmira Tairova2020-07-29T13:27:09-04:00

Goal 3: Ensuring healthy lifestyles and promoting well-being for all at all ages

Ensuring healthy lifestyles and promoting well-being for all at all ages are important components of sustainable development.

The world is currently experiencing an unprecedented global health crisis as COVID-19 is spreading human suffering, destabilizing the global economy and fundamentally changing the lives of billions of people around the world.

Prior to the pandemic, significant progress had been made in improving the health of millions of people. Significant progress has been made in increasing life expectancy and reducing some of the most common causes of death associated with child and maternal mortality. But more efforts are needed to completely eradicate a wide range of diseases and address many different persistent and emerging health problems. By focusing on better financing health systems, improving sanitation and hygiene, and increasing access to doctors, significant progress can be made in helping to save the lives of millions of people.

Health emergencies such as COVID-19 represent a global risk and have demonstrated the urgent need for preparedness. The United Nations Development Program has highlighted the vast disparities in countries’ ability to cope with and recover from the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic represents a tipping point for preparedness for health emergencies and for investing in critical national public services of the 21st century.

COVID-19 response

The World Health Organization (WHO) is leading the global response to COVID-19. The Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, developed by WHO and partners, outlines the public health actions that countries need to take to prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The April 2020 Strategy Update provides further guidance on the public health response to COVID-19at the national and subnational levels, and highlights the role of the coordinated support needed from the international community to address the challenge caused by COVID-19.

Individuals and organizations who want to help fight the pandemic and support WHO and its partners can donate through the COVID-19 Solidarity and Response Fund, which supports WHO’s work to track and understand the spread of the virus, to ensure that patients receive the care they need and that primary health workers receive the essential supplies and information they need, and to accelerate the research and development of vaccines and treatments for all who need them.

In addition, WHO is working with partners to provide guidance and advice to people taking care of their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially healthcare workers, health care leaders, caregivers, older people, people in isolation, and members of the public at large.

The pandemic is much more than just a health crisis. It requires a government and society-wide response that is in line with the determination and willingness to sacrifice on the part of primary health care workers.

• Facts and numbers

• Tasks

• Useful links

Children’s Health

COEPHI In general, in 2012 it amounted to almost half of the corresponding figure in 1990. There were 17,000 fewer children dying every day than in 1990.
• Since 2000, measles vaccination has prevented more than 15.6 million deaths.
• Globally, four out of five under-five deaths still occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
• Children born to the poorest families are almost twice as likely to die before the age of five as children from the wealthiest families.
• The risk of dying before the age of five also increases if children are born in rural areas and if their mothers are deprived of basic education.

Maternal health

• Since 2000, maternal mortality has decreased by 37 percent.
• In East Asia, North Africa and South Asia, maternal mortality has fallen by about two-thirds.
• However, the maternal mortality rate in developing countries is 14 times higher than in developed countries.
• In developing regions, antenatal care coverage increased from 65 percent to 83 percent between 1990 and 2012.
• In developing regions, only half of women receive the recommended amount of assistance.
• Adolescent birth rates have declined in most developing countries, but progress has slowed.
• Contraceptive use has increased in most regions, but there are still unmet needs in family planning.

HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

• In 2017, there were 36.9million people living with HIV.
• At the end of 2017, there were 21.7 million people worldwide accessing antiretroviral therapy.
• In 2017, there were an estimated 1.8 million new HIV infections.
• In 2017, 940,000 people died from AIDS.
• Overall, since the beginning of the epidemic, 77.3 million people have become infected with HIV and 35.4 million have died from AIDS.
• Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death among people living with HIV, killing one third of those infected.
• Around the world, adolescent girls and young women face gender inequality, exclusion, discrimination and violence, which puts them at increased risk of HIV infection.
• HIV is the leading cause of death for women of reproductive age worldwide.
• AIDS is now the leading cause of death among adolescents (aged 10–19 years) in Africa and the second leading cause of death among adolescents worldwide.
• More than 6.2 million malaria deaths were averted between 2000 and 2015, mostly among children under five in sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated that the incidence of malaria in the world has decreased by 37 per cent and mortality has decreased by 58 per cent.

• Targets

• By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.
• By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries striving to reduce neonatal deaths to no more than 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 deaths to no more than 25 per 1,000 live births .
• By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, waterborne diseases and other infectious diseases.
• By 2030, reduce by one third premature deaths from noncommunicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
• Improve the prevention and treatment of substance dependence, including drug and alcohol abuse.
• By 2020, halve the number of deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents worldwide.
• By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning, information and education, and mainstream reproductive health into national policies and programmes.
• Ensure universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health care, and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
• By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from exposure to hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and poisoning.
• Strengthen implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, if necessary.
• Promote research and development of vaccines and drugs for the treatment of communicable and noncommunicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries,
  Ensure the availability of affordable essential medicines and vaccines in line with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which reaffirms the right of developing countries to make full use of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights in terms of flexibility for public health purposes and, in particular, ensuring access to medicines for all.
• Substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of health workers in developing countries, especially the least developed countries and small island developing States.
• Build the capacity of all countries, especially developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.

• Useful Links

• World Health Organization (WHO)
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
• United Nations Development Program
• UNAIDS
• Malaria Reduction (MSM)
• UN Women
• UN-Water
• Breaking the Silence on Open Defecation

Health and well-being: Why is it important? (PDF)

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✔ Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being

Goal 3: Good Health And Well-Being is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations at period up to 2030. Full title: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.

1

By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.

2

By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age. At the same time, all countries should strive to reduce neonatal mortality to no more than 12 cases per 1,000 births, and mortality under the age of five years to no more than 25 cases per 1,000 births.

3

By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and tropical diseases; ensure the fight against hepatitis, waterborne diseases and other infectious diseases.

4

By 2030, reduce by one third premature deaths from noncommunicable diseases through prevention, treatment, mental health and well-being.

5

Improve the prevention and treatment of substance dependence, including drug and alcohol abuse.

6

By 2020, halve the number of road traffic deaths and injuries worldwide.

7

By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning, information and education, and mainstreaming reproductive health into national policies and programmes.

8

Achieve universal health coverage; in particular, to ensure access for all: to quality health care services; to safe, effective, high-quality and inexpensive medicines and vaccines.

9

By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from exposure to hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and poisoning.

Ensuring healthy lifestyles and promoting the well-being of all people at all ages is one of the most important components of sustainable development. The United Nations has concluded that many more emerging and persistent health problems require much more effort than is currently being undertaken.

In general, among the areas requiring funding to save millions of lives, there are access to medical services, sanitation and hygiene, and pollution control.

For example, reducing premature mortality from non-communicable diseases requires, among other things, the introduction of technologies to reduce the use of harmful substances in food production, as well as strengthening the fight against tobacco smoking.

One of the serious challenges of our time is child and maternal mortality, as well as epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. According to the UN, the first two areas require a significant improvement in the provision of medical services, and the problem of epidemics is not given due attention at all.

Today, four out of five deaths among children under five years of age occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Children born to the poorest families are almost twice as likely to die before the age of five as children from the richest families. The risk of dying before the age of five also increases if children are born in rural areas and if their mothers are deprived of a basic education.

The maternal mortality rate in developing countries is 14 times higher than in developed countries. At the same time, since 2000, maternal mortality has decreased by 37% worldwide, and by two-thirds in East Asia, South Africa and South Asia. In developing countries, the share of antenatal care coverage since 1990th to 2012 increased from 65% to 83%. However, the recommended amount of assistance is provided to only half of the residents of such regions.

In 2018, there were 37.9 million people living with HIV worldwide, 1.5 times more than in 2000. At the same time, the proportion of HIV-infected people receiving antiretroviral therapy increased from 2.3% to 62% over the same period.

More than 32 million people have already died of HIV worldwide, 770 thousand of them in 2018.