Taking a Walk

Of the 8.1 million children who don't have health insurance in this country, 2 million of them have at least one parent who is insured through an employer.

Here’s another interesting twist to the healthcare debate: of the 8.1 million children who don’t have health insurance in this country, 2 million of them have at least one parent who is insured through an employer. The problem? Parents can’t afford the cost of adding kids to their policies.

Ouch. And the article states that this issue lies in low- and middle-income families. There have been some good recent inroads in terms of mental health and autism coverage, but overall, the healthcare system just isn’t working for millions of Americans. I’m thankful that the election cycle will be over in a couple of weeks, so that we can finally get to work on this issue in 2009. Something has to change.

If you haven’t already read it, here’s the study that links birth size (most significantly, birth length) to breast cancer. But for me, one of the more interesting articles this week has to do with the benefits of a quiet, 20-minute walk for kids with ADHD. I think there’s a little gold nugget in there for the majority of us — kids and adults- who don’t have ADHD, as it’s probably not a stretch to say that as a society, Americans are mentally fatigued. Think about it. When was the last time you left your responsibilities behind for a 20 minute change of scenery?