Parents, teachers, and local communities working together can do much to respond, at home and at school, to the current challenges to childhood. But Congress also has a critical role to play in helping to shape a new, more nurturing public agenda for children. In particular, we ask for your support as we seek Congressional hearings to investigate the causes of the disturbing decline in children's health. Hearings would focus national attention on these underlying causes. One example, well-researched, is the wide range of negative health effects from spending too much time using electronic media of all kinds in childhood.
Experts consider the latter activities to be crucial for healthy child development.
The report should also recommend specific federal actions designed to educate citizens about these threats. Commissioning a comprehensive federal report to summarize the evidence of the health repercussions of using computers intensively in childhood. An urgent example is repetitive stress injuries for children who use computers many hours a week, with no attention to proper ergonomic design. Thank you for your kind attention. We invite you and your staff to consider the Alliance for Childhood a resource to turn to in your future deliberations about children's issues.