Big Topics for 2013

2013 will be a very important year for early childhood. What will be the big topics on child health and development in the coming year? In Parents Magazine, Richard Rende, PhD, an associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School and Butler Hospital, and Kara Corridan selected 6 topics they predict will be the big topics in 2013.

1. DSM-5 will change how mental disorders are diagnosed. DSM-5 will invoke hot-button issues and predictions are there will be many changes from the DSM-4 manual.

2. New data and new thinking suggests that kids are not getting enough of the right type of play. Look for discussion and changes on appropriate play for children.

3. The emerging, and murky, data on potential prenatal risks and the complex decisions some pregnant women face will be debated in the new year.

4. There is a realization that many children are getting injured at an alarming rate due to inactivity will be a hot topic.

5. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is the consequences to kids when they are exposed to a number of trauma. This is an outbreak of the natural disasters leaving children in distress.

6. Obesity will continue to be a hot topic, with new efforts to combat the epidemic in kids

I agree with their prediction I also predict new studies on recognition of their mother’s native language in newborns will impact our thinking on “the blank child”. I will cover these issues in the next few weeks.