Kids Health: Sexting, Internet Safety Now Part Of Top 10 Health Concerns For Children In The US

What are adults most worried about when it comes to their kids' health these days? It's not stress nor violence. It's not even smoking nor teen pregnancy.

According to a new poll conducted by researchers at the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, many adults are increasingly growing concern over two things when it comes to the kids: safety on the internet and sexting. These concerns are in the Top 10 list, which also includes obesity, bullying and drugs as the three most crucial problems.

Internet safety has been tagged as a "big problem" by 50 percent of the adults in the survey, and its ranking has risen in the fourth spot from its eighth spot last year. On the other hand, sexting, which landed on the 13th spot in the previous year, has been cited as a pressing concern by 45 percent of the adults. It ranked sixth in the latest survey.

"The public is well aware of the potential risks to children and teens of Internet activities and sexting, such as cyberbullying and predatory behavior," said Dr. Matthew Davis from the University of Michigan who is also the poll director, according to Reuters. "Children's use of the Internet continues to grow, so it makes sense that growing use, without much evidence of greater safety, would lead to higher levels of public concern," he added.

Health issues like smoking or tobacco use is still in the top list; however, its ranking has dropped to seventh place, following earlier reports that smoking among teenagers is on the decline, according to Health Day.

Rounding up the Top 10 list are concerns over violence in school, teen pregnancy and stress.

The poll's researchers noted that the problems were not the same for all. In Black communities, the biggest health concerns are depression, safety in school and alcohol abuse. Hunger is also a concern, which rose to the 10th spot, after ranking in the 15th spot last year.

"We found that adults from different communities across the U.S. see the challenges of child health differently," Davis said, according to Science Daily. "It's important to understand the priorities of different communities we are trying to reach as we work to safeguard children's health and help them live the healthiest lives they can."

Regarding the top 10 health concerns cited in the poll, Davis encourages parents to use a "hands on" approach to parenting to know who their children are contacting in social media, as reported by Reuters.