Lou Aymard

Demographic and epidemiological studies give contradictory perspectives on the future of American children.  We know that 7 million children are left unsupervised after school each day, a child is born into poverty every 44 seconds in America, and 3 to 4 million children annually are victims of parental neglect or abuse.1 On the other hand, the 15th annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, Maryland reveals that eight out of 10 indicators of child welfare have improved recently in the United States.2 These findings correlate with a recent six-year period of economic growth and the significant expansion of public programs for children and their families. 

In a dated but scholarly analysis about American children, Sylvia Ann Hewlett, an economist and former director of the Economic Policy Council, used an econometric model to analyze the cost to society of neglecting our children.  Hewlett states that "across the face of America, children are failing to flourish.  Rich kids, middle-class kids, poor kids - all deal with risk and neglect on a scale unimagined in previous generations.  Problems of poverty, divorce, out-of-wedlock births, absentee parents, latchkey kids, violence, and drugs are no longer confined to the ghetto.  They reach deep into the mainstream; they belong to 'us' as well as to 'them' " (1991, p. 13).4

Irrespective of which position one takes in the debate about the status of American children, one undeniable fact is that our children are the future.  Data published in recent monograph by Rutgers University reveal a 42% decline from 1800 to 2000 in American families who have children.  In 1800, 75% of American families had kids, compared to only 33% in 2000.  The authors note that this demographic shift has major implications for children’s centrality in American society.  Furthermore, amid our society of increasing material abundance there are alarming signs that the psychosocial well being of children is declining.  As f

uturists, we are well-advised to honestly ask the question how much does the physical, educational, psychological and economic welfare of our children figure into America’s national consciousness and planning.

There is every reason to believe the future of American children is bright if (and it is a huge if) we make it a national priority by harnessing the advances in neuroscience, educational psychology, and nanotechnology to serve their physical, psychological and educational needs. In the field of neuroscience, the visionary work of Daniel Amen5 gives us a new window through which we can view and understand child behavior.  Educational psychology and information science afford youngsters unprecedented opportunities to adapt the transmission of knowledge to their unique learning styles.  And nanotechnology, when applied to biomedical systems, will enable health care professionals to bring novel medical interventions to pediatrics. 

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