Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Let’s demand accountability for the safety and well-being of our children

Irène P. Mathieu, MD
Physician
December 12, 2015
38 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

As a pediatrician and future mother of black children, I am worried. I am worried about my patients who face possible death if they appear threatening to the wrong police officer, like Tamir Rice. I am worried about my patients who might be sleeping peacefully in their families’ home when law enforcement officials burst in with grenades like the ones that killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones. I am worried about my teenage patients who might be slammed to the ground at pool parties or dragged across the floor in their desks by people meant to protect them, as happened to black girls in Texas and South Carolina.

These are some of the more highly publicized recent cases of law enforcement brutality against black children, but there is scant data on exactly how often excessive force is used against kids who often are just being kids. The aftermath is harsh even in nonfatal encounters. Boys and men of color are often detained and searched at disproportionate rates, a phenomenon known as “stop and frisk.” This has been shown to increase mental health risks, as symptoms of anxiety and trauma are more common among young men who report frequent encounters with police, and correlate with intrusiveness of the encounters and perception of unfair treatment by police.

It’s not only black boys and young men who face disproportionate policing. A recent policy report found that black girls receive more severe sentences in the juvenile justice system. Furthermore, black girls are dissuaded from school attendance and participation due to increased presence of law enforcement and punitive disciplinary measures.

Schools should be safe places. In the setting of increased national attention to police brutality towards black children, schools must move from punitive disciplinary spaces to healing and affirming spaces. Many children come to school undernourished and carrying significant burdens of trauma, from classroom bullying to violence at home or in their neighborhoods. What if school systems focused a larger percentage of budgets on psychological resources and social workers, rather than in-house police officers who may not be trained to deal with recalcitrant children? (And which children are not sometimes.)

When I talk about safety with my young patients and their families, safety at school and in the presence of police officers should be givens. Let’s demand accountability for the safety and well-being of our children. Let’s make schools places where black kids feel safe enough to learn, and let’s provide adequate training for all police officers who may come into contact with children.

As pediatricians, parents, teachers, and community members, we shouldn’t have to worry about this anymore.

Irène P. Mathieu is a pediatrician who blogs at maladi kache pa gen remèd.  She can be reached on Twitter @gumbo_amando.

Prev

The demise of the hospital discharge summary

December 12, 2015 Kevin 5
…
Next

Physicians experience grief in a different way

December 13, 2015 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Pediatrics, Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
The demise of the hospital discharge summary
Next Post >
Physicians experience grief in a different way

More by Irène P. Mathieu, MD

  • Post-COVID medical education must teach the real reasons for health disparities

    Irène P. Mathieu, MD

Related Posts

  • When celebrities attack children with food allergies

    Lianne Mandelbaum
  • Bullying immigrant children in the name of politics

    Linda Girgis, MD
  • A disturbing study about children and guns

    Christopher Johnson, MD
  • Separating children at the border is a danger to their health

    Oscar J. Benavidez, MD
  • Do children need to exercise their Second Amendment rights?

    Jarret Patton, MD
  • Senators are killing children by failing to enact gun control laws

    Marina Mai

More in Physician

  • How to overcome telemedicine’s biggest obstacles

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • The patient who became my soulmate

    Anonymous
  • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

    Jean Antonucci, MD
  • Life as a physician is sometimes like a runaway trailer

    Christopher Nyte, DO
  • The controversial origin of the Hippocratic oath

    Brian Elliott, MD
  • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

    Stephanie Pearson, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

      Stephanie Pearson, MD | Physician
    • An unspoken truth about non-compete clauses in medicine

      Harry Severance, MD | Policy
    • Fostering the next (diverse) generation of clinicians

      Imamu Tomlinson, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Healing through love and spirituality

      John T. James, PhD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Why are doctors sued and politicians aren’t?

      Kellie Lease Stecher, MD | Physician
    • The Titanic sinking: a metaphor for the impending collapse of medicine

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD & Shreekant Vasudhev, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Rescuing primary care: the role of health administrators [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Breaking down barriers: How technology is improving diabetes management in underserved communities

      Anonymous | Conditions
    • From penicillin to digital health: the impact of social media on medicine

      Homer Moutran, MD, MBA, Caline El-Khoury, PhD, and Danielle Wilson | Social media
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • How to overcome telemedicine’s biggest obstacles

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Deaths of despair: an urgent call for a collective response to the crisis in U.S. life expectancy

      Mohammed Umer Waris, MD | Policy

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 3 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Investigational ALS Drug May Have Clinical Benefit, FDA Staff Says
  • Cases of Deadly Fungus Tripled in Past Few Years, CDC Says
  • Small Gains in Cardiorespiratory Fitness Track With Improved Longevity
  • Improved OS With Hyperfractionated RT in Recurrent Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
  • GPT-4 Is Here. How Can Doctors Use Generative AI Now?

Meeting Coverage

  • Rapid Improvement in Atopic Dermatitis With Topical PDE4 Inhibitor
  • New Approaches in the Bladder-Sparing Paradigm
  • Response Rates in Hidradenitis Suppurativa Continue to Climb With New Therapies
  • Another Win for a JAK Inhibitor in Alopecia Areata
  • Biologic Switch Revs Up Response in Plaque Psoriasis
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

      Stephanie Pearson, MD | Physician
    • An unspoken truth about non-compete clauses in medicine

      Harry Severance, MD | Policy
    • Fostering the next (diverse) generation of clinicians

      Imamu Tomlinson, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Healing through love and spirituality

      John T. James, PhD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Why are doctors sued and politicians aren’t?

      Kellie Lease Stecher, MD | Physician
    • The Titanic sinking: a metaphor for the impending collapse of medicine

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD & Shreekant Vasudhev, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Rescuing primary care: the role of health administrators [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Breaking down barriers: How technology is improving diabetes management in underserved communities

      Anonymous | Conditions
    • From penicillin to digital health: the impact of social media on medicine

      Homer Moutran, MD, MBA, Caline El-Khoury, PhD, and Danielle Wilson | Social media
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • How to overcome telemedicine’s biggest obstacles

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Deaths of despair: an urgent call for a collective response to the crisis in U.S. life expectancy

      Mohammed Umer Waris, MD | Policy

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today iMedicalApps
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Let’s demand accountability for the safety and well-being of our children
3 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...