Europe's precious children

Abstract

urope, 'the old world', is ageing rapidly. Fertility rates have fallen far below replacement levels, and children have become a precious commodity. Value surveys show that although the acceptance of a childless life has increased, par- ticularly in Western Europe, the large majority of Europeans want to have children. They are also strongly devoted to their children, as is shown when they are asked whether parents should 'do their best for their children even at the expense of their own well-being'. With the exception of Lithuania and Belarus, where 95%. 2 This is not to say that, at the start of the 21st century, youth health no longer poses challenges for public health in Europe. It is quite the reverse, as illustrated by the large number of papers on youth health which this journal receives. Most of the previous issues of this journal in 2005 have had a section on 'youth health', and the papers which we have published show that there are serious threats to youth health which deserve public health's attention. The papers which we have published on youth health this year can be divided in three groups: specific diseases, health-related behaviours, and psychosocial and