 We'd like to think that children, our most precious individuals, are in some ways protected by the society in which they live. And in many ways, this child is protected by a set of shells that surround this child. Most children are protected by their families, and we have to keep in mind that families come in a wide variety of flavors. Not all of them look like this family, but in general, the health of that family can have a very real effect on the health of the child. If the parents, for example, have had enough education to help them understand what a balanced diet is when they're making decisions about what to feed their children, that is going to have a positive health impact on these children. If they have adequate financial resources, and I'm just going to write SES, socioeconomic status, that can affect, for example, the quality of the house that this family lives in. And also, it can affect the amount of time that this family can spend together doing things that benefit the development of the children. If we move out a layer and look at the community, we see that the health or the stability of the community has a very real effect on the child's health. What kind of neighborhood does the child live in? Are the streets safe to play in? Are there safe ways for the family to get from A to B? What sort of homes are there in this neighborhood? What sort of social services are available to our child's family? Are there good schools in the area? What about a hospital? Even to some extent, what about fast food restaurants? How many fast food restaurants are in this neighborhood? And how many grocery stores, for that matter? Are there places to go where members of the community can get social support, which is really incredibly important to the well-being of the family, and that in turn can influence or affect the well-being of the child? Finally, if we look at the state, we see that the stability of this layer and the decisions made at this level can also have very real effects on the health of the child or on any individual, for that matter, who is living in the country. If, for example, a country is financially secure, it's more likely that the citizens of that country will be financially secure themselves. The laws that a government passes around health care and access to that care will also affect the individual. Is the country politically stable? In areas of the world where there's political instability, children are less likely to receive preventative medical services like immunizations. In the U.S., there have been big debates around, for example, gun laws and how these affect the safety of our children. What about the laws that regulate those sorts of rights? Does one have a right to own a firearm? If our government subsidizes or historically has subsidized corn and soybean and the kind of crops that are used to make a lot of processed food, then that processed food is going to become part of our culture and the lifestyle choices of a country can affect the health of the individual living in that part of the world. In the media, how news is presented, how much advertising is allowed, and who are the target groups of that advertising, what products are being marketed to those target groups. All of those things are going to filter down and affect the health of the child. You can see that all of these layers sort of filter down to affect the health of the child living within a society, and they can either be protective layers, if sensible laws are passed, if communities are well maintained, and then families can thrive and can raise healthy children. Or if these protective layers fail our children, they can be left at risk for poor health and developmental outcomes. As a mother, I really hope for the big outer layers to get things right, but I also recognize that even if they seem really far away from where I am as just one person, I also have a responsibility to be aware of what's happening in the world around me and do what I can to change the world around me for the better.