Children at the Center
Climate change is not a distant problem for children to face someday.
It is already shaping the places where children grow, learn, and play. From the air they breathe and water they drink to their homes, schools, and playgrounds, children experience environmental conditions every day that can shape their health and development. The choices we make today about the places children spend their time can help determine whether those places become healthier and more resilient — or more hazardous — as the climate changes.
Climate Change is Changing the Environments Where Children Grow
Children are uniquely vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change. Their rapid growth and developmentally appropriate behaviors mean they are exposed to more environmental pollutants, are impacted more severely by exposures, and bear the weight of these impacts for longer. As temperatures rise, extreme heat can increase the risk of heat-related illness. Wildfire smoke and other air pollution can worsen respiratory problems, while flooding and other extreme weather events can disrupt homes, schools, child care, and the routines children depend on.
While climate change impacts all kids’ health, these risks are not experienced equally. Children in communities of color and lower-wealth communities can face greater exposure to environmental hazards and fewer resources to prepare for and recover from climate-related impacts.
Creating Solutions Together
The good news is that climate action can also create healthier places for children right now. Reducing reliance on fossil fuels can improve air quality and give children cleaner air to breathe. Planting trees and expanding green spaces can provide shade, reduce exposure to extreme heat, and create healthier places for children to play and spend time outdoors. Climate solutions like these can create cleaner, safer communities for children today and more resilient, healthier communities tomorrow.
Healthy environments are not the responsibility of parents alone. Instead, they are shaped by decisions made across our communities and institutions. Putting children at the center means asking a simple question: How will this decision affect the places where children live, learn, and play? Health professionals can connect climate and environmental conditions to children’s health. Scientists and researchers can strengthen the evidence we rely on. Community leaders, advocates, and policymakers can advance solutions that reflect local priorities and protect children’s health.
Children’s Environmental Health Day: An Opportunity to Put This into Practice
On October 8, Children’s Environmental Health Day (CEH Day) is an opportunity to put these ideas into action and place children’s health at the center of climate action. It’s a national day of awareness and action that brings together people working to create healthier environments for children. It is a chance to celebrate progress, share solutions, and build momentum for the work ahead.
This CEH Day, consider how you can put children at the center of climate action in your community. Share why children’s health matters to your climate work with your personal story or a message to your representatives. Bring the climate-health connection into your work or community, or join a local or virtual CEH Day event. If you’re in the Washington, DC area, Children’s Environmental Health Network would like to invite you to our annual awards event celebrating leaders in children’s health, on the evening of October 8.
Whether you raise awareness, take action, or bring your community together, your efforts can help build healthier environments for children.
A Future Centered on Children’s Health
Climate change is transforming the places where children grow up. We have an opportunity to influence those places for the better, too. When we put children at the center of climate action, we can create healthier, safer, and more resilient communities where every child can live, learn, play, and thrive.
Join us on October 8 for Children’s Environmental Health Day.
Photos courtesy of the Children’s Environmental Health Network
About the Authors
Kuyili Velagapudi, MCM, is the Fall 2026 Marketing, Communications, and Design Intern, and Hannah Wilkerson, MS is the External Relations & Creative Manager of the Children’s Environmental Health Network. CEHN is a partner of Climate for Health, a coalition of health leaders committed to caring for our climate to care for our health founded by ecoAmerica. Learn more about our partnership and the resources available to you here.
Additional Resources
Apply for ecoAmerica’s 2027 American Climate Leadership Awards
Report: Organizations and Climate Action
Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Children and Youth Report 2023