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For pediatricians, a routine visit is a chance to chat with parents about their child's vaccinations, sleep patterns, nutrition and TV time. But new guidelines say that with nearly half of American children living in poverty or close to that line, pediatricians need to broach another health-related matter with mom or dad: Are you having trouble making ends meet? "The early detection and management of poverty-related disorders is an important, emerging component of the pediatric scope of practice," says a policy statement issued this week by the American Academy of Pediatrics. "Pediatricians can apply interventions in practice to help address the toxic effects of poverty on children and families." (Healy, 3/9)

New guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics released Wednesday recommend that, during routine checkups, physicians also screen children for signs of poverty. The move is part of a larger effort to improve mental health and physical development in adolescents. Hari Sreenivasan talks to Dr. Renee Jenkins, former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, for more. (3/9)