June 12, 2025, 2:15 pm | Read time: 7 minutes

Little Activity, Anxious Parents, Lack of Awareness–Experts Discuss Child Health Challenges at 2025 Summit in Berlin At the 2025 Child Health Summit in Berlin, leading experts discussed the major challenges facing children’s health in Germany. How can children become more resilient? What roles do play, dental health, and vaccinations have? FITBOOK was on site to highlight what is important now.

Follow the FITBOOK channel on WhatsApp now!

Political Kickoff: Vaccination–between Education and Uncertainty

In the opening segment of the Children’s Health Summit, speakers included Prof. Reinhard Berner, chairman of the STIKO, and Kati Degenhardt, editor-in-chief of BILD. The discussion focused on the gap between well-informed yet highly insecure parents. The appeal: Health education must become more understandable and present–especially on topics like vaccinations.

The internet and social media pose a significant challenge. “Much of what is spread about vaccinations online are myths. Many of these are not true. This is a major task,” explained Prof. Reinhard Berner at the Children’s Health Summit. This must be countered with solid information, and we need to improve in this area. “The ‘problem’ with our vaccinations is that they are so successful. This means we no longer know the diseases and the terrible images, and this has been the case for generations,” he explained the paradoxical situation. The good news is that Germany is doing quite well in international comparisons of child vaccinations. “One to three percent of children have not received any vaccinations. That is still too many, but we are not a vaccine-weary country.”

However, the complete basic immunization for multiple vaccinations like measles and polio is reached too late for too many children–often only when they start school. This gap between initial and follow-up vaccinations needs to be closed, as children are highly vulnerable to contracting diseases during this time. “We can simply count ourselves lucky that there are hardly any outbreaks,” emphasized the STIKO chairman.

Also interesting: ADHD in children–how to recognize the symptoms in time

Dental Health: What Children’s Teeth Really Need

A panel talk focused on preventive measures in dental hygiene and emphasized the importance of dental care for children. On the panel: Prof. Katrin Bekes, Dr. Steffi Beckmann (DAJ), and Dr. Michael Hubmann (BVKJ). The discussion included how parents, schools, and preventive systems can work better together–especially in light of current data on children’s dental health.

Prof. Katrin Bekes emphasized: “In international comparison, we are doing very well.” Already, 86 percent of 12-year-olds are caries-free–a pleasing result. At the same time, there is cause for concern: Around 14 percent of 3-year-olds–or one in seven children–already have caries.

Another topic was the increasing polarization in parental behavior: “There are parents who are highly informed about everything–and others where nothing happens,” said Bekes. Accordingly, there is a great need for action in low-threshold education and the early integration of preventive measures–not only in the family environment but also in daycares and schools.

What pediatric dentist Anne Heinz explained about caries in the video series “FITBOOK Experts” can be found here:

Play and Resilience: What Makes Children Strong

Prof. Claudia Calvano (psychologist and expert in child and adolescent psychotherapy), Prof. André Frank Zimpel (psychologist, psychotherapist, special and educational pedagogue at the University of Hamburg with a focus on neurodiversity, game theory, and learning difficulties), Vanessa Stallbaum (resilience trainer, known as “Frau Mutmacher”), and Julia Goldhammer (CEO and Vice President Central Europe of the Lego Group).

“We give children and adolescents a voice by speaking,” said Calvano, referring to the alarming findings of the Lancet Commission (2024). Concerns about war, climate, and the future burden young people–play promotes social competence, psychological stability, and imagination in this context. “Imagination is more important than knowledge because knowledge is limited,” said Zimpel. Play allows children to solve problems as “heroes”–with ease: children laugh 300 times a day, adults only 15 times.

Mental Health and Self-Efficacy

Subsequently, the focus shifted to children’s mental health. In a keynote speech and moderated discussions–including a video contribution from soccer star Philipp Lahm–the topics were dealing with anxiety, stress, and media overload, as well as mental techniques and strategies against negative thoughts.

Lahm reported impressively: “In 2007, I traveled to Africa and saw how close wealth and poverty are–and how important perspective is.” Children must be encouraged to actively shape their view of the world, said Lahm. This requires trust–in themselves and from others. “Everyone has their strength, and it is important to bring it into society,” emphasized the former national player.

Anchoring Health in Schools

How health competence can be strengthened in everyday school life was the topic of the discussion with Sarah Majorczyk, Andreas Storm (DAK), and other guests. The consensus: Health knowledge should be age-appropriate, practical, and firmly anchored in the curriculum–from nutrition to exercise to education.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome–More Education Needed

Societally overlooked topics like Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) were also addressed. Experts called for stronger educational campaigns–both for parents and in schools. “Around 14,000 children–almost 40 per day–are born with FAS each year,” explained Dr. Heike Kramer.

How much children suffer from the consequences of parental alcohol abuse was also made clear by former “Germany’s Next Top Model” contestant Betty Taube in her impressive personal account: “My childhood was not a picture-book childhood. Until I was nine, I grew up with my alcoholic mother. Daily psychological and physical violence. Crying. Screaming. Bruises. And a lot of lies. ‘Say the bruises come from playing!’ That’s what my mother told me.” The pressure to maintain appearances was immense.

“Colorful Instead of Blue” at the Children’s Health Summit

Youths made a strong statement against alcohol abuse in the nationwide art competition “Colorful Instead of Blue.” Andreas Storm (DAK-Gesundheit) and Sarah Majorczyk (Ein Herz für Kinder) personally awarded the winners of the competition at the Children’s Health Summit.

Storm emphasized the lasting impact of such prevention projects: “The special thing about this competition is that the young people think about how to depict the negative consequences of alcohol consumption. And what they imagine in their heads, they put on paper–that has a lasting effect.”

The decline in hospital admissions due to binge drinking speaks for itself: “In 2010, we had 25,000 admissions–in 2023, it was under 10,000. That is really very, very successful,” said Storm. Nevertheless, the effort must continue: “We need examples where we see that prevention works. We must not stop there–we have a success story.”

More on the topic

By a Nutrition Expert 4 Protein-Rich Salmon Recipes for Strength Athletes

Expert Makes the Comparison Rowing, Cycling, Running – Which Is Better for Muscle Building and Calorie Burning?

Study Involving Half a Million Participants Cycling Apparently Reduces the Risk of This Serious Disease

Closing Discussion: Practical Solutions for All Children

At the conclusion of the Children’s Health Summit, representatives from education, politics, and healthcare–including Andrea Franke, Dr. Andreas Gassen, Maja Zaubitzer, and others–discussed how healthy growth can succeed regardless of social background.

“Children are the future of our country,” emphasized Dr. Andreas Gassen, highlighting the need to promote health equity early on.

Maja Zaubitzer, federal delegate of the Thuringia State Student Council, called for a stronger focus on students. The group agreed: Education and health belong together–and must be considered together if children are to grow up healthy and self-determined.