The age-old claim that New Zealand is a great place to bring up children and be a child is not what the facts show for about 20 percent of them, Children's Commissioner Dr John Angus said today.

Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is urging the government to heed the findings of health researchers who have highlighted the dangers of worsening children's health in the recession.

Wellington, Nov 25 NZPA - A new website to track the health and wellbeing of New Zealand children will be launched by the Paediatric Society today, and it will expose our welfare shortcomings, says a child welfare group.

Tracking the health and wellbeing of New Zealand children will be stepped up amid national concerns from academics, doctors and child welfare organisations about the potential for rising child health problems and poverty during the current economic downturn.

Wellington, Nov 23 NZPA - A new initiative to track the economic wellbeing of children and their families will be unveiled this week.

The launch of a children's social health monitor to track the economic wellbeing of New Zealand children and their families is one of several newsworthy items on the agenda at the Paediatric Society's annual conference in Hamilton this week.

Mandatory fortification of folic acid in bread will be deferred until May 2012, with the focus now on introducing a targeted voluntary programme, Minister for Food Safety Kate Wilkinson announced today.

Wellington, June 4 NZPA - A new report drawing stark conclusions about the risk of abuse towards Maori children has been described as shocking by Maori children's advocate, Dr Hone Kaa.

Wellington, June 4 NZPA - New Children's Commissioner John Angus is urging the Government to fund the internationally successful Shaken Baby Prevention Programme in a drive to reduce alarming child abuse figures.

Wellington, April 15 NZPA - A trial health programme at early childhood centres in Taranaki aims to reduce the number of Maori children hospitalised with asthma.

Six out of every 1000 Maori children under the age of 19 are hospitalised with asthma each year.