Personal health maintenance for children.

The foundations for lifelong responsibility for personal health maintenance are laid down in childhood. Personal health maintenance for children is important for a healthy childhood, for a healthy adulthood and for the development of positive values about health, personal health responsibility and the use of health services. Present knowledge in this area is weak but growing. Five areas of development are highlighted: (1) the cognitive understanding of health and disease, (2) a psychological sense of control over health, (3) parental and media influences on health behaviors, (4) school health education and (5) training by health professionals about self-management of childhood illness and health services usage patterns. Implications for current practice are developed.