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“One night, my 3-year-old asked me if she could sleep in my bed. I told her no. She said, “That’s not fair! Why does Daddy get to sleep in your bed?” READ MORE
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BUILDING CAMPAIGNS Two private schools expand offerings Students at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School now have another area to play, listen and learn. The San Juan Capistrano independent school, which serves students from preschool through grade 12, ushered in the 2006-07 school year with two new buildings. The Pasternack Field House brings a full-size gymnasium that will also serve as a 1,600-seat multi-purpose auditorium for school events. The DeYoung Family Math and Science Center adds five science laboratories and five classrooms equipped with interactive digital white boards to the 22-acre campus. The $12 million addition is the single largest building project in St. Margaret’s 27-year history and was funded entirely by charitable gifts from donors who participated in the school’s Legacy Campaign. Phase II of the campus master plan includes a new performing arts education center and a middle school classroom building. Also in South County, St. Mary and All Angels School in Aliso Viejo recently completed a three-month renovation of its athletic field. Highlights include a L-shaped double field and installation of artificial turf grass, 20-foot-high fencing and netting around the field to keeps balls on campus, and a new playground. The completion of the field is the first of many renovations the K-8 school will undergo as part of its $10 million Completing the Dream Campaign. BABY READ-ALOUD Development stages, with ‘listener’ first As you prepare to read to your baby, it’s important to know that there are stages within those very first months. As outlined by authors Caroline J. Blakemore and Barbara Weston Ramirez, who this summer published “Baby Read-Aloud Basics” (Amacom Books, paperback, $15), the process begins the moment you return from the hospital. There are six stages of early development as adapted by the book, whose subtitle is: “Fun and Interactive Ways to Help Your Little One Discover the World of Words”: 1. The Listener (0-2 months): Baby recognizes and prefers her mother’s voice. 2. The Observer (2-4 months): Begins to focus on and seek out features of a newly familiar environment. 3. The Cooer (4-8 months): He recognizes his own name and distinguishes between happy, sad or angry voice tones. 4. The Babbler (8-12 months): Understands about 50 words and makes most speech sounds. She begins to remember language heard repetitively. Could reciting “The Three Little Pigs” be far behind? 5. The Word Maker: (12-18 months): Understands more than 100 words and can say an average of 40. He now uses familiar words in different contexts. 6. The Phrase Maker (18-24 months): Understands about 200 words and can say anywhere between 50 and 170. Imitates expressions such as, “Uh, oh!” Information: readtoyourbaby.com BREASTFEEDING NEEDED Area hospitals fall behind in vital initiative Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino county hospitals should do a better job in promoting long-term breastfeeding by helping their new mothers get started, and following up once they are home. Breastfeeding is an often difficult chore for new mom and baby, leading to frustration and, too often, the formula option. Experts say breastfeeding is the best way to bring natural nutrients to a baby, and studies show that mother’s milk may be a defense against obesity, allergies and other childhood illnesses. More than 83% of new moms enter a hospital hoping to breastfeed, yet only 40.5% leave as an exclusive breastfeeder. These statistics come from a recent report by the UC Davis Human Lactation Center: “Reducing Obesity from the Start: California Hospitals Must Increase Exclusive Breastfeeding Rates.” “The (American Academy of Pediatrics) encourages mothers to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months. For moms and babies, most breastfeeding begins in the hospital,” notes Dr. Scott Gee, medical director, prevention and health information, for Kaiser Permanente. According to the report, Orange County ranks 44th in the state for exclusive breastfeeding. The county average is: 26.2% exclusive; 83.2% at least some. Riverside County ranks 35th in the state for exclusive breastfeeding. The county average is: 44.3% exclusive; 80.3% at least some. San Bernardino County ranks 40th in the state for exclusive breastfeeding. The county average is: 30.8% exclusive; 78.2% at least some. The report says that the highest-scoring hospitals, such as Marin General Hospital in Marin County and Ridgecrest Regional Hospital in Kern County, have specific policies that support exclusive breastfeeding. This includes allowing mom and baby to stay together and breastfeed whenever they want to do so. The study was sponsored by the California WIC Association. For information: calwic.org FAST FACT Here are five top gifts as selected by 2,000 moms who were asked: “What baby gift would you most like to receive?” They are: meal delivery; adding to the baby’s wardrobe; basic baby supplies; personalized art; baby carriers. What’s your most wished-for baby gift this holiday? Respond to: ocfamily.com and click on Feedback Source:babyfable.com TALKING POINTS Creating a family media plan Cable in the Classroom, the cable industry’s education foundation, has developed the following tips to help your family become media literate by creating a family plan. In control Media literacy means having a handle on screen time and all the media choices – movies, TV shows, video games and websites – available each day. You and your family can become media literate by questioning what you see on the screen and talking about it, making choices together about what to watch, not watch and why. Begin by questioning what you see and hear on a screen. Ask your children what they are thinking or feeling while watching a TV program, visiting a website, watching a movie or playing a video game. Things to talk about: • Talk to your children about what they are viewing. Check their understanding of the messages. • What lifestyles, family values, or opinions are being represented? • What does this tell us about how other people live? • Is this real or a fantasy? How is it different from the real world? • Is this trying to sell you something? What is being done to attract your attention? • Do you see behavior you don’t like on TV or in a video game? Ask what your children think, then talk about the kinds of behavior you think are wrong and why. Develop a plan A clear set of rules and expectations helps your family choose the best media, with content and messages that are appropriate for your children. Here’s how to work with your children to create a family media plan: • How much screen time is your family spending each week? How much TV do you watch? How often do you play video games? Watch movies? Surf the Internet? • Consider the ages and needs of your children. Are they usually entertained and informed, or are they sometimes confused, scared or frustrated by what they see? • Learn about the kinds of media and technology children are using. What TV shows, websites, magazines, toys and computer games are most popular with children? • Select TV shows, movies, video games, websites and magazines that your family will and won’t view. Find out how TV ratings and parental control devices can help you with family selections. Do you choose activities based on convenience or habit? • Encourage active, creative and thoughtful use of screen time for your family. Do you talk with your children about what they are watching and the media choices they make? • Teach your children how to handle screen time with media-literacy skills. Help them learn how to find, understand and analyze different media, so they can make better choices. – Courtesy of Cox Communications. For more tips, visit cox.com/takecharge RADIO LOLLIPOP New program helps children heal Patients at Children’s Hospital of Orange County have a new program to help them get better – one that doesn’t require any poking or pricking. The pediatric hospital, with the help of “American Idol” host and KIIS FM broadcaster Ryan Seacrest, recently unveiled the West Coast’s first Radio Lollipop. The hospital-based radio station, located in the corner of CHOC’s lobby, provides a mix of music and interactive games for children. Twice weekly, deejays will play “Top 40” hits and children’s favorites, take call-in requests and put patients “on air” from the bedside or in the studio. “Radio Lollipop will stimulate the imagination of our patients and help lead them on a journey during which they can hopefully forget - even if for a few minutes, about the reason for their stay here,” says CHOC President and CEO Kimberly Chavalas Cripe during the unveiling ceremony. “It is an innovative program that enhances the healing power of play, and it is one more way CHOC is able to provide family-centered care, helping address the developmental and social needs of children and their families.” Play therapy is known to reduce stress and help children cope with difficult situations. It also helps to manage pediatric pain. According to an article by the Medical College of Wisconsin, “Children are highly responsive to pain-controlling strategies that involve the imagination and sense of play.” Radio Lollipop first began in 1979 at Queen Mary’s Hospital for Children in England and has since spread to more than 20 hospitals. Radio Lollipop at CHOC is the third location in the United States. To donate CDs and craft supplies, volunteer or receive additional information, visit choc.org OBESITY AND PE A stroll around the field not enough In OC Family Magazine’s ongoing news alert about the growing obesity epidemic among America’s children, it’s important to note a distinction provided by an Aug. 23 report in USA TODAY: Adding one more stroll around the field at PE time isn’t going to do the job, the newspaper reported, quoting a quantitative study from Cornell University. The figures that OC Family Magazine has been using, coming from the National Center for Health Statistics, indicates that more than 9 million Americans, ages 6-19, are overweight. Additionally, the newspaper reported that physical education classes are declining among high schoolers and, that, essentially, what is offered is not enough. For example, Cornell University analyzed data on 37,000 teens, grades 9-12. Among the findings: Male and female students said they spent only an extra 8 minutes a week exercising or playing sports in gym class in those states that required more PE time (that includes California). That’s the rough equivalent of throwing a ball onto a court and having a few teens chase after it. For an obese child, that won’t do the trick. As OC Family Magazine reported in its August issue, more than half of California’s elementary schools fail to provide the required 200 minutes of PE every 10 school days. BABY FAT Chubbiness may be future predictor So-called “baby fat” in young children – long considered a quality rather than a quantity – could be a predictor of weight problems much later on, researchers say. Preschool-age children who are overweight before age 5 are five times more likely to be overweight at age 12 than those who were not overweight before age 5, a new study finds. “The problem of obesity and overweight in kids is they don’t outgrow it,” says lead author Dr. Philip R. Nader, professor emeritus of pediatrics at the UC San Diego. “A lot of people think that baby fat will go away and not to be too concerned, but this isn’t the case.” In the study, the researchers collected data for more than 1,000 children born in 1991. “These kids grew up during the period when the obesity epidemic began,” Nader says. Research showed that the more times a child was overweight during preschool and elementary school, the greater the likelihood that he or she would be overweight at the age of 12. Not taken into account are baby-fat babies who naturally shed their weight as they become mobile. Before deciding on nutrition guidelines for your baby, consult your pediatrician. However, the study clearly earmarks children who begin the preschool years with weight issues. This, too, requires a talk with the doctor. “We have long known that childhood obesity predicts adult obesity,” notes Dr. David L. Katz, an associate professor of public health and director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. “These findings are of great concern, given the well-documented and relentless increases in childhood obesity rates.” NONPROFIT LEADER STEPS DOWN Kathy McCarrell, one of Orange County’s longest-serving nonprofit leaders, has stepped down after 12 years as executive director for the Child Abuse Prevention Center of Orange County. Scott Trotter, chief operating officer, has been named as interim director. McCarrell is credited with expanding services throughout the county and helping grow the annual budget to $5.2 million from $200,000. The organization reported that she will remain a consultant. LOVING HOMES NEEDED The Children’s Bureau is looking for caring adults to provide a loving, nurturing home as either foster or adoptive parents. Qualifying families receive training, funds and support. For information, visit all4kids.org or call 800.730.3933, Ext. 0. WRITING CONTEST FOR STUDENTS Olive Garden restaurant group is asking students in first through 12th grade: “If you could create a new holiday, what would you name it and how would it be celebrated?” Answers could be worth a trip to New York and a $2,500 Savings Bond, as part of Olive Garden’s 11th-annual Pasta Tales writing contest. Deadline is Dec. 1. Olive Garden will accept essays of 50 to 250 words from students in the above age group. Entry forms and complete rules: olivegarden.com/company/community/pasta_tales.asp. BABY HOME CELEBRATES FIRST YEAR Tilly’s Baby Home at the Girls and Boys Town of Southern California’s Trabuco residential campus recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. The home is a baby shelter for sibling sets of children from 0 to 6 years old. Tilly Levine, founder of the Tilly’s apparel company, presented Girls and Boys Town with a check for $58,000 raised at their annual golf outing to support the ongoing operations of the Baby Home. TEEN CLINIC OPENS IN TUSTIN Talbert Medical Group in Tustin has opened a teen clinic. The clinic, which focuses on adolescent and young adult healthcare, drug and alcohol prevention, and teen pregnancy, is open on Wednesdays from 1-5 p.m. for patients ages 11-21. Information: 714.442.4864. HEALTH WEBSITE FOR PARENTS Do you have a health question? Parents can simplify their searches by visiting healthfinder.gov. The website, supported by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has been recognized as a key resource for finding the best government and nonprofit health information on the Internet. – Reported and compiled by OC Family Magazine staff |
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