Family News

They’re here!!!
Mom bloggers at inlandempirefamily.com

Our website, inlandempirefamily.com, has lots of new entry points, tools, directories and cool ads. It also has 4 mom bloggers.
    Staff Writer Kathleen Crain searched far and wide to find just the right ingredients. You’ll find our Mom of 9 (yes, she’s expecting child No. 9), Busy Mom (2 toddlers, and no time), Inland Empire Mom (she has a creative perspective about raising kids in the 2 counties), and our own Ms. Crain, who is our New Mom (due date: April 28).
    We invite you to experience the wit and wisdom of these 4 women (and tell your husbands to click on ocdad, written by Executive Editor Craig Reem). We also invite you to help create a special Inland Empire community by commenting on their thoughts, their actions and their lives. Just go to their blogs, enjoy the read and comment.
    Because parenting is an altogether thing, and Inland Empire Family Magazine has just brought your world a little closer.


Parenting coursework
Program assists African-Americans in the Inland Empire

An intensive workshop called the “Effective Black Parenting Program” was held last month in Ontario. This program was created by the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring (CICC) more than 30 years ago and addresses the challenges of raising proud and capable African-American children. The program offers 1- to 5-day seminars for parents and educators, and is based on an achievement orientation to African-American parenting.
    The program has been based on concepts developed by African-American parenting scholars, research with parents, and adaptations of parenting skills that have been effective in raising children of all ethnic backgrounds.
    Cultural pride is one of the centerpieces of the program and the parenting strategies and skills in the Effective Black Parenting Program are taught by making reference to African proverbs, such as “Children are the reward of life” or “A shepherd does not strike his sheep.” Grounding their teachings in ancient African wisdom is one of the ways that the program promotes cultural pride.
    The seminars, in which more than 100,000 parents have participated over the years, are customarily divided into 3 categories: Culturally Specific Parenting Strategies, General Parenting Strategies and Basic Parenting Skills Taught in a Culturally Sensitive Manner, as well as special topics such as single parenting and preventing drug abuse.
    For more information on the next workshop: ciccparenting.org or call 800.325.2422.

    Michael J. Medley is a senior writer for Inland Empire Family Magazine.

The 20s
Drinking, other woes afflict post-teens

 “I think the 20s are the new teenage years,” USA Today quotes a bartender who serves drinks to that sometimes
inebriated age group.
    The newspaper notes in a recent article that in today’s society, the twentysomethings are taking their sweet time to settle down – into marriage and into careers. So, by extension, the teen years go on. And on. Some statistics related to risky behavior among this age group are creeping upward, such as unexpected pregnancies, rape and other violent crimes.
    Much is tied to heavy drinking.
    Some statistics, which include children still living at home:

> Binge drinking and heavy drinking is highest among those in their 20s, according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

     > For those age groups in which alcohol is at least a sometime adventure:
 12-15: 9.8% 16-20: 42.8%
21-25: 67.4%
26-29: 63.7%

fast Fact

More than 60% of teens, ages 13-17, report having a profile on a social-networking site, The Tribune of Greeley, Colo., recently reported, quoting a figure that keeps climbing
and continues to concern parents.