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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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‘TIS THE SEASON TO READ 10 tips to make the pages fun for kids 1. Give the Gift of Reading: Books make great stocking stuffers and holiday gifts. They keep on giving. 2. Make a Reading List for 2006 (and check it twice!): Keep children engaged in reading all year long. Children should be encouraged to make reading lists of all the books they want to read for the upcoming year. 3. Get Cooking: Bake holiday cookies and other goodies this holiday season with your children while encouraging them to read each recipe and follow the steps. 4. Books Make Great Travel Companions: For any excursion _ short or long _ books are the perfect travel accessory. 5. Keep Reading Fun: Allow children to choose books that interest them. Help by suggesting books and magazines that complement children’s interest such as sports. 6. Trading Spaces: Designate a special place to keep children’s books that are within reach, such as a home library or reading corners in different rooms throughout the house. 7. Encourage Your Child to Read Everything: Whether it’s the back of a cereal box or a sign on the street, the menu at a restaurant or a local newspaper, expose your child to words so he or she becomes a better reader. 8. “Play” Time: Have your child select a book and have him or her act it out with you as if it were a play. This will encourage your child to read, use his or her imagination, and show him or her how a story can be interpreted in a variety of ways. 9. Create Your Own Book: Give a child a specific topic or theme to write his or her own book, 10. Seasons Readings: When a holiday is just around the corner, make a special trip to the library and take out books that relate to what you and your family are celebrating. Source: Scholastic (For more information, visit www.scholastic.com) BE PREPARED Inland Empire schools keep the bird flu in focus Most California schools have a plan in place for responding to a major earthquake, campus violence or a local terrorist attack. Classrooms are stocked with supply kits and teachers are trained on how to care for students. But responding to a highly contagious infectious disease largely hasn’t shown up in disaster plans _ until now. As the federal government readies for a potential avian flu pandemic, districts are discussing contingencies for a health-related disaster. If Inland Empire children start contracting a highly contagious form of avian flu before an effective vaccine is administered to the masses, schools could be closing their doors. But the decision won’t be made at the local level: Districts will be taking their emergency response directions from county, state and federal health management agencies. Like most school health officials, Terry Paxton, health consultant for the Riverside County Office of Education, has been tracking the many discussions around a possible pandemic. Paxton recently attended a statewide summit of school health professionals to stay on top of the latest efforts to prepare for the potential threat of H5N1 easily infecting humans. For now, county offices of education and school districts await further directions from health officials and will follow normal procedures if they see children with unfamiliar symptoms. “The normal protocol is for us to call the epidemiology departments at the local health departments for guidelines,” Paxton says. “Those guidelines are often nationally driven. That phone call to epidemiology is always a standard of practice for everyone in the school business, even if it’s to say, `I’m seeing something I don’t know. What am I seeing?’” Paxton says communication is vitally important, especially when dealing with a possible pandemic. School nurses will be looking closely for any unknown symptoms and calling public health agencies to alert them and receive guidance. School officials will also be looking for an uptick in student absences. Should H5N1 spread to humans, federal, state and local agencies will be telling schools what to communicate to parents and whether school closures are necessary. The actual probability of a pandemic is still hotly debated, with many scientists in disagreement. Because of the uncertainty, districts haven’t made the enormous investment it would take to set up contingencies for virtual learning in the event schools were forced to close. -By Jennifer Leuer OLD PHOTOS New technology is but a click away An Irvine photo shop is the first Kodak retailer in the country to offer a new, high-speed commercial print scanner that archives old prints onto photo CDs. While you wait. “Nearly every family has shoeboxes full of photos,” says Mitch Goldstone, president of 30 Minute Photos Etc. “We are talking billions, and hundreds of billions, of photos.” Customers can have their photos, virtually any size, scanned onto a CD, uploaded onto a website to share a link with relatives and friends, as well as order prints, all within a few minutes. Goldstone believes this is the natural evolution from film photography _ which created those shoeboxes of prints with no practical, quick way to get them scanned _ to digital photography, which typically stores photos on a CD for easy storage and quick access to possible order decisions. Goldstone, a longtime Kodak customer and adviser, says the technology should be a boon for the company. He also believes this is a solution for archiving prized photos that could be lost in a natural disaster. The scanner is capable of 150 pictures per minute. “The convenience factor,” says Goldstone, “is overwhelming because any size photo - from tiny wallet pictures on onion-skin thin paper to 11x17-inch cardboard-thick enlargements - are all scanned together, instantly.” According to the Photo Marketing Association, Americans will order some 26 billion prints this year. Goldstone expects the scanners to be used by a wide array of businesses and agencies, such as attorneys and law enforcement that need to efficiently archive file photos. Information: www.30minphotos.com. -By Craig Reem MOMS AND DOCS Study on Down syndrome shows angst A study by a Harvard Medical School student with mothers who had Down syndrome babies has opened a door into doctor-patient communication. Brian Stotko, who has a sister with DS, was profiled in an October issue of the Wall Street Journal. An examination by Inland Empire Family Magazine of the survey from the 1,126 returned questionnaires indicates that, by and large, the mothers who received prenatal diagnosis _ that represented 141 of the returned surveys _ were dissatisfied on a wide range of issues, from information about Down syndrome to outright pressure to end the pregnancy. The survey’s defining point is a good outline for doctors to follow across many disciplines and diagnoses. In this case, “The most common suggestions were that that diagnosis be conveyed in person, that up-to-date printed material on Down syndrome be provided, and that mothers be referred to local DS support groups.” A survey of 499 primary care physicians indicated that 63% “tried to be as unbiased as possible when delivering a prenatal diagnosis”; 13% said they “emphasized” the negative parts of DS to point parents toward an abortion; 10% said they “urged” parents to terminate; 10% explained the positive aspects of DS in an attempt to have parents continue with the pregnancy; and 4% actively “urged” parents to continue the pregnancy. The mothers, by and large, were resentful of both the negative news and the focus on the difficulties of having a disabled child. As many as 1-in-1,000 births in the United States is to a baby with Down syndrome, a genetic disorder caused by the presence of an extra 21st chromosome. One of the many lessons learned in this study is the mistaken assumption that pregnant women seeking prenatal screening or another diagnosis will wish to abort their fetus if signs indicate the child would have DS. “The results of this study indicate that this is not true for all women.” - By Craig Reem LOCAL AWARDS Inland Empire residents, businesses honored Hispanic Lifestyle Magazine presented its 2005 Inland Empire Hispanic Image Awards in October in a ceremony at the Mission Inn in Riverside. Since 1998, 65 Latino individuals and organizations in the Inland Empire have received this award, acknowledging their contributions. The award recipients are selected through a process of reader contributions, community input and judging by the staff of Hispanic Lifestyle. The 2005 honorees are: Influential Latino—Michael Ramos, District Attorney, San Bernardino County. Influential Latina—Mary Figueroa, Board member, Riverside Community College. Educator of the Year—Carlos Cortes, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of History, University of California, Riverside Business of the Year—Mission Foods, Rancho Cucamonga. Community Advocate of the Year—James Ramos, business owner, community supporter. Non-Profit Organization of the Year—TODEC Legal Centers, Perris, California. Elected Official—Grace Vargas, Mayor of Rialto. Journalist of the Year—Anita Franco, Publisher, Fontana Herald News. Public Safety Person of the Year—Captain John De La Rosa, Riverside Police Department. FAMILY NEWS BITES PRESIDENTIAL HELICOPTER ON DISPLAY The presidential helicopter used by presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford is undergoing restoration at the March Field Air Museum in Riverside. When the restoration is complete, the helicopter will be transported to its permanent site at the Nixon Presidential Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda. Visitors to the March Field Air Museum may view the helicopter restoration process during regular operating hours. Information: 951.697.6600 or www.marchfield.org. FAMILY SCHOOL NETWORKING Recognizing the positive influence of family involvement on a child’s education, the office of the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools invites parents and anyone who works with families to attend meetings of the Family Involvement Network. The meetings are free to attend and focus on areas of parent involvement such as volunteering in the classroom and supporting student learning at home. The next meeting is being held from 8:30-11:30 a.m. Dec. 15 at the Roy C. Hill Education Center, 601 N. E St., San Bernardino. Information: 909.386.2696. FATBURGER OPENS NEAR ONTARIO MILLS Michael Lacy, owner of Lacy Enterprises of San Dimas, is reliving a fond childhood memory by opening a new Fatburger franchise near Ontario Mills. His family would make the drive from the Inland Empire all the way to Los Angeles to dine on the huge burgers at the Fatburger restaurant on Western Avenue. Begun by Lovie Yancey in 1952 in Los Angeles, Fatburger now has 75 restaurants in the United States and Canada. The new restaurant is located at 11226 4th St., Ontario. Information: 909.484.3557. LOCAL MORMON PRESENCE GROWING The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has broken ground for its seventh building in the Temecula/Murrieta area, a new Stake Center to be built near the corner of Pauba Lane and Meadows Parkway in Temecula. The sixth building, the Hot Springs Chapel, located at Sky Canyon Drive and Hot Springs Road, will be completed in 2006. Church membership has kept a pace of 5% of the region’s population as southwest Riverside County has grown, says media representative Shari Crall. “Currently, the Temecula Stake has 3,800 members,” she says. “The Murrieta Stake has similar numbers.” A CANDLE FOR VICTORIA GARDENS Spectacular fireworks and a weekend of live entertainment marked the first anniversary of the Victoria Gardens shopping center in Rancho Cucamonga this past October. “The center has had a strong first year,” said Director of Marketing Glenn C. Miller, “and we are anticipating an even stronger second year with additional development already underway.” HELP FOR FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS A program offering up to $40,000 for down payments and/or closing costs for low-income first time homebuyers has been approved by the Riverside County Economic Development Agency. The agency operates a First Time Home Buyer (FTHB) program that receives allocations from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In order to be eligible for the FTHB program, prospective buyers must complete 8 to 16 hours of education in a Community Homebuyer’s Seminar. This seminar offers comprehensive pre- and post-purchase homeownership education. Information: 951.343.5458 or 800.909.9079 outside of Riverside County. - Reported and compiled by Inland Empire Family Magazine staff |
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