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25.1 years old Women wait longer for Baby No. 1 By OC Family Staff The average age for having a first baby in 2002 was 25.1 years, an American record, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. And birth rates for women ages 35-39 and 40-44 were the highest in more than three decades. The rate of women having babies, ages 20-24, was on the decline and the rate for those 25-29 was stable, but still the highest of all age groups, at 114 per 1,000 women. In contrast, the rate for teens was 43 per 1,000, a historic low for the CDC. However, the number of births to unmarried women reached a record high of 1.366 million in 2002. The CDC reports that this reflects a growing number of unmarried women rather than an increase in the rate. Higher-order births continue to rise. The twin birthrate increased 3 percent between 2001 and 2002 to 31 twin births per 1,000 births. That's up 38 percent since 1990 and 65 percent since 1980. The rate for triplets and other multiple births dropped slightly to 184 per 100,000 in 2002. This is a reverse in huge climbs that include a 400 percent increase between 1980 and 1998. Information: www.cdc.gov/nchs. Click on Vital Statistics/Birth Data. an apple a day Carefully pack your child's school lunch Mott's Inc. recently conducted a survey regarding the health benefits of apples and the dieting habits of Americans. Below are tips for parents to integrate healthy snacking into a child's diet. * When it comes to bag lunches, a majority of parents (71 percent) pack fruit for their kids. Apples (72 percent) proved to be the most popular lunch bag fruit, followed by bananas (50 percent), oranges (28 percent) and grapes (25 percent). * Pack a variety of healthy snacks in your child's lunch throughout the week. * Keep an assortment of fruit and other nutritious snacks in clear containers that can be easily reached by children. * Allow your child to be part of food selections when grocery shopping. Teach him the importance of choosing healthy snacks that will help boost energy levels throughout the day. Children learn from watching adults. Make sure to set a good example by making healthy food choices for yourself. look to yourself Parents are models for healthy lifestyles Nearly 1,000 dietetic professionals identified parents as one of the most important elements in the fight to reduce childhood obesity. As part of the Quaker Oatmeal Strive for Five program, these experts claim that when parents act as good nutritional role models by consuming more whole grain foods, eating breakfast every day and controlling portion sizes, they can help prevent excessive weight gain in their children. Quaker Oatmeal, along with the American Dietetic Association, created an online resource to assist parents in leading their children to good health. Located at www.quakeroatmeal.com, the program takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete and helps parents organize menus and activities and offers tips, interactive tools and incentives. It suggests making simple but critical changes to the family's lifestyle and suggests the following: Become a good nutritional role model. Assess your own eating and exercise habits and make adjustments. Your children are watching. Introduce whole grains. Fiber-rich foods help reduce weight gain. The online programoffers a pantry checklist to help parents incorporate more grains into their family's diet. Eat breakfast daily. Eating breakfast helps keep hunger at bay throughout the morning and lessens the chance of overeating at lunch. Learn correct portion size. A "Portion Distortion" tool helps children understand appropriate portion size. For example, visuals such as a deck of cards or a baseball help kids understand the concept. Measure progress. It's important to show your children the progress your family has made in improving overall health. $$$ for education Donations total $30 million to O.C. schools Education has always been the beneficiary of big money. The latest gifts, which will benefit students for years to come, go to two private schools in Orange County. St. Margaret's Episcopal School in San Juan Capistrano recently received the largest single gift in its 25-year history. The $10 million, unrestricted donation comes from the Nicholas Foundation. Henry T. Nicholas III, co-founder and former CEO of Broadcom, and his wife Stacey's three children attend the independent school, which serves 1,200 students in preschool through grade 12. The funds will go toward the school's "Legacy Campaign" to raise more than $45 million for infrastructure improvements and establish a multi-million-dollar endowment. Plans call for the building of a new Events and Education Center, Performing Arts Center, Church Education Building and new lower and upper school classroom buildings. Also announced was the formation of collaboration with UC Irvine to develop technology solutions tailored for the classroom. Chapman University's School of Film and Media Arts is the recipient of the second gift. The $20 million donation comes from Larry and Kristina Dodge, executives of American Sterling Corp., an entertainment company that produces and invests in independent feature films and made-for-television movies. The film school, renamed the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, will house the Institute for the Study of Media and the Public Interest. Based on a new idea by Larry Dodge, the institute will invite scholars and community leaders to participate in seminars, panels and conferences dealing with the impact of media on society and public policy. - By Sandy Bennett Segerstrom family donates land The YMCA of Orange County has received a 2.5-acre land gift from the Segerstrom family to build a new YMCA at Armstrong Ranch in Santa Ana. The new facility will include a rock climbing/ropes course, a soccer arena, an aquatic center and a 32,000-square-foot community and fitness center to serve many of the 80,000+ youth under age 18 who live within two miles of the site. The site is located at the corner of Alton Boulevard and Raitt Street. "This generous gift reflects the long commitment of the Segerstrom family to the YMCA and the community in general. What a difference the gift will make to the youth and families of Santa Ana," announced Art Wannlund, president and CEO of the YMCA of Orange County. With this gift, the YMCA of Orange County begins raising funds for construction. The process of funding and building the new facility is expected to take up to three years. An endowment fund is planned. Homework's not so bad Donations are being accepted on behalf of the late Bunni Tobias for the publication of "Homework's Not So Bad With Mooving Moo," a book she had just finished editing before her death. The book offers homework strategies for parents and educators to use at home and in the classroom. Tobias, a Lake Forest-based, licensed educational psychologist, worked with children for more than 30 years. She was a frequent resource for OC Family Magazine stories. Among her many works, she developed a tape series, "ADHD Look-Alikes, Other Reasons Children Flit, Squirm Distract and Just Space Out!," to educate parents and professionals about mimicking conditions. Known as "The Kid's Detective" for her ability to uncover the reason for a child's limitations, she lived by her motto and philosophy: "I believe in solving problems - not labeling children." Information: www.drbunni.com. The cost of raising a child on the rise One source notes that the cost to raise a child from birth to age 17 has risen to more than $170,000 from $25,000 some 40 years ago. The basis of a new book, "Yes You Can...Afford to Raise a Family" is to offer tips to help put a dent in that big bill. Among the topics: managing family finances; reducing finance-related stress; learning to live on one income; wiping out debt; and saving for college. The book reached stores last month. Created by Sam Goller, $19.95 (Andrews McMeel Publishing; 800.234.3445, and www.stowers-innovations.com). youth play with symphony Dan Cao, 15, a sophomore at Irvine High School, and Kristina Jacinth, 16, a junior at El Camino High in Oceanside, recently performed with the Saddleback Symphony at Saddleback College. They were winners of the community college's Concerto Competition. Both students are accomplished pianists. students visit the U.N. Orange Coast College's Model United Nations Club is traveling to New York City April 6-10 to participate in the 2004 National Model United Nations Conference. The conference is the world's largest college-level simulation of the U.N. and is held at the United Nations Headquarters. More than 3,000 college and university students take part each year. new foundation employee Julie Tapp has been hired as the new chief program officer for the Irvine Public Schools Foundation. The nonprofit raises money for Irvine's public schools for programs that the district otherwise could not fund (see Education, March issue). Tapp has a doctorate in policy development and program evaluation from Vanderbilt University. She has extensive experience in program planning, program evaluation, and community leadership. Pier 1 for mothers Money from the purchase of Pier 1 Gift Cards will be donated to UNICEF to help prevent the deaths in 57 countries of 30,000 mothers and 200,000 newborns from tetanus infection this year. With each purchase of a $50 Gift Card, beginning April 18, Pier 1 will donate $1.20 to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. That's the cost to buy a vaccine and immunize a woman of child-bearing age. At least 36,000 women worldwide will benefit from this program. Information: 800.4.UNICEF, www.unicefusa.org, or www.pier1.com. family finance By Bob Waltos Know the Future Beneficial planning for special needs children Whether a family has substantial means or few assets, planning for the financial future of a disabled child is critical. The fact is: How parents leave assets after their death may greatly affect the quality of life for their son or daughter with special needs. With ever-changing laws, it’s important for families to regularly revisit their financial plans to ensure their children with disabilities are well-prepared for their future. It’s important to know that an inheritance may cause problems for their child, says the Federal Consumer Information Center. Under current federal law, any inheritance worth more than $2,000 disqualifies disabled individuals from most federal benefits such as supplemental security income (SSI) and Medicaid. This is why it’s so important to develop a “special needs trust” in which the family leaves chosen resources, such as money or property, to the trust, says the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities. It is managed by a trustee, who is given absolute discretion to determine when and how much the person should receive. While some families may require a reallocation of the assets they already have, some families may seek more assets to allocate. In this case, permanent life insurance may be a solution. A permanent second-to-die life policy often makes the most sense, since the death benefit becomes payable only when the surviving parent dies the time when the funds will be needed. This money can then be “housed” inside a special needs trust and be used for supplemental long-term quality of care needs. Parents should also consider the following advice from EParent magazine: * Constantly monitor legal documents such as wills, trusts, power of attorney and health-care proxies to make sure they are relevant and properly worded. * Develop a written Letter of Intent that will assist future caregivers, including the child’s physical and mental status, likes and dislikes, medications, history, etc. * Only work with knowledgeable professionals who have expertise in special needs planning. * Regularly check special needs trusts to ensure that they are adequately funded for quality lifetime care and quality of life. Bob Waltos, CLU, ChFC, CFP, is managing partner of Northwestern Mutual Financial Network/The Waltos Group in Newport Beach. Information: 949.863-5800 or www.nmfn.com/waltosgroup a helping hand By Sandy Bennett Saving Children County agency continues 20-year effort Last year, more than 31,000 incidences of child abuse were reported to the Orange County Social Services Agency, Child Abuse Registry. Almost half of these children had been neglected. Thousands of others had been physically or sexually abused. The Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center is committed to eliminating these somber statistics. The Santa Ana-based agency, which marks its 20th anniversary this month, is the county’s leading nonprofit organization focused exclusively on the prevention of child abuse. Last year, 14,000 children and 6,500 families were served. Education and support are key to the deterrent program as well as in breaking the cycle of child abuse, says Executive Director Kathy McCarrell. “Education is really critical because our mothers say, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing and I don’t want to do what my mom did, but I don’t know what else,’” she says. “The other thing that tends to happen with these families is they are very isolated and alone and struggling...So the education isn’t going to be effective unless you also surround them with support.” The center offers several programs to assist. These include professional social workers and volunteer parent mentors who work with families at risk of child abuse in their home, showing them first-hand how to replace old habits with nurturing parenting styles. Its newest program is Helping Kids Cope, an educational seminar for divorcing parents designed to minimize the traumatic effects of divorce on children. Other programs are geared toward reducing domestic violence, which tends to go hand-in-hand with child abuse, and the number of teen pregnancies. The agency also helps to reduce poverty pressures. Participants in the program, says McCarrell, tend to be very low-income, single mothers and teenage mothers. The youngest mother currently being served is 13. “We’ll go into homes where they’re living in a garage and the kids are sleeping on the floor,” she says. “So we will first work in getting them into an apartment and get them beds, which churches will help with in a second, and then we start talking about parenting.” The agency is currently looking for about 20 women to be a part of a philanthropy group. Local residents can also get involved by attending the agency’s upcoming fund-raiser. The sixth annual black-tie gala will be held April 17 at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa in Dana Point. For more information on the Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center and this month’s black-tie gala, visit www.BrightFutures4Kids.org or call 714.543.4333. Sandy Bennett is associate editor at Churm Publishing, Inc. |
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