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Dr. Spock 'Baby Basics' a reference tool for new parents Years after his passing, Dr. Benjamin Spock remains an icon in the world of baby and child care. Parents continue to seek his wisdom and practical guidance on virtually every aspect of child-rearing through his previously published best-selling books. "Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care," first published in 1946, has sold 50 million copies with sales second only to the Bible. Four generations of parents have looked to him for support, information and inspiration. Now, his words live on in a new book called "Dr. Spock's Baby Basics" by Dr. Robert Needlman. This pocket guide incorporates quotations by Spock himself and is inspired, according to its author, by Spock's groundbreaking philosophy of caring for the whole child, "...their heads and hearts, not just their muscles and bones." It is hoped that, through this book, the next generation of parents will still be able to look to Dr. Spock for answers. "Baby Basics," the first in a series crafted by the Dr. Spock Co., is a concise reference tool that parents can turn to on a day-to-day basis. Dr. Needlman writes, "The book isn't meant to be a comprehensive 'how-to' manual. The original 'Baby and Child Care' still offers the broadest coverage of every aspect of parenting." Instead, Needlman chose to delve deeper into four areas basic to parenting; sleeping, feeding, comforting and hygiene. Famous for saying, "Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do," Dr. Spock always encouraged parents to go with their own instincts, while offering reassuring advice. Needlman hopes to do the same. How We Rank California schools, by the numbers Teacher salaries, numbers of kids in classrooms and other nuggets of information have been packaged together by EdSource to give a broad picture of the state of California's public schools. Following are highlights from "Resource Cards on California Schools" by the nonprofit group (www.edsource.org) that compiles information on K-12 education: ¨ Teacher salaries in 2002-03 rank third in the U.S. ($52,480, to New Jersey's $53,281), but teachers have more students on average (20.6) than any other state except Utah (21.6). ¨ California ranks 33rd in spending per pupil ($6,837) and 37th in public school revenue per $1,000 of personal income. ¨ California also ranks 50th for total staff to students, a 1-to-11 ratio. ¨ There are 6.147 million students in California's public schools and 635,719 in private schools. Total number of school districts: 986. ¨ Latinos comprise the highest number of students demographically (44.2 percent); followed by white students (34.8 percent); Asian or Pacific Islander (8.8 percent); and African-American (8.3 percent). ¨ In the next decade, California will need to hire more than 200,000 new teachers to keep up with projected demand of rising enrollment and increased numbers of retirees. There are more than 305,000 public school teachers. N Getting Started...with Michele Piazzoni A new clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics is advising parents to begin supplementing breastfed babies with Vitamin D during the first two months of life and throughout childhood. A lack of the vitamin is hard to detect and can ultimately lead to the bone-softening disease rickets. The vitamin is available in drop and tablet form. Ask your pediatrician for more information. (Formula contains a sufficient amount of Vitamin D.) • Did you know that falls are the most common cause of injury to children under age 1? A new study reports that most falls occur during a caregiver's lapse in attention, and suggests that some of these accidents may be prevented by more thorough child-proofing efforts. For example, an infant might not roll off a bed if Mom has an alternate place to temporarily set her. So, if you haven't baby-proofed your home yet, get started. And since those little ones develop so quickly, review and update your safety measures every six months. • If you need an incentive to stop smoking, the thought of a colicky baby might just do the trick. A recent study found that babies of smokers were twice as likely to have colic than babies of non-smokers. In fact, pharmacists should advise parents to cease smoking around the baby before they dispense any over-the-counter remedies for colic. Wilderness Camp The Irvine Co. donates 190-acre site for youths Orange County youths are a step closer to exploring and experiencing the great outdoors in their own back yard. The move comes as a gift from The Irvine Co., which recently donated a 190-acre site adjacent to Irvine Regional Park for a year-round Youth Wilderness Park. "We made a commitment years ago to find a site for a youth camp because we believed that this is an important asset for the youth of Orange County," says John Christensen, spokesman for The Irvine Co. "This is another opportunity for us to plan and create an experience that will enhance the lives of young people in Orange County." The park, scheduled to open in 2005, will be available to countywide youth groups, schools, community-based organizations and churches, as well as children and their families. While specific plans are yet to be finalized, the camp is envisioned to include an array of amenities, such as an activity center, dining commons, bunk houses, campsites and staging areas for activities including hiking, horseback riding, archery and more. "This wilderness camp will provide our youth with educational and recreational experiences that are unmatched and unavailable in our area," says Christensen. Once entitlement approvals are complete, the Newport Beach-based developer plans to transfer the land to the county of Orange. Plans call for the county to lease the land to the Boys Scouts of America, Orange County Council, which will design, finance, develop, operate and maintain the Youth Wilderness Camp. The council also will manage site scheduling and usage. "For us, the biggest thing is having a facility that's accessible to kids who don't normally have overnight outdoor adventure facilities available to them," says Brett Beck, spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America, Orange County Council. "This facility is going to be open to all organized youths groups. You don't have to be a Boy Scout. We really hope that all the kids in the county get to see the great outdoors like a lot of the Scouts do." Fit Rule Parents' role in child's fitness crucial If you haven't already seen the ads telling you to encourage your child to get moving, you surely will. "VERB. It's what you do" is the national campaign targeting our under-active preteens, ages 9-13, pushing them to "do" more physical activities. The program, in the second year of its five-year effort, also targets parents, reminding them that they play a critical role in shaping a healthy lifestyle for their child. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is responding to the unprecedented epidemic of overweight children by getting the word out that physical activity is good for them. The message is "get moving." While up to two hours of quality TV time is OK, the CDC reports that most children are spending more than six hours in front of a TV screen, video monitor, or computer each day. This sedentary routine puts them at greater risk for obesity and the many diseases related to it. How can you help your child develop a more active lifestyle? VERB suggests the following: ‘ Remove TV sets from children's bedrooms. ‘ Research fun outdoor programs available through the parks and recreation department such as nature hikes, beach trips and sports. ‘ Recommend pro-social activities such as volunteering at the local library, the Human Society or at an elder care facility. The CDC is committed to helping parents help their kids by launching VERBparents.com, a website with more information on ways to increase physical activity, decrease screen time and encourage pro-social involvement. For parents: www.VERBparents.com For kids: www.VERBnow.com FAMILY NEWS BITES SCHOOL NURSES AND DIABETES A nationwide effort is underway to train school nurses and health professionals in diabetes management for Type 1 as well as prevention techniques to ward off Type 2 diabetes. The Pediatric Adolescent Diabetes Research Education Foundation (PADRE), in cooperation with the National Association of School Nurses, will soon train more than 1,500 school nurses to recognize and help manage symptoms of diabetic students, the result of a $150,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente. PARENTS, FERTILITY CENTER CELEBRATE LIFE More than 297 proud parents and 250 children - 42 sets of twins, one set of triplets and one set of quads - recently joined Dr. David Diaz and his staff from West Coast Fertility Centers and Centro Lationoamericano de Fertilidad to celebrate the joys of parenthood. The event, "Fifteen Years of Miracles," reunited children who represent the miracle of assisted reproductive medicine. Based in Fountain Valley, the fertility clinic also has satellite locations in Fullerton and Irvine. STUDENTS AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION CONFERENCE More than 300 seventh-grade students from the seven middle schools in Irvine will participate June 6 in the city of Irvine's Middle School Youth Violence Prevention Conference. The day-long program will tackle the issues of violence prevention, including tolerance, bullying, choices and acceptance. The conference, presented in cooperation with the Irvine Unified School District, is being supported by Project Success, OC Family Magazine, Pulte Homes and others. FUNDS FOR ABUSED KIDS More than $100,000 was raised recently to help prevent child abuse and teen pregnancy at the the Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center's annual fund-raiser, "An Evening at the Oscars." Nearly 400 guests attended the event at the new Huntington Beach Hyatt Regency Hotel, which was sponsored in part by The Irvine Co., Western Digital and Mark P. Robinson, an attorney. DIABETES RESEARCH Newborns who are genetically predisposed to diabetes (mother, father or sibling has Type 1 diabetes) are being sought by UCLA researchers for a diabetes prevention study. The international trial seeks to delay or prevent the development of Type 1 diabetes by learning whether avoiding cow milk proteins in the first months of life can decrease incidence of Type 1 by age 10 in genetically at-risk babies. Expectant mothers may enroll by contacting Lisa Rogers: 310.825.5487 or lrogers@mednet.ucla.edu. EAGLE SCOUTS HONORED Scouting's highest honor, the Eagle Scout Award, was presented to more than 400 young men from Orange County recently at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Dana Point. To qualify, Scouts were required to earn a total of 21 merit badges and organize and implement a service-oriented project, a feat less that 3 percent of all Scouts achieve. WEBSITE HELPS KIDS COPE WITH WAR Though the war in Iraq is winding down, global tensions seem ongoing - something kids can have trouble coping with thanks to constant media coverage. www.KidsHealth.org is a site that offers guidance on how to interpret the news, reduce anxiety, deal with death and other war-related topics. Various links are specifically geared to parents. PHOTO BUSINESS FOCUSES ON FAMILIES An Irvine photo shop has created several programs to help families with their photography. 30 Minute Photos Etc. is focusing on processing useful prints from those digital cameras that are now in the hands of thousands of family shutterbugs: Drop off the media at the shop; use the in-store self-serve print station; or shoot and send your digital artwork online so the company can make prints to your specifications (for pickup or to be mailed to your home). Owner Mitch Goldstone says he also has several stations to embellish photography, including his ARTwork area where prints can be improved in several ways, such as creating a watercolor effect. According to the New York Times, photo retailers are gaining business through processing digital prints. "The clunkiness of much photo-related software, the slowness of photo printers, and the chancy quality of homemade prints" have driven consumers to the pros to finish the process of photography - which is to make meaningful prints, the April 14 story reports. Goldstone's company, www.30MinPhotos.com, is at Jamboree and Barranca Parkway. STUDENTS GRANT WISH FOR 7-YEAR-OLD The hard work and fundraising efforts of the "Kids for Wish Kids" club at Newport Harbor High School helped sponsor a Disney cruise for a special "wish child." According to Michelle Wells of Make-A Wish, the students sold calendars and washed cars to raise several thousand dollars that funded the wish of 7-year-old Hannah. A check was presented by the club to Make-A-Wish at a schoolwide assembly that Hannah attended. Hannah, her parents, and sister Jillian then set sail on the Disney Cruise ship's Bahamas tour. |
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