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LEGOLAND GETS TOP BILLING Amusement Today, a trade newspaper based out of Texas, held an annual competition to rate the nation’s best amusement parks, and Carlsbad-based Legoland was chosen Best Children’s Park. UCLA RESEARCH STUDY OF ADHD Does your child have a hard time concentrating? UCLA is hosting a free study to evaluate kids between the ages of 7 and 14 who might have Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. Participants will be evaluated through medical and psychological evaluations. A $175 compensation fee will be paid. Contact Joni at 310.295.7667 for more information. MAKING KIDS FIT Kurt Suhr, principal of Newport Heights Elementary School, received the gold medal for the Principal’s Award by the Fitness Council for Kids. He influenced physical education instruction in 600 classrooms and 100 after-school programs. Also, Glenknoll Elementary School in Yorba Linda was named regional winner for the School of the Year. LAGUNA BEACH IN THE TOP RANKS The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) conducted its 17th annual water-quality testing for beaches, bays and lakes. Due to its clean water and coastal conditions, Laguna Beach ranked as one of the best beaches in the U.S. Last year, more than 25,000 beaches closed for no-swim days due to pollution. Laguna Beach was the only California beach to make the cut. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS GRANT Santa Ana Unified School District was awarded a $708,769 grant to enhance and fortify its readiness and emergency response management plans. The district is one of 91 in 32 states to receive an award. CITY OF HOPE GETS OC DONATION Newport Beach entrepreneur Jim Markham and his wife, Cheryl, founders of PureOlogy Serious Colour Care, have donated $25,000 to the City of Hope. The nonprofit is a leading research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes, and other ailments. – Reported and compiled by OC Family Magazine staff HOUSE DANGERS Beware of more than lead paint in toys While we won’t minimize the massive Mattel recall of toys that contain lead paint (see our October issue), there are other dangers around the home. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that toy-related deaths, from 1990-2005, of kids under age 15 resulted from: > Riding toys, scooters > Choking/asphyxiation from balloons, small balls, toy parts and marbles > Toy chests > Strangulation The report reminds parents to fasten car seats securely; have working smoke detectors; set the hot-water heater low enough to avoid scalding water; and fence in the pool. Things that can be swallowed should be a concern as young children love to put everything in their mouths. BEST VIDEO OF THE MONTH From the editors: This is a lesson about believing in yourself, about last chances and about following your dream. Go to: maniacworld.com/Phone-Salesman-Amazes-Crowd.html And, to see the win, go to: youtube.com/watch?v=qwkVnyfdGYQ P.S. OC Family Editor Lynn Armitage blogged about this on our sister website: bodybeautifuloc.com. MORE BABY BEDS CHOC opens its new ICU in OC The sixth floor of the Children’s Hospital of Orange County recently opened a 30-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Josie Y.S. Lee, whose granddaughter was once a patient at CHOC, funded the project. The new unit is named in honor of Lee and her donation. The $1.5 million pledge allowed for the construction of state-of-the-art ICU beds with 12 of the 30 beds dedicated to cardiovascular intensive care. To control the spread of infection, each patient’s room is private. Rooms include a restroom, television and sofa bed for parents who wish to spend the night with their child. The sixth-floor waiting area is family-friendly. CHOC sought to provide comfort for parents by constructing an airy waiting room with relaxed furniture, a respite lounge, sleeping alcoves, shower facilities, a kitchenette, wireless Internet and a family consultation room. – By Kathleen Crain NEW BOOKS From bullying to local authors Two new books have been published on bullying, a sign that the childhood scourge remains topical. Also, 2 local authors have released books on parenting and children’s stories, respectively. “Children & Bullying: How Parents and Educators Can Reduce Bullying at School,” by Kenneth Rigby (Blackwell Publishing), helps teach families how to empower their children. Peer influences can play a role, and schools MUST have effective programs to counterattack bullies. Rigby is an education researcher at the University of South Australia. “Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age,” by Robin Kowalski, Susan Limber, and Patricia Agatston (Blackwell Publishing), gets to the point of the power of the Internet. Anonymity is a bully’s best friend, and this kind of cyber use is becoming more prevalent. But there are ways to combat these intrusions. Kowalski is a psychology professor at Clemson University; Limber heads the Center on Youth Participation and Human Rights at the Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life; and Agatston is a professional counselor working in Atlanta. Also, from Orange County: > “Enjoying the Ride: The Parenting Journey from Birth to Ten,” by Suzy Martyn of Cypress (mothersfriendsos.com): A sensible guide, by age groups, from potty training to handling anger. Also, from Riverside: > “Kid’s Time,” by Debra Engelking (AuthorHouse): Three stories for young children, each with a moral tale, including that of Timmy the Tiny Tiger. OBESITY & EDUCATION How much one weighs can affect college plans A national study indicates that obese high school girls are less likely to attend college than their contemporaries. “Obesity has been identified as a serious public health issue, but these results indicate the harmful effects extend far beyond physical health,” says Robert Crosnoe, author of the study and a sociologist at the University of Texas-Austin. The study was published in Sociology of Education, which tracked 11,000 American teens. Data was used from the National Logitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Self-image is a huge criteria for making the decision not to advance to college, the study indicates. Obese girls seem more likely to consider committing suicide, and sometimes abuse alcohol and marijuana, hardly life choices that will push them into higher education. Those girls most at-risk were non-white, whose parents did not attend or graduate from college. Obese boys did not differ from their non-obese peers in college enrollment. This would suggest that body image is much more pronounced with girls than with boys. PORN ALERT Easy access should worry parents On MySpace and other social sites, more and more users are directing their “friends” to porn sites. And, once on one, the access to literally hundreds of these sites is at the beck and call of the users – no matter what their age. In other words, just one porn-site address leads to all the rest. Controls on porn sites, as one can imagine, are flimsy at best, sometimes asking the user to simply vouch that he or she is 18 years of age or older. Sites such as YouTube are easy portals to porn, as well. Many semi-explicit videos flash addresses that are either explicit by definition or more nuanced; either way, it entices the user. The result is the same: Type in the address and you are on a porn site, with easy access to many more. Other user-heavy websites are being more proactive. Digg.com, which has more than 15 million visitors each month, had a user rebellion in May when the site tried to ban the publication of a code that allows illegal copying of movies. Users like their independence. However, there is no outcry over a company ethic in which Digg.com staff takes down links to pornography. That kind of policing, at least for now, is applauded by the majority of users. WORKING MOMS Part-time hours are best of all Mothers want the best of both worlds – a flexible job and to be a great parent. A national survey by the Pew Research Center states that mothers with children under 18 would rather work part time instead of full time or, even better, work from home. Since 1997, the number of moms with children at home who prefer to work part time has increased from 48% to 60%. Respondents included 457 women in 1997 and 412 women this year. Mothers who work full time give themselves a low grade at being a parent when compared to the part-time working or stay-at-home moms. When asked whether or not working moms had either a negative or positive impact on society, about 44% of stay-at-home moms believe an increase in working mothers will definitely put a toll on society. A mere 22% say it will contribute in a positive way to society and 31% were neutral in their decision. Although the majority of working mothers wants a part-time job, the U.S. Business Bureau of Labor Statistics shows only 24% have one. – Ashley Eliot is an editorial assistant. |
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