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NEWS, VOICES, TRENDS OCTOBER 2005

With the end of daylight savings time on Oct. 30, it is time to change the smoke alarm battery

By OC FamilyPublished: October, 2005

ALSO | TEEN ANGER | HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES | FAMILY NEWS BITES

CHANGE BATTERIES
Smoke detectors need a chance to work

Twice a year, with the change of the clock, fire officials in Southern California and nationwide try to stem the tragedy of home fires by reminding homeowners and apartment dwellers to change out batteries.

With the end of daylight savings time on Oct. 30, it is time to change the smoke alarm battery. This way, if a fire does occur, your best source of warning will be in working condition.

About 1,000 children under the age of 20 die annually in house fires, according to the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
The IAFC and Energizer and more than 5,800 fire departments nationwide participate in the Change Your Clock Change Your Battery program.

Although smoke alarms are present in 95% of American homes, some 20% do not work due to worn or missing batteries. That puts nearly 19 million homes at risk.

“The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., when most families are sleeping,” says Chief Bill Killen, president of IAFC. “A working smoke alarm can often provide the critical extra seconds people need to get out safely.”.

WALK AWAY
More teens able to stem their anger

Being made fun of makes 14-year-old Kyle angry. Most of the time, he says, he doesn’t do anything about it and walks away. Despite the violent picture often painted of today’s youth, the eighth-grader’s response isn’t unusual. According to a recent Gallup Youth Survey, it’s what many teens say they do when they get angry.

And a majority of teens do get angry at least sometimes. Only 11% say they get angry often, while the bulk - 49% - say they get angry sometimes. But not all get angry that often. Thirty-seven percent say they rarely get angry and 3% say they never do.

Kyle says he gets angry sometimes, “maybe two times a week,” but 13-year-old Natalie often feels the emotion coursing through her. She says she gets ticked off when people try to annoy her on purpose and she deals with it by playing sports or just running around.

How do most teens manage their fury? Gallup asked teens the question on an
open-ended basis. Most often teens say they walk away or ignore it.

James Garbarino, professor of human development at Cornell University, says many kids have been taught to do just that, both at home and at school. In today’s climate, he says, there is a greater emphasis on conflict resolution. “In many places, kids are being told, ‘Don’t let your anger get you into a conflict,’ because in today’s world, it might have lethal consequences.”

After evasion, exercise is the next most common way teens deal with anger, followed closely by taking a time out and talking to a friend their own age.

A majority of teens (58%) feel it’s never appropriate to express anger physically, but a substantial minority (42%) feel that at times, it is OK.

Results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,028 teenagers in the Gallup Poll Panel of households, ages 13-17, conducted Jan. 17 to Feb. 6, 2005

- 1-in-3 (34%) do not believe they have enough skills to be successful in life.

Also revealed in the poll:

1-in-4 said they do not have enough caring adults (parents, coaches, teachers, etc.) in their lives and nearly one-half (45%) wished they had more adults they could turn to for help.

On health-related questions, the poll’s results suggest that efforts to educate the nation’s young people about the need to take care of themselves are making progress. Nearly all youngsters in the survey recognize the importance of prioritizing health, even at a young age. Nevertheless, many young people acknowledge that they may not be leading the healthiest lifestyle and that the daily stress they feel is a major contributor.

Some 1,278 young people ages 10-17 were polled with representation from urban, suburban and rural neighborhoods. The entire Voices Study is available at the America’s Promise home page at www.americaspromise.org. The poll has a margin for error of +/- 2%

FINISH THE JOB
High school dropout rates

California high school students are not only bored with their coursework, they’re hardly finishing it, and in return costing California billions of dollars in lost wages. According to EdSource Report, for every 10 students who start high school in California, only seven will actually graduate. Of these seven students, fewer than four will go to college. Fewer than three of these students will still be enrolled in college by their sophomore year and fewer than two will complete a bachelor’s degree within six years.

The California high school graduation rate has improved over the past decade, and yes, many of these young students acknowledge that they could have worked harder and paid more attention in school. However, there are still several reasons as to why three out of 10 students aren’t strolling in a cap and gown. Researchers believe that some pieces to the high school dropout puzzle may be due to socioeconomic reasons, unchallenging or un-motivating coursework, unqualified teachers, understaffed schools, overcrowded hallways and non-supportive adult relationships. According to EdSource, a nonprofit that examines public eduction, “researchers and educators believe that many (California) high schools are not configured to support academic success for the majority of students.”

Some 71% of 10th-graders surveyed wanted to enroll in college, yet by their senior year only half of the graduating students took college admission tests such as the SAT and ACT. Less than one-third met four-year public university requirements.
- By Colleen Corkery

FAMILY NEWS BITES

DROP-IN CHILDCARE CENTER OPENS
The Rumpus Room, a drop-in childcare center that encourages the imagination as well as emphasizes social and physical skills for children ages 2-12, is now open in the Westminster Mall. The center is open seven days a week, including Friday and Saturday evenings until 11 p.m. Hourly care is available five hours a day and up to 15 hours per week per child. For more information, visit www.therumpusroom.com or call 714.893.7898.

ANTI-SMOKING MESSAGES
A UC Irvine business school professor has won a $480,000 grant from the University of California’s Tobacco-Related Research Program to research the potential effectiveness of incorporating anti-smoking messages in the plots or dialogues of major television shows. Marketing professor Connie Pechmann, a national expert on the impact of tobacco advertising on youth, will use the funds to support her project, “Use of Entertainment Education on TV to Deter Youth Smoking.”

ORANGE COUNTY GANGS DECLINE
The number of local gangs and memberships are declining, according to a report released by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. The report states there were 13,259 active gang members in 2004, a decrease of 44% from the all-time high of 24,035 recorded in 1996. The number of known street gangs has also decreased from 1998 to 2004. The decline may be a direct result from the crackdown on sentencing. Since 1999, the District Attorney’s Office has been increasingly aggressive in filing sentencing enhancements.

COX AWARDS $25,000 TO LOCAL NONPROFITS
Cox Communications of Orange County has selected seven Orange County nonprofit organizations to receive a total of $25,000 in grants. This is the sixth year the nonprofit foundation, Cox Charities for Orange County, has awarded grants to organizations. The recipients include: Child Abuse Prevention Center ($2,500). Court Appointed Special Advocates ($5,000), YMCA of Orange County-Community Services Branch ($5,000), Pacific Chorale ($2,500), Art & Creativity for Healing ($2,500), Second Harvest Food Bank ($2,500), and STOP-GAP ($2,500).

MEDICAL CENTER’S PLANETREE PROGRAMS
South Coast Medical Center in Laguna Beach has joined the Planetree alliance, becoming the only hospital to implement Planetree programs. Planetree is a national nonprofit alliance of more than 90 hospitals where patient -entered models of care help to personalize, humanize and demystify the patient’s experience. South Coast Medical Center now offers music therapy, art therapy, pet therapy, and other support for patients and families since joining the alliance.

FIRST CUT SALON OPENS IN MISSION VIEJO
Children’s hair salon First Cut has opened a second store at The Shops at Mission Viejo. The salon sports a 12-foot rocket ship that “blasts” children’s hair trimmings away and also provides a live feed of a child’s first hair cut via webcam. DVD packages, before and after photographs, a certificate, and a lock of hair provided in a custom bound vinyl album are available.

HOMES FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County continues the construction of seven homes in Cypress. Construction on the homes, which will be sold to qualified very low-income families, are expected to be complete by Fall 2006. Habitat for Humanity volunteers have built 112 homes in Orange County since 1988. For more information, call 714.434.6200 or visit the international web site at www.habitat.org.

IRVINE STUDENT AWARDED $10,000
Tony Wu, 16 of Irvine, has been awarded a $10,000 scholarship and is one of 17 students from across the county named as a 2005 Davidson Fellow. Wu, a senior at University High School, received the scholarship through his computer engineering and development of a new and highly efficient Internet search method.

NEW STUDIO THEATER OPENS
The Saint Joseph Ballet has inaugurated its new studio theater. It will provide low-income youth with a place to engage in serious and progressive art-making and also serve as a venue for local residents to better experience Saint Joseph Ballet’s dance program. The flexible, 30-foot-wide theater includes three sets of wings with optional black or white backdrops, 160 lighting fixtures, 24 houselights and mechanical daylight black outs in the clerestory windows. Due to various donations and a generous gift from Arts Orange County and the Orange County Community Foundation, funding was provided for the first year of programming for the studio theatre.

FOSTER/ADOPTIVE PARENTS NEEDED
Children’s Bureau, a licensed private foster and adoption agency, seeks individuals and families who are willing to bring a child into their home. The agency offers training, support groups and resources for foster and adoptive parents. Financial help is also given to assist families in the care of these children. Prospective caregivers are encouraged to attend one of the agency’s information meetings held each month at several locations throughout Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. For more information, call toll-free at 866.633.3588, Ext. 200 or visit www.all4kids.org.

Reported and compiled by OC Family Magazine staff