Radio Commentary
Concepts of trust and danger, which are virtually meaningless to a two-year-old, make perfect sense to older children.
It is critical that parents use safety instructions that are appropriate to a child’s age if they want them to be followed.
For example, two-year-olds respond to rules and are old enough to know that certain actions bring their parents’ disapproval. Express strong disapproval if a child wanders away at the mall. Two is also a good age at which to plant the idea that some actions require permission.
Three-year-olds begin to understand the concept of trust. Tell them exactly whom they can turn to for specific kinds of help — the babysitter, a neighbor, etc.
Four-year-olds are risk-takers, so this is an important time to reinforce safety rules and step up supervision. Children at this age can begin to understand that not every person they meet is trustworthy.
At five, children start school and interact with many new people, including older children who could be intimidating or unkind. It’s a good time for parents to reinforce positive perceptions of people.
By six, most children have begun to develop intuition. This is the time to encourage them to trust their own instincts: If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.
Using age appropriate instructions significantly increases the likelihood that your instructions will be followed.
Newspaper column
Several months ago, the state of California launched “Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community,” a statewide campaign to improve health by informing Californians about the impact stores have in marketing unhealthy products.
In tandem with that effort, Santa Barbara County’s Public Health Department studied tobacco, alcohol, and food sales in local stores countywide. It was the first time all three kinds of products were analyzed together.
The results were cause for concern: The county found that young people have amazingly easy access to tobacco and alcohol near schools. In fact, the study found that it’s often as easy for young people to buy tobacco as candy bars.
Tobacco products are sold next to candies at checkout areas in nearly half the stores in this state, whether small convenience stores, supermarkets, drug stores, or big box stores. In all, 7,400 stores were included in the statewide study.
The goal was to see how the availability of products could impact health.
In gathering the data for the study, it became clear that small flavored cigars or cigarillos are growing in popularity. In Santa Barbara County alone nearly 80 percent of tobacco outlets, mostly located near schools, sell these products. Nationally, it has been reported that two out of five middle school students who smoke use cigarillos. The most popular brand costs less than $1 at most sites.
Other novelty products that are enticing to young people include alcopops, which are alcoholic drinks that resemble soda or sparkling juice drinks. The county’s study showed that these products are sold at 91 percent of tobacco outlets countywide, which is higher than the state average. More than half the stores had alcohol ads near candy and toys, or at a child’s eye level.
More than 66 percent of the tobacco retailers surveyed are closer than 1,000 feet to a school. This means that our young people are exposed to unhealthy products regularly. Only about 10 percent of the stories surveyed advertised healthy foods.
Of course we all see these messages every day to the point where we tune them out and don’t even notice. That is not necessarily the case with young people. The unhealthy messages that bombard kids, and the ads for unhealthy products, surround young people and become difficult for them to ignore.
Dr. Takashi Wada, deputy health officer and director of the county’s Public Health Department, said it best: “We all need to be more aware of these influences in our neighborhoods.” He said it’s important to work with store owners, families, and community partners to protect our young people and make our communities healthier.
We strongly applaud the Public Health Department for these important efforts to help improve the health of our young people.
Radio Commentary
A national study of adolescents found that parents have a critical role to play in helping children through a period of life that can be filled with dangers.
Not surprisingly, the study found that teens who feel loved and understood, and who feel that parents pay attention to them, were less likely to engage in dangerous behaviors.
There are four things parents can do to help their teens, according to the study:
- Set high academic expectations. Let teens know that school is important — and back up your words by setting homework times and talking with teachers.
- Be accessible. The presence of parents in the home at specific times of day made teens less likely to use drugs or alcohol. Those times were in the morning, after school, at dinner, and at bedtime.
- Send clear messages about avoiding drugs, alcohol, and sex. Peers strongly influence teens, but parents also play a critical role.
- Lock up alcohol. Most teens have their first drinks at home. The presence of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes in the home significantly increase the likelihood that teens will use these substances.
These findings by the National Study of Adolescent Health offer a common-sense approach for parents as they attempt to help their teens through some difficult years.
Radio Commentary
Summertime can provide an important break for young students. But studies show that those who remain active learners are better prepared to return to academic studies in the fall.
Reading, writing, math, and science activities can take on a new perspective when experienced as part of summertime fun.
Here are some ways you can help:
Promote creativity and build muscle control with a pail of water and a brush. On a warm day, take your children to the driveway or sidewalk and encourage them to write anything at all. Talk about what they’ve written. Hose it off when it’s time to clean up.
Encourage summer reading. Find books or magazines geared to your child’s interests. Topics with natural appeal would cover cars, musical groups and singers, and relationships.
Ask about your child’s career interests. Chances are there’s a magazine or book on the subject.
Bring the outdoors inside. Collect leaves, rocks, seashells, and bugs. Grow plants from raw potatoes, avocado seeds, and pineapple tops.
Design a scavenger hunt for your children. Have them look for items like acorns, twigs, small rocks, feathers, tree bark, dandelions. Then read or talk about all the items.
Here’s a variation for indoors:
Write certain words on small pieces of paper or index cards, like “chair” “circle,” “red,” or “animal.” Have children place the words on something in the house that matches that description. “Circle” could go on a plate, and “animal” could go on a picture of a dog.
Even mistakes can be fun.
Radio Commentary
Experts agree that children who read during the summer gain reading skills, while those who do not can lose some of them.
As children’s first and most important teachers, parents have a major role to play in motivating children to read during the summer.
Here are some tips to help keep your child learning and reading.
Combine activities with books. Summer leaves lots of time for children to enjoy fun activities such as going to the park, seeing a movie, or going to the beach.
Why not also encourage them to read a book about the activity?
If you’re going to a baseball game, suggest your children read a book about their favorite player beforehand. In the car or over a hot dog, you’ll have lots of time to talk about the book and the game.
Visit the library. If your child doesn’t have a library card, summer is a great time to sign up. In addition to a wide selection of books to borrow, many libraries have fun, child-friendly summer reading programs.
Lead by example. Read the newspaper at breakfast, pick up a magazine at the doctor’s office, and stuff a paperback in your beach bag.
If young people see the adults around them reading often, they will understand that literature can be a fun and important part of their summer days.
Radio Commentary
More parents are traveling with ever-younger children in tow these days. When it comes to travel safety, there are two practices that could save a young life.
First, when traveling in a car, always secure an infant in a car seat in the back seat.
The rear of a car is a far safer place in the event of an accident. Above all, never use an infant seat in the front of a car that has a passenger-side air bag.
If the bag deploys, it can seriously hurt the infant by striking the back of the safety seat and causing injury.
In a case where an older car only has lap belts in the rear, or shoulder straps that cross over the neck or face of a toddler, it is still important to use a safety belt.
In fact, any belt is better than no belt. Use a booster seat for a young child who has outgrown an infant seat. This will raise the child so that the shoulder strap crosses the chest, not the neck.
If the rear seat has no shoulder straps, buy a booster seat with a harness or a shield. These devices have saved young lives.
Of course, preventive and defensive driving is always the best bet — and drivers should take special precautions when traveling with young passengers.
But sometimes unforeseeable circumstances occur, or other drivers are not exercising the same care as you are.
At those times, it is far better to be prepared and to make sure a child is adequately protected.
Radio Commentary
Sometimes we want so much for our children, and our community’s children, that doing what’s best for them can seem overwhelming.
We can begin to feel that there are too many bases to cover, and too many areas to support or protect to make sure our children get our best efforts.
It can help to focus our energies on a shared vision. A publication called Helping Kids Succeed has a great approach.
It asks us to imagine living in a community where all young people feel loved and supported by their families and neighbors, with many positive, caring places to go.
- Where all young people know what is expected of them — what actions are acceptable and not acceptable. And where they see adults set good examples in those areas;
- A community where all young people believe that education and life-long learning are important, and have strong values that guide their actions;
- A community where all young people have skills to make healthy choices and have good relationships; where all young people feel strong, worthwhile, and connected to some purpose in life.
Finally, it asks us to imagine a community where all young people are valued by everyone.
Imagine the richness of life for everyone in such a community.
Radio Commentary
Addiction plays no favorites. It assaults individuals of every walk of life. Every color. Every socioeconomic group. Almost every age.
It seduces people with short-term euphoria and trades that off for lifelong agonies. It is an illness that victimizes not only the addicts but also everyone who loves them, works with them, teaches them, or cares about them in any way.
And addiction doesn’t just happen to “other people.” It happens to our friends, our neighbors, our children, and our loved ones.
If you, a relative, or a friend has a problem, remember that you are not alone. Help is available. Never give up on anyone.
Here are some phone numbers that could help. Call:
- The Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, 963-1433;
- Alcoholics Anonymous, 962-3332;
- The Daniel Bryant Youth and Family Treatment Center adolescent program, 730-7575.
Many people say their agony was prolonged because they didn’t know where to turn for help.
It’s essential to know that thousands of county residents and relatives have received referrals for the treatment they needed through these organizations, and they remain ready to help anyone in need.
