Dr Manny Alverez says Children should NOT use Cell Phones
Ask Dr. Manny Vaccines and Pregnancy
Can You Keep a Secret?
By McGruff and Scruff
August 5, 2009
In 1974, a neighborhood crime watch group was organized in South Dade County. Citizens met with their local law enforcement departments to ask what they could do to help the police apprehend a rapist terrorizing their community. From this first informal meeting, communities and law enforcement began to work together to keep neighborhoods safe and free from crime. An organization was formed, and Citizens’ Crime Watch of Miami-Dade County, Inc. (CCW) was registered as a 501(c) (3) non profit organization. Today, over 1,600 neighborhoods participate in the crime watch concept.
In 1979, the crime watch concept was introduced into the public school system at one school. Because it succeeded in curbing school crime, the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) requested we, CCW, expand its student crime watch program from one school to include all public schools in the county. Since that time, Youth Crime Watch of Miami-Dade (YCW) has functioned as an allied program of the public schools.
Methodology The public school system contracts with YCW to educate and train students in violence and crime prevention strategies. Children also learn that good citizenship and personal responsibility include watching out for family, friends, schools and community. YCW maintains a presence in all M-DCPS.
The foundation of the YCW program is built upon a “school safety survey” which is administered at the school during the first few months of the school year. It asks respondents to rank their particular safety concerns – those issues which they believe have the potential to cause harm to themselves or their schoolmates. YCW students, student advisors, and our staff are then enlisted in the effort to resolve those issues impeding the safety, health, and education of young people. The results of the survey are prioritized and comprise the core content of the YCW program.
The YCW program is structured to teach leadership skills to students who volunteer to learn about school safety. While they learn how to keep themselves safe, they also learn public speaking, critical thinking, leadership, and other skills that will serve them into their adult lives. This, in turn, reinforces their self-esteem and promotes positive involvement, again curbing misbehavior, crime and violence in the school.
I’m McGruff the Crime Dog – world famous for my advice on how to stop crime before it happens, and for my great sense of humor. But seriously, my job is to help people, especially kids, learn how to be safe and make their neighborhood safer. Something else you should know about me is that I go all over the country to talk to people about how they can take a bite out of crime. So if you see me in your town, come on up and say hi. You can recognize me by my tan trench coat – I never go anywhere without it.
This here is my nephew Scruff. He helps me show kids how they can stay safe. Scruff’s a good pup but sometimes gets himself into a bit of trouble. Lucky for him he’s got a good memory – eventually he remembers the right thing to do to get out of trouble. Want to know more about me and Scruff?
You can read more about yours truly in the story How McGruff Became the Crime Dog, and you can read some of Scruff’s adventures in these comic books. Today’s Tip: Help others in the Community.
You and your friends can help out in your neighborhood by taking some few simple steps each day:
Ask your teacher if you could help by erasing the blackboard, or if he or she needs help carrying supplies.
- Bake some goodies for the elderly people in your community.
- Offer to rake the lawns of those in your neighborhood who are not able to.
- Ask your parents if they need help around the house. For example, offer to fold the laundry while you watch the television…that way you both win!
- Collect donations for a local shelter or Red Cross office. These are just a few ideas that you can do to help out around your community.
- By helping out, you are saying thanks to all those who make your neighborhood great!
Today we will talk about: Keeping A Secret
Should you keep it?
Most of the time, it’s okay to keep secrets. Secrets can be fun and make people happy. But sometimes secrets can hurt people. You should never keep secrets like these. Instead, tell the secret to an adult you trust.
Do you know the difference between a good and a bad secret?
A good secret won’t hurt you! And it won’t hurt anyone or anything else.
A bad secret might hurt you, or someone or something else. It might make you, your brother, your sister, or a friend feel sad, scared, uncomfortable, or angry. It might be something that you know is wrong, and you think someone will get in trouble if you break it.
Sometimes it can be hard to tell which secrets are good and which are bad. McGruff has a few examples to help you decide!
Good Secrets to Keep:
- Your mom is planning a surprise party for your dad.
- Your IM password (but you should tell your parents!)
- When you’re staying home alone.
- Your name, address, phone number, and school name – when you’re online.
Bad secrets to keep:
- Your brother tells you he’s thinking of joining a gang.
- An adult does something that makes you feel uncomfortable and asks you not to tell.
- Your sister tells you that a boy she met online wants to meet her in person.
- Your friend starts hanging out with older kids who paint graffiti on buildings.
If you’re not sure if a secret is good or bad, ask an adult what they think!
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com
Source: McGruff
What We Do At The FBI
August 7, 2009 by Dan
Filed under FBI Website
By Special Agent Bobby Bureau
August 5, 2009
Editor’s Note: We are always looking for ways to inform parents of programs that will help them raise their children. Well we found one it is called “Special Agent Bobby Bureau”. We will be joining him to give you tips for kids of all ages. The best way to tell you about this agent is to let him tell you himself.
The Kids’ Page is designed for children and their parents to learn more about the FBI through age-appropriate games, tips, stories and inter actives. We also introduce you to our working dogs and show how FBI special agents and analysts investigate cases. First, can you help Special Agent Bobby Bureau get in disguise for his undercover assignment? He’s depending on you. You have to visit the sight to sign up as a special agent.
Today’s we talk “Polygraph”
We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com
We strongly recommend that you visit this sight with your child. This sight We rate a 10
Another tool that helps law enforcement solve cases is a polygraph. This instrument is used to measure how a person’s body reacts to questions. It is based on the theory that a person’s body will indicate if he or she is telling the truth. Researchers John Larson and Leonard Keeler developed this machine which is also known as a “lie detector.”
There are three steps to the polygraph test. First, the examiner explains what will happen during the test.
Next, the examiner asks a series of questions. The questions can only be answered with “yes” or “no.” Some of the questions are very simple, such as, “Are you 11 years old?” Some are more difficult, such as, “Have you ever lied to someone who trusted you?” The examiner measures the blood pressure, pulse, perspiration, and respiration of the person being examined. Once the questions are finished, the examiner analyzes the results to determine if the person being tested was being truthful.
If the examiner decides that the person being examined was telling the truth, that person will be thanked for taking the test and will be allowed to leave. If, however, the examiner decides that the person being tested is lying, the third part of the test will begin.
The third and final part of the polygraph is called the interrogation. At this time, the examiner tries to persuade the person being examined to tell the truth. The examiner speaks in a professional and understanding way, trying to make the person being tested comfortable with telling the truth. After all, that is the purpose of the polygraph
Thanks for explaining all of that to us, Jose. Let’s review what we have learned by printing and completing the crossword puzzle.
Across
1.Special Agents carry ___________ to identify themselves to people
when they work.
3.Congress makes laws in the U.S. ___________ .
5.There are ___________ different fingerprint patterns used to identify people.
7.Each of us is made up of millions of ____________ .
9.___________ twins are the only people who share DNA coding.
10. The first group of SAs was known as the Special Agent
_________ _________.
Down
2.A ___________ is like a very important rule.
4.The FBI is now putting fingerprint cards in ___________ format.
6.The particles within cells are called ____________ .
8.This is another name for a polygraph.
Source: FBI Kids
.
Kids Being Busy
by: Barvara P. Homeier, MD
August 7, 2009
This is the age of being busy. Many of us live in busy places and have busy lives. Even the roads are busy as we try to get from here to there. Adults are busy going to jobs and taking care of their families. Kids are busy, too, going to school and doing lots of stuff after school and on the weekends.
Busy isn’t bad, necessarily. If you’re not busy enough you might be bored. But if you’re too busy, you might feel overwhelmed. For instance, if you have a soccer game that runs late on a school night and you haven’t eaten dinner or done your homework, that’s a not-so-fun kind of busy. We wanted to know what kids thought, so we did a KidsPoll about being busy with 882 girls and boys ages 9 to 13.
Almost all of them (90%) said they felt stressed because they were too busy. About half said they felt this way once in a while or some of the time. But 17% said they felt this way most of the time and 24% said they felt like this all the time! Oh dear, that’s no fun.
Only 4% of kids said they wanted less free time and 18% said they already had just the right amount. But, no big surprise, 61% of kids wish they had a lot more free time. If they had more time, most would spend it hanging out or playing with friends.
So if a kid wants more free time, how can he or she get it? Here are the steps to follow:
- Take a look at how you spend your time now.
- Think of ways you could rearrange stuff or cut out some things to have more time for others.
- Talk to your mom and dad about your free time and your schedule, especially if you feel too busy.
Look at Your Schedule
Start by writing down a little weekly schedule and note how many hours you spend doing this or that. For example:
Monday
Wake up, eat breakfast, get ready for school: 7–7:30 a.m.
School: 8 a.m.–3 p.m.
Homework: 4–5 p.m.
Dinner: 5:30 p.m.
Sports practice: 6–7:15 p.m.
Shower: 7:45–8 p.m.
TV: 8–9 p.m.
Bedtime: 9:15 p.m.
You also might take a look at a typical Saturday or Sunday, when most kids have more time to work with. Once you’ve mapped it out, you can see how you spend your days.
Time for a Change?
Step 2 is figuring out how you might rearrange or drop certain activities to have more time for other stuff. For instance, on the Monday schedule, you can’t cut out dinner, but maybe you’d like to play a game from 8 to 9 instead of watching TV before bed. You might say, “But I always watch TV before bedtime.” That’s OK if you do — and if you want to keep doing it — but you don’t have to do it that way.
Often, adults plan large parts of a kid’s day, especially during the school year. You can’t tell your parents you’ll be skipping school today to get more free time! But you can tell them that you’d like to play a game or read a book during your free time instead of watching TV.
Sometimes, kids get to make the decisions. Just like you sometimes get to decide how to spend your money, you might decide how to spend your time. Did you ever get $20 for your birthday and you went to the mall or out to an amusement park, and before you know it, the money was gone? Maybe you bought something to eat, played a few games, and bought something small, like some jewelry or a toy.
Where did your 20 bucks go? It got eaten up by little things and, maybe, if you had it to do over again, you would have made different decisions about what to buy and what not to buy. When you make careful choices about spending money, it’s called budgeting. Good news! You can budget your time, too.
Mom and Dad Can Help
In some cases, a kid can budget his or her own time. For instance, a lot of kids told us they spend more than 3 hours a day watching TV, playing video games, or using the computer for fun. That’s time that a kid could use for other things, like going outside, reading a book, drawing, or listening to music.
But sometimes, a kid will need help from a parent. Almost 40% of kids said they participated in three or four activities. For some kids, that might be too many. Mom or dad can help a kid figure out if it’s time to cut out one of those activities or make some other change.
Mom or dad also can help if you want to change the way you spend your free time. If you want to hang out with a friend more often, a parent might have to drive you somewhere or agree to host. Or, if you want to work on your arts and crafts or play whiffleball outside, mom or dad will need to get you the supplies you need.
The best approach is to find a good time to talk and politely ask for the help you need. Here’s a request your mom or dad will like hearing — that you’d like to spend more of your free time with one or both of them. Tell your mom or dad, “Instead of you being busy and me being busy, let’s be busy together!”
What’s a KidsPoll?
The group that took this KidsPoll included an equal number of boys and girls. They answered the questions on handheld data devices while visiting these health education centers and children’s museums:
Children’s Health Education Center — Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Health World Children’s Museum — Barrington, Illinois
Kansas Learning Center for Health — Halstead, Kansas
McMillen Center for Health Education — Fort Wayne, Indiana
Robert Crown Center for Health Education — Hinsdale, Illinois
Ruth Lilly Health Education Center — Indianapolis, Indiana
Saint Joseph Mercy Health Exploration Station — Canton, Michigan
Susan P. Byrnes Health Education Center — York, Pennsylvania
Weller Health Education Center — Easton, Pennsylvania
A poll, like the KidsPoll, asks people a list of questions. Then researchers compile all the answers and look at the way the group answered. They calculate how many — or what percentage — answered “yes” to this question and “no” to that one. Polls give us clues about how most people — not just the ones who answered the poll questions — feel about certain issues.
We’ll be conducting more KidsPolls in the future to find out what kids say — maybe you’ll be part of one!
Source: Kids Health
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com
Starting Kindergarten
by Alexander
August 7, 2009
Dear Alexander,
(Q) I am going into kindergarten this year. My mom has always watched out for me, but now I’ll be in school without her. I am allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, and I am scared of not having my mom with me to make sure I don’t get a reaction. What do I do?
(A) I am sure you have been taught many things by your mom about taking care of your food allergies, such as not to eat any food except for the food that she or another trusted adult says is okay. You know to clean your eating area and wash your hands before and after you eat, and to ask questions about food ingredients.
Each year, thousands of kids who have food allergies go to school, but it takes some work from parents and the people who work at the school to come up with a plan for how food allergies will be taken care of. You can get involved, too, by teaching your new classmates about food allergies and why it’s important for you to be careful about what you eat.
Remember the teacher, nurse, and all of the people who work at the school are there to help you stay safe. If you have a question, or if you don’t feel good after eating, tell them right away. Also, be sure to talk to your parents about how you are feeling. They will help you so that you do not feel scared.
Good luck!
Your friend,
Alexander the Elephant
Editor’s Note: The information above is not designed to take the place of a doctor’s instructions. Patients are urged to contact a doctor for specific information regarding guidelines for care.
We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com
Source: Food Allergy
Everyday Life with Diabetes
August 7, 2009 by Dan
Filed under One Person's View
By ADA/PIO
August 7, 2009
After the initial shock of a diabetes diagnosis wears off, your family will start thinking about adjusting to a new normal – a life with diabetes.
Learning how to manage blood glucose can be difficult at first. It’ll take some time to get used to shots and finger pricks. Day-to-day activities like, going to school, exercising, going out to eat and getting behind the wheel will require a little more planning. But soon enough, managing BG will become second nature.
Diabetes should not keep your child from doing anything she wants or achieving her highest goals. There are Olympic athletes, professional football players, congressmen, actors, actresses, rock stars, moms and dads who live with diabetes.
Anything can be done with a little extra prepara
tion and planning!
This section will help you prepare for all the new “firsts” your family will experience with diabetes.
Everyday Wisdom is a kit to help your whole family live with diabetes. Oreder your free Everyday Wisdom tm Kit! Click here.
Source: American Diabetes Association
Editor’s Note: We will each week bring you tips to help you. We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com
LEGO Light Bulb
August 7, 2009 by Dan
Filed under Encouragement
By NG Kids
August 7, 2009
August is National Inventors Month. To celebrate, the National Museum of American History built a giant light bulb model out of LEGO bricks on August 3. Museum visitors worked with LEGO Master Builders to assemble the multicolored model. The light bulb is 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall and contains over 300,000 bricks!
Get LEGO tips from a LEGO Master Builder on National Geographic Kids.
Visit the Smithsonian Institution’s Lemelson Center Invention at Play website.
Source: National Geographic
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com
Secretary of Education
August 7, 2009 by Dan
Filed under Encouragement
By Madison Hartke-Weber
Scholastic Kids Press
National News
August 7, 2009
Interviewing Secretary of Education Arne Duncan may be my biggest assignment yet as a Scholastic Kid Reporter. Secretary Duncan is head of the U.S. Department of Education. He is part of President Obama’s cabinet and I was really excited to meet him.
I joined the video crew from Scholastic in the library of the Department of Education building in Washington, D.C. on Monday afternoon. The library is in the basement of the building.
The producer and cameraman set up an area to film the interview while I spent the time going over the questions I had prepared. In about 25 minutes, Secretary Duncan arrived. We started by filming the two of us greeting each other.
Then we sat down for to talk. Secretary Duncan was very friendly and answered all of the questions in ways that kids could easily understand. First, he answered some of the more serious questions, about the future of the No Child Left Behind Act and the country’s rising high school drop-out rate. I also asked him some fun questions—about former teachers and favorite books. You’ll have to wait for the full story to be published to find out what he said!
Reading is very important to Secretary Duncan and his entire family. He told me that he encourages all kids—including his own two—to read for fun, whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or even comic books.
Currently he is reading the Harry Potter books to his kids, which are their favorites. They are on book five! When he was a kid, he told me, he enjoyed reading the Lord of the Rings series by JRR Tolkien.
Secretary Duncan also told me that he sometimes plays basketball with President Obama, including a game this last weekend. Even if you didn’t know anything about Secretary Duncan, you might guess that he’s a basketball player. He is really tall!
I asked him if he ever beats the President. They usually play team basketball, he explained, rather than one-on-one.
“Luckily we usually win when we’re on the same team,” he said. I guess what works on the basketball court can also work in politics!
Editor’s Note: PHOTO: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Scholastic Kid Reporter Madison Hartke-Weber in the library of the Department of Education, Washington, D.C. on Monday, August 3, 2009. Photo by SKPC
We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com
Source:Scholastic
Raising Kids In X-Rated World
August 7, 2009 by Dan
Filed under One Person's View
By Jim Burns
August 7, 2009
Raising kids in today’s culture is not easy. There’s no question that the way we parent is influenced by the world we live in. And what a world it is! We need to help our children deal with drugs, sexuality, movies, television, video games, the Internet, terrorism and war. It’s our goal as parents to raise our kids in this X-rated culture to become G-rated people. It can feel overwhelming trying to give our teenagers the tools they need to make godly decisions in an ungodly world. Recently, I had the privilege of talking with youth ministry expert Doug Fields for a two-part broadcast on HomeWord with Jim Burns. Doug shared insights into 10 action steps that parents can take to raise healthy kids in today’s culture.
1. Instill belief in them.
The beliefs and values your children will carry into adulthood are very dependent on the examples they see parents setting at home. It’s critical to understand and believe that as a parent, your actions, values and beliefs will have the greatest influence in the life of your maturing child. Parental influence is a high calling. It’s part of your destiny and your enduring legacy, for better or for worse.
2. Be present in your kids’ lives.
Presence in a kid’s life is spelled T-I-M-E. One of the major contributing factors for healthy kids points back to parents who were present in those kids’ lives. Some parents subscribe to the theory that quality time beats quantity time. These parents are simply wrong. Parents must prioritize and reorganize their schedules to be present for their kids. When they get older, your kids won’t care that you worked more so they could ride in nicer cars or live in a bigger home. They will care about how much time you spent with them!
3. Make memories with them.
Our lives are a museum of memories that contribute to who we are today. That’s why it’s key to strive to create good memories for our kids. Good kids have good memories. This isn’t to say that our kids’ lives won’t have their share of bad memories. But, on balance, good memories trump bad ones. So, build great family traditions at holidays, birthday celebrations and summer vacations, just to name a few. Make memories for your family by creating new adventures for them. Solidify these memories by being sure to capture them through pictures, video, and in writing through journals or letters.
4. Give them encouragement.
Encouragement is food for our souls and we all long for it. Our kids need encouragement, too. Words are powerful. Words can either build confidence or they can destroy. A parent’s words have lasting effect. Learn to be an encourager. Catch your kids in the act of doing something right, and then take the opportunity to mention it! In addition, be sure to go beyond encouraging for just a job well done. Kids mess up and fail all the time. Find ways to encourage your kids, despite their failures. Encouraging beyond performance means conveying that you love and value your kids even when they mess up.
5. Be positive and caring role models.
You are your children’s role model for living life. Be assured that they are watching you. They know what you say and how you say it. They know how you treat people. They know how you respond to conflict. Kids need you to set a positive and caring standard for living life. They need your integrity and they need you to set the pace when it comes to faith. Your kids know that you aren’t perfect, so there’s no pressure to try to act like it. What your kids need are parents who demonstrate what it means to be a lover and follower of God, despite their shortcomings.
6. Give them discipline and boundaries.
Providing your kids with consistent boundaries and discipline is all about guidance, not punishment. Boundaries and discipline are the result of love. Giving kids too much freedom and not holding them accountable for their actions does not demonstrate love. When disciplining, be delicate. Don’t discipline in anger.
7. Give them affection.
Emotionally healthy kids have been given lots of proper affection. Kids who don’t get adequate affection from their parents often turn to inappropriate sources of affection. And, there’s plenty of inappropriate affection to be found in today’s X-rated culture. Unfortunately, kids who have their needs for affection met in inappropriate ways, often become emotionally distant, not emotionally healthy. If you aren’t an affectionate parent, get over it! Learn to become one. It’s that important to the health of your child!
8. Develop responsibility in them.
Parents want their kids to grow up into responsible, functioning adults. Unfortunately, we often unintentionally teach irresponsibility, instead. We allow kids to become apathetic by too quickly solving their problems for them. We allow kids to pass the buck by blaming others. And, we are slow to force our kids to carry their own weight. The solution comes in not rescuing our kids from their problems. Sure, there are times that we need to lend a hand and help out, but these times are, in reality, few and far between. We must let kids wrestle with consequences. Whenever we jump in to bail our kids out, they never learn to take responsibility for themselves and they don’t have to experience consequences. Learning from mistakes is a great path to responsibility and wisdom.
9. Be fun.
In the book of Ecclesiastes it says this: One of the necessary rhythms of life is laughter and dance. If you want to fully understand life, if you want to fully live abundantly, meaningfully, joyfully you need to have some laughing and dance in your life. It’s one of the necessary rhythms of life. This generation of kids is totally stressed out. So, when kids see their parents injecting fun and laughter into life, it helps relieve some of the anxieties they feel. So, lighten up the mood in your home. Have some fun with the life and family God has given to you.
10. Give them a peaceful home.
Your kids don’t need a perfect home, but to thrive, they need a peaceful one. Kids are at battle all day long. They’re battling an X-rated culture and language and values. They’re battling bullies and peer pressure and body image and conforming. In your teen’s world, there are battles going on all the time. They need to come home to a place where they can retreat and drop their battle gear at the door and be in a shelter where they can just be themselves. Your home ought to be the one place your kids feel truly safe; where they can be loved and known and cared for.
Source: Home Word
Editor” Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com