School Kids Praise Obama in New Video?

Wash Your Hands

By CDC
Oct. 22, 2009

Handwashing is a simple thing and it’s the best way to prevent infection and illness.

Clean hands prevent infections. Keeping hands clean prevents illness at home, at school, and at work. Hand hygiene practices are key prevention tools in healthcare settings, in daycare facilities, in schools and public institutions, and for the safety of our food.

In healthcare settings, handwashing can prevent potentially fatal infections from spreading from patient to patient and from patient to healthcare worker and vice-versa. The basic rule in the hospital is to cleanse hands before and after each patient contact by either washing hands or using an alcohol-based hand rub.

At home, handwashing can prevent infection and illness from spreading from family member to family member and, sometimes, throughout a community. In the home, the basic rule is to wash hands before preparing food and after handling uncooked meat and poultry, before eating, after changing diapers, after coughing, sneezing, or blowing one’s nose into a tissue, and after using the bathroom.

Wash Your Hands: The Right Way

When washing hands with soap and water:

• Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
• Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
• Continue rubbing hands for 15-20 seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing “Happy Birthday” twice through to a friend.
• Rinse hands well under running water.
• Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet.
• Always use soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.

If soap and clean water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub to clean your hands. Alcohol-based hand rubs significantly reduce the number of germs on skin and are fast-acting.

When using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer:

• Apply product to the palm of one hand.
• Rub hands together.
• Rub the product over all surfaces of hands and fingers until hands are dry.

Handwashing: The Beginning of Infection Control

 

Ignaz Semmelweis, an Austrian-Hungarian physician, first demonstrated over 150 years ago that hand hygiene can prevent the spread of disease. Hand hygiene as a practice includes performing handwashing, or using antiseptic handwash, alcohol-based hand rub, or surgical hand hygiene/antisepsis.

Dr. Semmelweis worked in a hospital in Vienna whose maternity patients were dying at such an alarming rate that they begged to be sent home¹. Most of those dying had been treated by student physicians who worked on corpses during an anatomy class before beginning their rounds in the maternity ward.

Because the students did not wash their hands effectively between touching the dead and the living–handwashing was an unrecognized hygienic practice at the time–pathogenic bacteria from the  corpses regularly were transmitted to the mothers via the students’ hands.

The result was a death rate five times higher for mothers who delivered in one clinic of the hospital than for mothers who delivered at another clinic not attended by the student physicians.

In an experiment considered quaint at best by his colleagues, Dr. Semmelweis insisted that his students wash their hands before treating the mothers–and deaths on the maternity ward fell fivefold.

Unquestioned today as the most important tool in the healthcare worker’s arsenal for preventing infection, handwashing was not readily accepted in Dr. Semmelweis’s era. Indeed, his pleas to make handwashing a routine practice throughout the hospital were largely met with derision. Another 50 years would pass before the importance of handwashing as a preventive measure would be widely accepted by the medical profession. Sanitation is now a standard and thousands of lives have been saved because of Dr. Semmelweis’s discovery.

 Semmelweis I. Etiology, concept, and prophylaxis of childbed fever. Carter KC, ed. 1st ed. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1983.

 

Source: CDC.Gov

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

God and the Spider

By Unknown
Oct. 21, 2009

  

Editor’s Note: Do you know what “Joyology” means? It is the study of caring, sharing, and listening and Sacrifice.

This was written by Mr. Jeineke in 1975

We would like to know what you think: dan@youngchronicle.com

What is a Joyologist? A joyologist then would be one who studies joylogy. Frankly our world could use a great many joyologists whose mission in life is to actively research the effects of discussing and sharing joy. The research could branch out into how joy affects our careers, family lives, and friendships. The very act of doing the active research should spread jubilation throughout the world and bring about positive results. What a fun job!

All one needs to start with is to share the words joyism, joyology, and joyologist with others. Use the words daily and make them a part of the world’s vocabulary.

The upcoming year is going to challenge us all. Here is something we need to think about:  God and the Spider   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades. Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.

As he waited, he prayed, “Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen.” After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, “Well, I guess the Lord isn’t going to help me out of this one.” Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave.

As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave. “Hah, he thought. “What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor.”

As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while. “Lord, forgive me,” prayed the young man. “I had forgotten that in you a spider’s web is stronger than a brick wall.”

We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways. As the great leader, Nehemiah reminded the people of Israel when they faced the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, “In God we will have success!” [Nehemiah 2:20]

Remember: Whatever is happening in your life, with God, a mere spider’s web can become a brick wall of protection. Believe He is with you always. Just speak His name through Jesus His son, and you will see His great power and love for you.

Source: Joyology

 

http://www.joyology.org

History of Halloween

By Apples 4 the Teacher
Oct. 20, 2009

Halloween is a traditional celebration held on October 31st. Today, Halloween is an excuse for Halloween theme costume parties, and entertainment with horror films, haunted houses and other activities around the popular themes of ghosts, witches, Dracula, werewolves and the supernatural.

Children love to dress up in halloween costumes and go from door-to-door in their neighborhood following the old tradition of trick-or-treating, collecting sweets and gifts, sometimes money.

Halloween began as an ancient Celtic festival in Great Britain and Ireland, and has survived most strongly among Irish, Scottish and Welsh communities. Immigrants from these communities carried the tradition to North America where it has gained in popularity.

In turn, as part of American pop culture, Halloween has spread in popularity to most corners of the English speaking western world, and increasingly into Western Europe in recent times.

Originally Halloween was a pagan festival, around the idea of linking the living with the dead, when contact became possible between the spirits and the physical world, and magical things were more likely to happen.

Like most pagan festivals, long ago it was absorbed into the festivals of the expanding Christian church, and became associated with All Hallows Day, or All Saints Day, which eventually fell on November 1 under the Gregorian calendar. A vigil for the festival was held on All Hallows Evening on October 31. In the vernacular of the times, All Hallows Evening became Hallowe’en and later the Halloween we know today.

The celebration of Halloween survived most strongly in Ireland. It was an end of summer festival, and was often celebrated in each community with a bonfire to ward off the evil spirits. Children would go from door to door in disguise as creatures from the underworld  to collect treats, mainly fruit, nuts and the like for the festivities.

These were used for playing traditional games like eating an apple on a string or bobbing for apples and other gifts in a basin of water, without using your hands. Salt might be sprinkled on the visiting children to ward off evil spirits. Carving turnips as ghoulish faces to hold candles became a popular part of the festival, which has been adapted to carving pumpkins in America.

Halloween is usually celebrated by both adults and kids. Some families celebrate by having costume parties and playing special games like bobbing for apples and telling ghost stories. Sometimes children go “trick or treating” – knocking on doors in their trusted neighborhoods collecting candy.

Other times they may attend a community party instead. Parents should use common sense when supervising their child’s Halloween activities.

In earlier years, Halloween was a time for playing harmless pranks. However, in more recent times, Halloween pranks have sometimes gotten out of hand – causing damage and injury to others.

Schools usually prefer to celebrate Halloween by having children dress as storybook characters. In this way, children are still allowed to “dress up, ” and the holiday becomes both fun and educational.

Source: Apples 4 the Teacher

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchroniclle.com

Know About Adoption

By Laura Broadwell
Oct. 20, 2009 

Adopting a child is a wonderful, life-changing experience. But if you’ve always dreamed of having a traditional pregnancy, birth, and family life, there are a few things you should consider before you adopt.

 

You may need to look for a “baby basics” class. Most women who give birth learn about the care, feeding, and basic development of babies in their childbirth class or at a class for expectant parents. If you’re adopting a baby, however, this particular option won’t be available to you. Fortunately, though, some hospitals, adoption agencies, and adoption-support groups now offer infant care and parenting classes to adoptive moms and dads. Ask your agency, local hospital, local chapter of Resolve, or other parent-support group for information.

 

You may not be able to breastfeed. Some adoptive mothers have been able to breastfeed their infants, by stimulating their breasts to produce milk. (Some take hormones, such as prolactin and oxytocin; others use more natural methods.) Not every adoptive mom will be able to do this, however. And even those who do breastfeed will still need to supplement their baby’s diet with formula, since they won’t be able to produce enough milk to meet their infant’s nutritional needs. If you think you’ll want to breastfeed, learn as much as you can before your baby arrives. Contact a lactation consultant at a local hospital or a representative from La Leche League (www.lalecheleague.org), or read a book on the topic, such as Breastfeeding the Adopted Baby by Debra Stewart Peterson.

 

You may not have a baby shower until months after your baby is born. Since the adoption process is often filled with so much uncertainty, many prospective parents prefer to wait until after their baby is home before having a shower. Often, this is a practical course of action. For instance, if a family is adopting from overseas, they may not know their child’s gender, size, or age until shortly before traveling to get him. (In some cases, their “baby” may be 15 or 16 months old!) However, once parents are home and settled into a routine, they’ll have a better sense of what they need — and of their baby’s likes and dislikes.

 

You won’t be sending out traditional “birth” announcements. Of course that’s not to say that you won’t be announcing your child’s adoption in a special way. Some parents send out handwritten cards or notes, detailing some of the highlights of their child’s adoption (such as where he was born, his birth name, his family name, the date he was born, the date he was adopted, etc.). Others order special adoption announcements, which they personalize with facts about their family. Whichever method you choose, be sure to include a photo of your child and his new family members.

 

Your “baby book” may not begin at birth. If you’re planning to be at your child’s birth or to adopt her as a newborn, then you’ll be fortunate enough to have some very early photos of your baby. In this case, your baby book may also include pictures of your child’s birth mother and possibly her birth father. But if you’re adopting an older baby, or perhaps an older child, you may not have access to many early baby pictures. (For instance, if you’re adopting a child from overseas, you may have only the referral photo you were sent, and possibly one or two others.) On the other hand, your child’s baby book will probably include lots of pictures from the day you adopted her and/or the day you brought her home and of the people who cared for her in a foster family or orphanage.

 

Your child may celebrate two special days. Often adoptive families celebrate not only their child’s birthday but also the day he was adopted. (Sometimes this is called “Adoption Day,” “Family Day,” or “Gotcha Day.”) Whether or not you choose to do something special for Adoption Day is up to you. But some families have a small celebration at home and perhaps look at pictures or a video from the day their child was adopted. Other families get together with their “travel group” (families with whom they traveled to the host country and who adopted on the same day), and have a larger celebration, honoring all their kids.

 

You’ll probably be asked lots of personal questions. Friends, relatives, coworkers, and even people on the street may ask questions about your adoption, particularly if you’ve adopted from overseas and your child doesn’t look like you. Many of the questions or comments are probably well intentioned, but they may seem rude or too personal, especially when asked in front of an older child. (Adoptive parents have been asked, for instance, “How much did you pay for your baby?” “How could the birth mother ‘give away’ such an adorable child?” “Do you know anything about your child’s ‘real’ family?” etc.)

When asked a question that feels too personal or improper, you have the right not to answer it — particularly if it compromises your child’s, the birth mother’s, or your own privacy. But sometimes you can find a way to respond to a question that’s in the best interest of your family and offers some important information about adoption. For instance, when asked “How much did you pay for your baby?” you can explain that the fees you paid your agency and/or orphanage (you don’t have to disclose the amount) went toward the facilitation of your adoption and to the early care of your child. In a sense, they’re similar to what a pregnant woman pays to her doctor and hospital, you can add.

 

You won’t remember a time when your child didn’t live with you. Being a parent is one of the most enriching experiences in life. And though the job is often all-consuming and demanding, it certainly can expand your capacity for love and fun in ways you never imagined. That’s why most parents (adoptive or otherwise) can barely remember a time when their child wasn’t with them — and, for many parents, all the hard work it took to adopt fades into a distant memory.

 

 

Editor’s Note: The Complete Adoption Book (Second Edition) by Laura Beauvais-Godwin and Raymond Godwin, Esq.; The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Adoption by Chris Adamec

All content here, including advice from doctors and other health professionals, should be considered as opinion only. Always seek the direct advice of your own doctor in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your own health or the health of others.

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

 

Source: Parents

NDS: Walking for a Cause

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
Oct. 21, 2009

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. And if one of your children has NDS, we would love to hear their story. That we can share it with others and to help those families that are going through this.

Remember your child is a blessing from God……

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

We hope you will enjoy this special and blessing story:

By Beverly Beckham
Oct. 21, 2009

Before Lucy was born, I spent months trying to imagine my first grandchild. I pictured a boy with dark hair and olive skin and warm brown eyes, just like his father’s. I pictured strolling him in a pram all over town, taking him to church, reading him books, singing to him, and watching Disney movies together. Nicholas was the name my daughter and her husband had chosen for a baby boy and so it was to Nicholas I began writing letters.

In them, I told him stories about his mother and his father and the family he would soon come to know. I told him what was going on in the big bad world and in our own small and much happier worlds. I told him how many centimeters long he was and how much he weighed at two months in utero, at three months and at four months.

And then an ultrasound technician took a picture and said there was an 80 percent chance that Nicholas was a girl.

Dear Lucy, I wrote after that.

From the beginning I sang to this baby I’d yet to meet: “The very thought of you and I forget to do, the little ordinary things that everyone ought to do.” And from the beginning, I recited a prayer every day, which I tore from a “Daily Word.” “I am committed to letting you learn and grow at your own pace…. Throughout life you will be both a student and a teacher, for you have much to learn and perhaps even more to teach.”

Lucy came to us on June 20, 2003, the image of her mother, blond and blue-eyed, with all ten fingers and toes.

And one extra chromosome. Lucy had Down syndrome. And this eclipsed the miracle of her.

Six years later we know the miracle she is. Some people understood right away: There will be challenges but everyone has challenges. There are things that Lucy may not be able to do but there will be a lot more things that she will do. It’s all going to be okay, they said.

But most people were as misinformed as we were.

Raising Awareness and Promoting Acceptance

 

October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month and throughout the country and around the world there are Buddy Walks. The National Down Syndrome Society began the walks 13 years ago to integrate people with Down syndrome so they will be accepted and included in schools, in the workplace, and in life. Because for decades and decades, the medical establishment shortchanged them, said they couldn’t learn, said they weren’t worth teaching, and said they should be institutionalized.

And this misinformation lingers

When Lucy was a baby, I strolled her in a pram all over town just as I’d imagined strolling any baby. I took her to church. I continue to take her to church. We read books. We sing songs. (”The Very Thought of You” is one of her favorites.) And we watch Disney and all kinds of movies together.

Last week we walked in our local Buddy Walk, Lucy, her family, and friends along with 2,000 other people around beautiful Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield, Mass.

Karen Gaffney, a young woman who was part of a relay team that swam the English channel, who swam across San Francisco Bay seven times, and who swam across Boston Harbor on October 8, spoke to the crowd about what it’s like having Down syndrome, what it’s like to look different on the outside but feel what everyone feels on the inside. What it was like for her growing up, wanting friends, wanting someone to sit next to her in the cafeteria, wanting to belong.

It was a speech that many of us could have given.

People with Down syndrome are shorter than average and slower to learn. They have trouble enunciating because of low muscle tone (think how hard it is to speak clearly after a Novocain). And they have trouble with fine motor skills.

But they feel and hurt and think and wish and dream the same things we all dream.

“Throughout life you will be both a student and a teacher, for you have much to learn and even more to teach,” I prayed before Lucy was born, thinking only of what I would teach her, not having a clue about all she would teach me.

Source: Grandparents

Make Halloween Safer

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/GCC
Oct 21, 2009

Editor’s Note: We at the Chronicle joins forces with The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. To help Parents protect their children during this years Halloween.

We also are proud to join forces since 1990 to find missing kids across America. You can see their photos on the front of our sight.

Below are some safety tips to use for this Halloween.

We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

 

Halloween is one of the most exciting times of the year for children, but sometimes the most hectic for parents. Nearly 94 percent of children between the ages of four and twelve participate in Halloween activities each year. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) reminds parents to take a moment to consider basic safety precautions that will make Halloween a safer night of fun.

 

• CHOOSE bright, flame-retardant costumes or add reflective tape to costumes and candy bags so children are easily seen in the dark. In addition, carry a glow stick or flashlight.

 

• PLAN a trick-or-treating route in familiar neighborhoods with well-lit streets. Avoid unfamiliar neighborhoods, streets that are isolated, or homes that are poorly lit inside or outside.

 

• NEVER send young children out alone. They should always be accompanied by a parent or another trusted adult. Older children should always travel in groups.

 

• ALWAYS walk younger children to the door to receive treats and don’t let children enter a home unless you are with them.

 

• BE SURE children do not approach any vehicle, occupied or not, unless you are with them.

 

• DISCUSS basic pedestrian safety rules that children should use when walking to and from houses.

 

• CONSIDER organizing a home or community party as an alternative to “trick-or-treating.”

 

• MAKE sure children know their home phone number and address in case you get separated. Teach children how to call 911 in an emergency.

 

• TEACH children to say “NO!” or this is not my mother/father” in a loud voice if someone tries to get them to go somewhere, accept anything other than a treat, or leave with them. And teach them that they should make every effort to get away by kicking, screaming and resisting.

 

• REMIND children to remain alert and report suspicious incidents to parents and/or law enforcement.

 

“Child safety is important year round, but Halloween is an especially important time for parents and children to pay extra attention to their surroundings and not let their guard down,” says Nancy McBride, National Safety Director of NCMEC. “It is important that parents exercise a few basic safety precautions to help ensure that Halloween is both fun and safe.”

To download pdf of safety tips

 

Source: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Who Were Our Presidents? Part 12

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/GCC
Oct. 22, 2009

Editor’s Note: How many of us along with our children? Know who our Presidents were and what they have done in Office.

Each week we will pick a President and tell you about them and their Accomplishes.

We hope that you will enjoy this series. And let us know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

12. ZACHARY TAYLOR 1849-1850

Northerners and Southerners disputed sharply whether the territories wrested from Mexico should be opened to slavery, and some Southerners even threatened secession. Standing firm, Zachary Taylor was prepared to hold the Union together by armed force rather than by compromise.

Born in Virginia in 1784, he was taken as an infant to Kentucky and raised on a plantation. He was a career officer in the Army, but his talk was most often of cotton raising. His home was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he owned a plantation in Mississippi.

But Taylor did not defend slavery or southern sectionalism; 40 years in the Army made him a strong nationalist.

He spent a quarter of a century policing the frontiers against Indians. In the Mexican War he won major victories at Monterrey and Buena Vista.

President Polk, disturbed by General Taylor’s informal habits of command and perhaps his Whiggery as well, kept him in northern Mexico and sent an expedition under Gen. Winfield Scott to capture Mexico City. Taylor, incensed, thought that “the battle of Buena Vista opened the road to the city of Mexico and the halls of Montezuma, that others might revel in them.”

“Old Rough and Ready’s” homespun ways were political assets. His long military record would appeal to northerners; his ownership of 100 slaves would lure southern votes. He had not committed himself on troublesome issues. The Whigs nominated him to run against the Democratic candidate, Lewis Cass, who favored letting the residents of territories decide for themselves whether they wanted slavery.

In protest against Taylor the slaveholder and Cass the advocate of “squatter sovereignty,” northerners who opposed extension of slavery into territories formed a Free Soil Party and nominated Martin Van Buren. In a close election, the Free Soilers pulled enough votes away from Cass to elect Taylor.

Although Taylor had subscribed to Whig principles of legislative leadership, he was not inclined to be a puppet of Whig leaders in Congress. He acted at times as though he were above parties and politics. As disheveled as always, Taylor tried to run his administration in the same rule-of-thumb fashion with which he had fought Indians.

Traditionally, people could decide whether they wanted slavery when they drew up new state constitutions. Therefore, to end the dispute over slavery in new areas, Taylor urged settlers in New Mexico and California to draft constitutions and apply for statehood, bypassing the territorial stage.

Southerners were furious, since neither state constitution was likely to permit slavery; Members of Congress were dismayed, since they felt the President was usurping their policy-making prerogatives. In addition, Taylor’s solution ignored several acute side issues: the northern dislike of the slave market operating in the District of Columbia; and the southern demands for a more stringent fugitive slave law.

In February 1850 President Taylor had held a stormy conference with southern leaders who threatened secession. He told them that if necessary to enforce the laws, he personally would lead the Army. Persons “taken in rebellion against the Union, he would hang … with less reluctance than he had hanged deserters and spies in Mexico.” He never wavered.

Then events took an unexpected turn. After participating in ceremonies at the Washington Monument on a blistering July 4, Taylor fell ill; within five days he was dead. After his death, the forces of compromise triumphed, but the war Taylor had been willing to face came 11 years later. In it, his only son Richard served as a general in the Confederate Army

Editor’s Note: Todays’ homework: We would like to know some of President Zachary Taylor’s accomplishments as President.

If you can give us some, you can win a prize. You can contact us at dan@goldcoastchronicle.com

 

Source: White House

Climate Change Group to Kids: Using Oil Drowns Puppies

McGruff Tip of the Week – Drugs and Alcohol

By McGruff and Scruff
Oct. 17, 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 we will talk about: Drugs and Alcohol

 

 

What do drugs look like?

Drugs may look like pills or medicine or candy. Other drugs may look like cigarettes or little rocks. You may not know what they are. If you see something and you are not sure what it is, do not touch it. Tell someone you trust — like your mom or dad, a teacher, or a police officer.

Are drugs bad? What if someone makes me use drugs?

Drugs can hurt people so you should stay away from them. If someone asks you to take something and you don’t know what it is, what should you do? The best thing to do is to say “no” and tell an adult who can help you.

My father and uncle drink beer. I heard someone say that it’s a drug. I’m confused!

Beer does contain alcohol, which is a drug. Some adults like your father and uncle, may choose to drink beer. Its okay for most adults to drink beer or have a glass of wine once in a while, but drinking too much can hurt them. And alcohol can hurt kids. You and your friends should stay away from beer, cigarettes, and wine coolers. Your body is still growing, and drugs and alcohol can really hurt it. Drugs are dangerous and against the law for all kids. 

My mother smokes cigarettes. My teacher says that’s bad. I want my mom to stop. What should I do?

Cigarettes are bad for people.  Smoking can hurt the lungs and heart.  But your mother is an adult who may choose to smoke.  She may have started a long time ago when she didn’t know that cigarettes could hurt her.  Cigarettes contain a drug called nicotine that makes it very hard for people to stop smoking. 

You can tell your mother that you hope she will stop.  Her choice to smoke has nothing to do with you, but it may help her to stop if she knows that you care about her health.

Some older kids in high school use drugs. Nothing bad happens, they say. Is this true?

Older kids do not use drugs. That’s because drugs are illegal and dangerous, and most kids know it. Those kids who do use drugs are being hurt. Sometimes we cannot see the pain of these kids, but it is there. It’s like when you get a paper cut: the cut may be very small and others may have trouble seeing it, but it hurts you. Using drugs is 100 times worse. Drugs hurt your body and make you sick. They also make you unable to think straight. 

Hang with those kids who don’t use drugs, and don’t let older kids tell you that drugs won’t hurt you.

I see a lot of TV commercials that show older people drinking beer and wine coolers and having fun. What if I tried it?

Beer and wine coolers contain alcohol. They are very dangerous for kids. They are also illegal for you to use. TV commercials make things look nice because they want you to buy the products. They don’t show that alcohol can make people sick, cause car crashes, get them into problems with the law, and lead to all sorts of trouble for drinkers and their families. 

There are lots of fun and good things you can do. Don’t use harmful things. Instead, you can go for a walk, take a bike ride, play a game with a friend, or help your parents around the house.

Source: McGruff

www.mcgruff.org

 

 

 

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

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