Food Eating During the Holidays

By Alexnader
Oct. 16, 2009 
Dear Alexander,

(Q) My dad wants to eat in a restaurant this year for our holiday meal, but my mom doesn’t think we should. Which have you found to be easiest?

 

(A) That’s a great question! Families often enjoy eating out during the holidays, because it saves time and energy. However, it also presents extra problems for those of us with food allergies.

If you’re eating out, have your dad call the restaurant in advance and plan out a safe meal with them. He will need to remind the staff about secret ingredients that can show up in food and review ways to avoid cross-contact in the kitchen.

I think the safest and easiest is eating at home. Your family already has a lot of experience in managing your food allergy! The most important thing to do is to tell your parents what you want to do. That will help them make the decision.

Good luck!

Your friend,

Alexander the Elephant

 

Source Food Allergy

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

Teachers Should Know

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
Oct. 18, 2009

Editor’s Note: How many of us as parents have twins. And wonder how the teachers handled them or even know how to? The following column we hope will help teachers to understand about them.

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

 

 

By Apple 4 the Teacher

 

The incidence of multiple births has increased dramatically in the past two decades. The birth rate for twins, who constitute the most common kind of multiple births, increased 42% from 1980 to 1994 (Lytton, Singh, & Gallagher, 1995). Given this trend, it seems reasonable to assume that many teachers will have twins and other multiple siblings in their classes at some point in their classroom careers.

To a large extent, the available research on twins stems from a long tradition of studies focused on the nature-nurture debates. These studies look at twins reared together and apart and attempt to ascertain the relative influence of genetic and environmental influences on personality development. Research on the effects of twins’ separation in school and other practical questions is as yet very limited. Nevertheless, difficult decisions about their education have to be made by school districts, principals, and teachers while new research is awaited. This Digest offers some pointers for educators facing the challenges of educating multiples.

 

DIFFERENT TYPES OF TWINS AND OTHER MULTIPLES

There are two basic types of twins and other multiples. Identical twins are defined as monozygotic because they are the result of the split of a single fertilized ovum. Dizygotic twins, usually referred to as fraternal twins, are the result of the fertilization of two separate ova, as in other siblings born years apart. There are four types of identical twins, depending upon how early in the development of the ovum its division occurs. The earlier in the division, the more alike the individuals are likely to be physically. In the case of other multiples, as for example in the case of triplets, two of the three may be identical, but more typically all three are as different as any other three siblings.

These variations in the extent to which siblings from the same pregnancy resemble each other suggest that teachers may want to keep in mind that most multiples are as unique as any other set of siblings, although their psychosocial situation differs from that of singletons. Identical twins will be more behaviorally alike on average than fraternal twins. It is also the case that many multiple- birth children are born prematurely and have low birth weight. Many of the same kinds of problems typical of single premature low birth weight children will be typical of premature twins. However, for parents of multiples, even if they are not subject to the strains related to the risks of prematurity, the stresses and strains of the early care of multiples are substantial and appear to have some short-term effects on the children’s development (Lytton, Singh, & Gallagher, 1995). Because twins are the most typical type of multiples, that term is used in the discussion below, although much of the discussion applies equally to other multiple-birth siblings.

 

SEPARATING TWINS IN SCHOOL

One of the most frequently asked questions by preschool and elementary teachers and principals is whether the classroom separation of multiples should be encouraged. Dreyer (1991) and Brodkin (1997) point out that many schools and preschool programs have a fixed policy of separating twins. In other schools, however, the decision may be left to the principal or to the teachers.

Is it necessary for schools and preschool programs to have a strict policy about separating twins? Dreyer concludes her discussion of what little research is available on this question by stating that “Twins feel that the best policy is no policy at all” (Dreyer, 1991, p. 6). Similarly, most parents seem to feel that such decisions should be determined on a case-by-case basis and that a rigid policy should be avoided.

Even in very small preschools and elementary schools that have only one class per age group, teachers often wonder if they should encourage the twins to engage in separate activities, participate in different learning center activities, sit at different tables for meals, and team up with other peers.

 

MAKING SEPARATION DECISIONS

The Parents of Multiple Births Association, Inc., of Canada provides a list of possible circumstances to be considered when making a decision about separation (Dreyer, 1991, p. 11). Included in this list are questions such as whether the twins’ “togetherness” might hinder the social development of one or both. Thus, parents and the teacher might ask whether, by about the age of 5, each of the twins is capable of initiating and maintaining satisfying relationships with nonsibling peers. If the answer is “yes,” then separation would not be warranted. If the answer is “no,” then separation, perhaps for part of the day, might be attempted on an experimental basis. Separation may also be considered under the following circumstances:

• Classmates engage in frequent comparisons of the pair, and the comparisons provoke negative feelings in either twin. Constant comparison of twins is one of the greatest sources of distress to twins and one of the most difficult things for parents and teachers to resist. Although parents, and even teachers, often compare different-age siblings, the fact that the twins are the same age as well as frequently of the same gender considerably heightens the temptation to draw comparisons. Even at the preschool age, twins are likely to be aware of such comparisons and may become more competitive than other siblings. Most twins ultimately weather school situations successfully, but if one of the multiples typically comes out on the poorer end of these comparisons, a pattern of discouragement may develop and could lead to a pattern of “learned helplessness” (Burhans & Dweck, 1995).
• There is no evidence that twins are more disruptive than non-twins. However, if disruptions do occur and standard procedures for handling disruptive behavior fail to alleviate the pattern, separation might be one course of action to consider.
• A female twin “over-mothers” her male co-twin. In the case of fraternal opposite-sex twins, females tend to be the more dominant of the two and more critical of their twin brothers, who “appreciated their twin sister’s guidance but felt somewhat threatened by their ‘superiority'” (Dreyer, 1991, p. 3).
• Many twins develop a pattern of helping each other through both academic and social predicaments. Educators might want to consider how separation will affect twins who are accustomed to helping each other. Teachers might observe the twins closely in the classroom to ensure that one twin does not help the other excessively, or that the one being helped does not become too dependent on the other. In the case of preschoolers, perhaps the best advice is to make the separation gradual, if it is done at all.

There are other situations in which separation might be a poor or untimely decision. For example, if the pair is undergoing particular stresses within the family, or if there are health concerns for one or both twins, separation may place unnecessary stress on twins.

In the case of school-age twins, it is a good idea to check their own preferences about separation. Although their feelings on the issue should be considered, these feelings should be put in a larger perspective of the long-term development of each member of the multiple sibling group.

Placement decisions should also take into account the views of parents. Some parents will have strong feelings on the matter (Segal & Russell, 1992). However, it is a good idea to keep in mind that parents may not be fully aware of how their children behave in the classroom environment. If parents disagree on the best course of action, teachers may want to listen carefully to each, make suggestions for them to consider, invite them to observe their children in the classroom, and suggest a short-term experiment of separating or keeping the twins together. During that time, the twins can be closely observed and evaluated by teachers and parents. In this way, the school personnel and the parents can address the issue as a team focused on the long-term best interests of the children.

 

LOOK ALIKES

Ideally, as suggested by guidelines for the education of multiple birth children recently issued by the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Club, Inc. (1998), educators should learn to recognize each child in a set of multiples without resorting to extraordinary measures, such as requiring identical twins to wear name tags, different color clothes, or different hair styles. However, for teachers struggling with large classes, this ideal may take much time and effort to achieve. In the case of twins who look very much alike, and who often behave alike, a teacher’s inability to distinguish between the twins and to use the correct name of the child may be a source of stress for the children and the teacher. It may be preferable to consult the parents about the possibility of helping the teacher to make the correct identification by dressing the twins differently, giving them different haircuts or shirt colors, or providing other consistently different patterns in their appearance. Speaking as a twin, the experience of being called by the other’s name can be very annoying!

Source: Apples4theTeachers

Charlotte Looks Forward to School

by Beverly Beckham
Oct. 18, 2009

Editor’s Note: Beverly Beckham is an award-winning columnist who writes for The Boston Globe. She has five grandchildren.

We would like to know what you thing. We would love to hear stories of you and your grandchildren. dan@youngchronicle.com

 

Charlotte has been looking forward to going to school for months. “I going to Castle School,” she has said all summer long. Her brother, Adam, and cousin, Lucy, were starting kindergarten. Her friend, Amy, was entering first grade. And though Charlotte is only 2, she insisted that she was going to school, too. All summer, every time we passed the Castle School, Charlotte would point and yell and smile.

So her mother, my daughter, signed her up for Castle School — two hours, two mornings a week. And when it was time for back-to-school shopping with Adam, she took Charlotte along and bought her new clothes, which Charlotte hung in the closet next to her brother’s. Charlotte also got a purple backpack, and new shoes — purple ones — which she strapped on in the shoe store (thank you, Velcro), pirouetted in a few times, and tested for their climbing ability.

A few weeks ago, on Adam’s first day of school, Charlotte dressed in one of her new outfits and stood beside him as he posed for pictures. “I going to school, too,” she said again and again, smiling for every picture.

A few mornings later her mother took her to the Castle School for a trial run. Charlotte met her teacher, saw her classroom, played with some toys, and then went home. Charlotte, it seemed, was good to go.

Finally, the big day dawned. This wasn’t a dress rehearsal anymore. Her big brother wasn’t standing beside her as she posed for pictures. Charlotte wasn’t just pretending to go to school. This was the real thing.

There was Charlotte at the Castle School, which is really a Unitarian church but the steeple has Charlotte fooled, dressed in a new pink and purple outfit, wearing her purple shoes, her backpack stuffed with pencils and snacks.

And there were her mother and father hugging her and kissing her and saying good-bye and I was hugging and kissing her, too. And there was Charlotte, whose litany, for weeks, for months has been “I going to Castle School! I going to Castle School!” suddenly … not happy at all. Suddenly, serious. Suddenly, mute! She said nothing. Not a word. Not a sigh. Not a sniffle. Not a sound.

Click went the cameras and Charlotte just stared. Whoosh went the videos and Charlotte just stood. “Charlotte!” somebody yelled and Charlotte didn’t even turn to look.

This little spitfire who just a few weeks ago walked fully dressed into a swimming pool, having announced “I swim,” as she jumped in, who sunk to the bottom then sputtered up, who was pulled out by her mother and a stranger and an ashen lifeguard, who on dry ground again didn’t wail or moan or even cough, who said only, “I need towel!” and then announced, “I swim ‘gin,” was this day in the parking lot of her beloved Castle School suddenly just a scared little 2-year-old.

How long did the good-bye process take? Twenty-six pictures? A few minutes of tape? A half-dozen hugs and kisses? A walk across a small parking lot? A short wait in line to file in? She filed in. And she never looked back.

“Bye, Charlotte! Bye! See you later. I love you,” we all yelled.

Charlotte didn’t turn. She didn’t react. She said nothing.

The big yellow door slammed closed and we left.

Two hours later, when her mother picked her up, she was back to her old chatterbox, why-walk-when-you-can -run, why-run-when-you-can-climb, fearless, crazy self. “Did you like school, Charlotte?”

She nodded. She skipped to the car. “I like Castle School. I play with crayons. I sing songs. I eat Cheez-Its.”

I look at the pictures I took just a few hours before. Charlotte’s first day of school. It’s a study in contrasts.

Children change even as you watch. Tentative one minute, tenacious the next. They’re 2 and then they’re 22, which is really why we watch, why we smile, why we take pictures and why we write.

 

 

Source: Grandparents

 

A Special Angel Meet Ximena

By Dan Samaria
Publisher/YC
Oct. 17, 2009

Editor’s Note: There are a lot of God’s special children in this world that you need your help. After reading this article, it doesn’t make you want to get involved we don’t know what would.

We hope you will enjoy the story below:

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

By Special Olympics
Oct. 17, 2009

On paper, Ximena de Varela may sound like a typical popular, high-achieving high school student. She is on the Honor Roll and sets high standards for herself at school.  But she is not like most of her classmates at Panama’s Colegio Brader. Until recently, she was the first and only student with special needs to attend her school.

Ximena has Down syndrome, a chromosomal disorder that leads to developmental delays and intellectual disability. Despite her disability, within days of meeting her new classmates, she formed new friendships and dispelled old attitudes about disabilities and capabilities. Her impact on and acceptance by the student body impressed the school so much that it opened its doors to other students with special needs. Now the school is an example for inclusion throughout the country. “Ximena is a role model for us and all of humanity,” states one classmate.

Inspired by Ximena, Vivian Fernandez de Torrijos, herself a parent of a child with special needs, launched a national campaign promoting programs of inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities when she was first lady of the Republic of Panama. (The former first lady is also a member of the Special Olympics International Board of Directors.) Torrijos champions the work of Special Olympics and inclusion throughout Central America.

Special Olympics aren’t just making a difference; it’s driving a revolution, transforming the way people with and without disabilities think about one another and lives together. Special Olympics are committed to bringing youth with and without intellectual disabilities together in a spirit of cooperation and inclusion. Special Olympics’ outreach to youth and schools is happening now around the world. Special Olympics Unified Sports is uniting people with and without disabilities on the field of competition. Through Special Olympics Get Into It® school diversity curriculum, Project UNIFY and SO College, Special Olympics is working year-round to create bonds of understanding and friendship, both on and off the playing field.

Even in societies where people with disabilities are shunned or hidden away, Special Olympics is working to break down barriers and change attitudes of the young people who will be tomorrow’s leaders.

Every dollar you give to Special Olympics helps light the way to a better world. Even the smallest gift is enough to change one mind, one attitude, one life for the better.

What YOU Can Do

Whether you are an athlete looking to compete, a volunteer looking to make a difference, or you’re just looking to have fun and be a part of something — come be a part of Special Olympics, and experience your own story of transformation.

Source: Special Olympics

Mothers Die Every Year at Birth?

By Dr. Mercola
Oct. 17, 2009

More than 2 million babies and mothers die worldwide each year from childbirth complications, outnumbering child deaths from malaria. The study also showed that such deaths could be easily avoided.

Some 1.02 million babies are stillborn and another 904,000 die soon after birth. By comparison, 820,000 children die from malaria worldwide. About 42 percent of the world’s 536,000 maternal deaths also occur during childbirth.

The report said that many of the deaths could be avoided with improvements in basic health care, and training for local health care workers to perform lifesaving techniques.
Sources:   AOL News October 8, 2009

Teenager Inspires Us All

By Dr. Laura
Oct. 16, 2009

Editor’s Note: If you have an inspiring story, we would love to hear  from you. dan@youngchronicle.com We hope you will enjoy this story and it would inspire you to help others.

 

The Hartford Courant recently published an essay by Justin Verrier on a Connecticut female teenage swimmer.  “After swimming laps at a recent practice in the Glastonbury High School pool, Rachel Grusse told her coach, Suzi Hoyt, her shoulder felt sore.  Hoyt responded as she always does to such concerns by her swimmers.  Instructing Grusse to put on flippers and ‘kick for a little while’ to rest her arms.  ‘I just looked up at her and told her, Um…I don’t think I can do that, Grusse said, smiling.”

Remember the word smiling.  When Grusse was 16 months old, it was discovered that she was born without a spleen, and she contracted a form of bacterial pneumonia that cut off the blood flow to her extremities, which resulted in the cutting off of her legs at the base of her knees, as well as the last joint of her fingers.

Now, many teenage girls with just a few pimples would hide in their bedrooms, but not Rachel.  With the help of prosthetic legs, she has participated in all types of sports, including soccer and, most recently, wheelchair basketball, but swimming is her passion.  Since she has to rely on her upper body for swimming, she does a lot of upper body strengthening, like…walking on her hands!

Her comment?  “I’ve just heard some people say that I’m an example to other kids.  But to me, I don’t feel like I’m any different. I’m just doing what I can, and doing the best that I can. “

She swims against “normal” swimmers and rarely wins, but she loves the sport anyway.

She swims against others who are disabled and often places, but not always, and she loves the sport anyway.

Since she has no memory of having had legs, for her, it is kind of “normal” – the real amazing quality of hers is her attitude to just do what she can and do the best that she can.

Disabled or not, that is the winning attitude in life that ultimately brings you happiness.  She does what she loves and does the best she can at it.  Period.  There is a lesson in that for everyone.

Source: Dr Laura

StarFish

By Unknown
Oct. 15, 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:  Starfish

 

The old man awoke just before sunrise, as he often did, to walk by the ocean’s edge and greet the new day. As he moved through the morning dawn, he focused on a faint, far away motion.

He saw a youth, bending and reaching and flailing arms, dancing on the beach, no doubt in celebration of the perfect day soon to begin. As he approached, he realized that the youth was not dancing to the bay, but rather bending to sift through the debris left by the night’s tide, stopping now and then to pick up starfish and then standing, to heave it back into the sea.

He asked the youth the purpose of the effort. “The tide has washed the starfish onto the beach and they cannot return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun rises, they will die, unless I throw them back into the sea.”

As the youth explained, the old man surveyed the vast expanse of beach, stretching in both directions beyond eyesight. Starfish littered the shore in numbers beyond calculation.

The hopelessness of the youth’s plan became clear and the old man countered, “But there are more starfish on this beach than you can ever save before the sun is up. Surely you cannot expect to make a difference.”

The youth paused briefly to consider my words, bent to pick up a starfish and threw it as far as possible. Turning to the man, he said,

“I made a difference to that one.”

Source: Joyology

Easy to Make: Chocolate Nut Pie with Brandied Cherries

By Better Homes
Oct. 17, 2009
Editor’s Note: We would love to hear from you on Recipes that you do with your children. dan@youngchronicle.com

 

Ingredients

• 3/4  cup dried tart red cherries
• 1/2  cup brandy or orange juice
• 1  Recipe Single-Crust Pie Pastry or 1/2 of a 15-oz. pkg. rolled refrigerated unbaked piecrust (1 crust)
• 1/3  cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1-1/2  cups sugar
• 3  eggs
• 1/8  tsp. salt
• 1  cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4  cup all-purpose flour
• 3  oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
•   Sweetened Whipped Cream (optional)

 

Directions

 

1. In small bowl combine dried cherries and brandy. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and reserve 1 tablespoon of the brandy.

2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare pastry and line 9-inch pie plate.

3. In medium bowl whisk together butter, sugar, eggs and salt. Stir in walnuts, flour and 2 ounces of the chopped chocolate just until combined. Stir in drained cherries and the 1 tablespoon reserved brandy. Spoon filling into crust-lined pie plate. Bake for 65 minutes, loosely covering the pie with foil the last 30 minutes of baking. Sprinkle with remaining chopped chocolate. Cool on a wire rack.

4. To serve, top with Sweetened Whipped Cream. Makes 10 servings.

 

Pastry for a Single-Crust Pie: In a medium bowl stir together 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in 1/3 cup shortening until pieces are pea size. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cold water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened pastry to the side of the bowl. Repeat moistening flour mixture, using 1 tablespoon of the water at a time (total of 4 to 5 tablespoons cold water) until all the flour is moistened. Form pastry into a ball.
On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten pastry. Roll pastry from center to edges into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Wrap pastry circle around the rolling pin. Unroll into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease into pie plate without stretching it. Trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond the edge of pie plate. Fold under extra pastry. Crimp edge as desired. Do not pick pastry.

 

Sweetened Whipped Cream: In chilled large mixing bowl beat 1 cup whipping cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Makes about 2 cups.

 

Nutrition Facts

• Servings Per Recipe 10 servings
• Calories 507,
• Total Fat (g) 25,
• Saturated Fat (g) 9,
• Monounsaturated Fat (g) 6,
• Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 8,
• Cholesterol (mg) 80,
• Sodium (mg) 155,
• Carbohydrate (g) 63,
• Total Sugar (g) 39,
• Fiber (g) 3,
• Protein (g) 7,
• Vitamin A (DV%) 0,
• Vitamin C (DV%) 0,
• Calcium (DV%) 3,
• Iron (DV%) 14,
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

 

Source: Better Homes

Quick and Easy Garden Vegetable Soup

By Cheryl Lock
Oct. 17, 2009 

Editor’s Note: Wolfgang Puck is Owner of Spago in Beverly Hills
Kids: Cameron, 19, Byron, 14, Oliver, 4, and Alexander, 2
On Austrian Food: “Many families rely on vegetable gardens for their produce. I ate this soup growing up — and often make it for my boys.” 

We would love to hear from you on Recipes that you do with your children. dan@youngchronicle.com

 

Ingredients

 

• 1  leek, white part only
• 1/2  of a large potato, peeled
• 1  small onion
• 1  stalk celery
• 1/2  of a medium zucchini
• 6  green beans
• 1  medium carrot, peeled
• 3  Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1-1/2  Tbsp. water
• 4  cups no-salt-added chicken stock
• 3  ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded
• 15  fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
• 2  medium garlic cloves

 

Directions

 

1. Cut all the veggies into 1/4-inch pieces. In a large pot, mix half the olive oil with the water. Add veggies; sauté on medium-low until the water evaporates. Don’t let the veggies brown.

 

2. Add stock; bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, at a gentle boil for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, puree tomatoes, basil, garlic, and remaining oil. Stir puree into soup. Don’t let it return to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.

 

Makes: 6 (1-cup) servings

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes

Source:  Parents

 

Rosie’s Love

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