Kids Need Positive Growth

By Jim Liebelt
Sept. 3, 2009

If you want your children to flourish, get them involved in extracurricular activities other than sports, new research suggests.

Children in fifth, sixth and seventh grades who took part in both sports and after-school activities such as Boys & Girls Clubs, 4-H or Scouts had the highest scores for “positive development” and the lowest scores for risky and problem behavior, according to a study from Tufts University, published recently in Developmental Psychology.

“Positive development” includes measures of competence, confidence, character, connection and caring, the study authors explained.

About 60 percent of U.S. children participate in at least one sport, making sports the most common after-school activity, according to information in a news release from Tufts.

Although a large body of research suggests that sports participation is associated with psychological well-being, positive social development and higher academic and professional achievement, some research has shown that participation in sports may be linked to some risky behaviors.

The new study, which looked at data on 1,357 adolescents who took part in the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, found that those students who only took part in sports had lower scores on characteristics of “positive development” and higher scores on bullying, substance use and depression than students who also took part in youth development activities.

Source: U.S. News & World Report Homeword

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

Healthy Tips

By Annie Buckley
Sept. 3, 2009

Summer is full of  activities that naturally nurture the body, mind, and heart—beach days and play dates, baseball and crafts, evenings on the porch—but what will happen to fun and fitness as the days grow shorter and busier? Use these tips to keep the healthy glow, creative play, and sunny optimism of summer in your family’s routine all through the fall.

Body: Try the Sunrise/Sunset card below to start a habit of daily exercise. It doesn’t have to take very long, five or ten minutes each day is a great start, but once you begin, it will feel so good you’ll want to add more—try lunges, jumping jacks, shoulder rolls, and side-stretches to extend your routine. Already exercise regularly? Then use this card to for a gentle stretch to wake up your body in the morning. Invite your children to join you for a healthy start to each day.

 

Mind: Make time to sit quietly at the beginning or end of the day; empty your mind, look at the view, or just rest. Try to create a few moments on your own to relax and reflect; notice how taking time out makes you feel. For children, an imaginative activity can offer the same sense of calm. Together, look at the sky in the morning and at sunset for a few days. Notice the colors and light. Then fold a paper in half. Color a sunrise on one side and sunset on the other. Use what you see in the sky and your imagination. How do we experience these opposites—light and shadow, energy and calm—throughout the day? How do they balance each other?

 

Heart: The sun is a source of light and heat for the whole planet. Its strength powers us all. This month, see if you can notice what empowers you—whether it’s a job well done, compliments, or a healthy meal—what makes you feel your best? Once you answer the question, consider ways to bring more of that into your life. When we feel strong and powerful, optimistic and hopeful, it rubs off on those around us. You can spread more sunshine by talking with your children; ask: What makes you feel bright and strong?

 

Editor’s Note: For more information on Annie Buckley’s Kids Yoga Deck and Once Upon a Time: Creative Writing Fun for Kids, please see: Chronicle Books.com or anniebuckley.com

 

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

 

Source: Bing Note

Discipline: Rules Without Relationship Equals Rebellion

Proper Diet, Keeps Energy

By Micah Simon
Sept. 3, 2009

Proper fluid intake and a healthy pre-game diet can help youth athletes perform at their best on the football field.

As football season begins for youth athletes, it’s important for them to take care of their bodies before, during and after physical activity. Drinking the right fluids and eating the right foods is the best way for athletes to stay energized and hydrated. Oftentimes, however, kids and their parents aren’t aware of what’s really best to eat and drink during football season.

Kim Schwabenbauer is the Corporate Dietitian for Super Bakery and a member of USA Football’s Health and Safety Committee. She said an important thing for parents of athletes ages 7 to 14 to be mindful of is proper fluid intake.

“I would say my first tip would be to drink two cups or 16 ounces of water about two hours prior to practice or prior to a game,” Schwabenbauer said. “You do need to have water within your system because you are going to be sweating quite profusely whenever it’s this hot in the fall.”

Schwabenbauer also mentioned drinking sports drinks such as Gatorade for physical activity lasting longer than one hour.

“In practices or games that are lasting over an hour, they do want to consider consuming an electrolyte beverage – meaning something that has sodium and potassium,” she said. “The kids don’t necessarily need them in the first hour, but they do need them from an hour on.”

Youth athletes should also have a different diet from youths not involved in sports. Given their higher level of physical activity, youth athletes should also have a slightly higher calorie intake to stay energized.

“They are expending energy and therefore calories are being burned through activity, so their activity rate is higher so they need higher calories,” Schwabenbauer said. “At the same time, the makeup of the diet would also be different in that the carbohydrate portion of the diet needs to be a higher proportion.”

Schwabenbauer said 60 to 65 percent of the child’s diet should be complex carbohydrates, meaning those that contain fiber and whole grains. Carbohydrates are the main fuel source during activity, making it important for kids to eat carbohydrates at every meal.

Two or three hours before a game, Schwabenbauer suggests kids eat a snack or small meal. Kids don’t need to eat anything during a game as much as they need to take proper fluids.

“All they really have to consume during the actual game would be water for the first hour and then an electrolyte beverage after that,” she said. “In excessive heat, I would say an electrolyte beverage for the first hour.”

Schwabenbauer also emphasized the importance of not diluting electrolyte beverages. She said kids do this a lot because it helps the drink taste better, but it actually takes away from the nutritional benefits of the drink.

“This practice I see quite a bit when they dilute the Gatorade with a lot of water, and something they need to know is that it doesn’t perform in the same way that it’s actually supposed to,” Schwabenbauer said. “It doesn’t give them as many electrolytes, calories, energy and things like that when they dilute it.”

Within 30 minutes after a game, youth athletes should have at least a snack that has both carbohydrates and protein. Within two hours after practice or a game, Schwabenbauer said kids need to have an actual meal.

“That meal should contain all the components of a regular meal they would be eating, such as a high quality protein source like turkey, baked chicken breast or tacos with vegetables on it,” she said. “They’re also going to need a carbohydrate so they’re going to need a pasta or bread component.”

Schwabenbauer said the after-activity meal doesn’t have to be dinner food. It could also be breakfast food such as omelets with meat and veggies and whole wheat bread as long as the meal contains a protein and carbohydrate.

For parents, planning ahead is an easier and healthier choice to make for their kids. They can grab food for practice when they need it and make sure they have healthy choices easily accessible.

“You save that time,” Schwabenbauer said. “Portioning out snacks for the week, such as grapes and carrots, and it’s all set and ready to go. It’s just easy to whip out the snack from the refrigerator and not have to think a thing of it.”

Proper nutrition is a key part of success for youth athletes on and off the field. Throughout the season, the right nutritious choices can help make the best of a young athlete’s performance on the football field, while instilling healthful habits for life.

Links related to this article:

Proper Hydration can Prevent Summertime Injuries
Summit Participants Undergo Hydration 101

Source: USA Football

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

Agency Presentation 2009

Sgt. Davison Will Be Missed

By Jim Leljedal
BSO/ PIO
Sept 3, 2009

A 29-year law enforcement veteran died Tuesday, September 1st, following a battle with cancer.

Wesley Davison, 55, started his law enforcement career with the Dania Police Department on May 1, 1980 and graduated from the 83rd Police Academy.

Wes joined the BSO family on October 1, 1988 when Dania Beach merged with BSO. Wes remained in Dania Beach and continued to serve the city as a patrol deputy, detective and field training officer (FTO) until his promotion to sergeant in 1997. Once promoted to sergeant Wes transferred to BSO’s Unincorporated Fort Lauderdale Central Broward district. Wes served as a patrol sergeant for 10 years, from October 30, 1997 until March 1, 2007.

In March of 2007 Sergeant Davison was tasked with supervising the Detective Division within the Central Broward District. While battling the disease that finally claimed his life, Wes continued to serve with pride and dedication.

Sgt. Davison joined his fellow employees on June 5, 2009 at BSO’s Relay for Life at Markham Park, benefiting the American Cancer Society.

Final arrangements are as follows:

Visitation: Friday, September 4th, 2 pm – 6 pm
T.M. Ralph Funeral Home
7001 NW 4 Street in Plantation

Memorial Service: Friday, September 4th, 6 pm

Source: BSO

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

Brain Damage from Cell Phone

By Dr. Mercola
Sept. 3, 2009

A collaborative team of international EMF activists has released a report detailing eleven design flaws of the 13-country, Telecom-funded Interphone study.

The exposé discusses research on cell phones and brain tumors, concluding that:

• There is a risk of brain tumors from cell phone use
• Telecom funded studies underestimate the risk of brain tumors
• Children have larger risks than adults for brain tumors

The Interphone study, begun in 1999, was intended to determine the risks of brain tumors, but its full publication has been held up for years. Components of this study published to date reveal what the authors call a ‘systemic-skew’, greatly underestimating brain tumor risk.

The design flaws include categorizing subjects who used portable phones (which emit the same microwave radiation as cell phones,) as ‘unexposed’; exclusion of many types of brain tumors; exclusion of people who had died, or were too ill to be interviewed as a consequence of their brain tumor; and exclusion of children and young adults, who are more vulnerable.

Ronald B. Herberman, MD, Director Emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute has stated,

“Based on substantial evidence, especially from industry-independent studies that long term exposure to radiofrequency radiation may lead to increased risk for brain tumors, I issued a precautionary advisory last year to faculty and staff of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Since then, my particular concern about exposure of children to radiofrequency has been supported by a report from Dr. Lennart Hardell. Some of my scientific colleagues have expressed skepticism about the reported biological effects, especially DNA0A damage by radiofequency radiation, because of the absence of a demonstrated underlying molecular mechanism.

However, based on the precautionary principle, I believe it is more prudent to take seriously the reports by multiple investigators that radiofrequency can damage DNA and increase the risk for brain tumors, and for industry-independent agencies to provide needed funding for detailed research to ascertain the molecular basis for such effects.”

Lloyd Morgan, lead author and member of the Bioelectromagnetics Society says,

“Exposure to cell phone radiation is the largest human health experiment ever undertaken, without informed consent, and has some 4 billion participants enrolled.

Science has shown increased risk of brain tumors from use of cell phones, as well as increased risk of eye cancer, salivary gland tumors, testicular cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukemia.

The public must be informed.”

Sources: Business Wire Radiation Research Mercola.com
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Upset over ‘leftist propaganda’ video

By Lisa Schencker
Sept. 3, 2009

A school principal has apologized for showing a video at an assembly that a politically conservative group leader is calling “radical, leftist propaganda.”

Children at Eagle Bay Elementary School in Farmington were shown a short video called “I pledge” on Aug. 28. The video opens with an image of President Barack Obama and part of a speech in which he says, “Let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.” The video then features celebrities making pledges about how they will help the president and the world — and that’s where some say the problem lies.

Many pledges, such as supporting local food banks, smiling more, and caring for the elderly are noncontroversial. But other pledges, such as “to never give anyone the finger when I’m driving again,” “to sell my obnoxious car and buy a hybrid” and to advance stem cell research cross the line, some say.

“Showing the video in a public school is completely inappropriate,” said Jennifer Cieslewicz, whose daughter is a first-grader at the school. “I don’t believe a video such as this that promotes certain values should be shown to elementary students, especially without parents being aware. ”

Chris Williams, Davis School District spokesman, said school principal Ofelia Wade and school PTA leaders decided to show the video as part of an assembly about the school’s theme for the year, service. He said the PTA board chose the video and Wade did not see it before it was shown in the assembly.

“It got to a point where she turned to her assistant and said, ‘Oops, I wish I would have seen this before. I don’t think I would have shown it,’ ” Williams said. He said Wade could see how some adults might find the video political.

“She acknowledges she was wrong and apologizes for it and says she’s sorry,” Williams said. Attempts to reach school PTA leaders Tuesday

evening were unsuccessful.

Williams said Wade plans to send a letter home to parents Wednesday about the issue.

Gayle Ruzicka, president of conservative Utah Eagle Forum, said the video was blatantly political. She said other offensive pledges included, “I pledge to be of service to Barack Obama,” “I pledge allegiance to the funk, to the united funk of funkadelica,” and pledges to not use plastic grocery bags and not flush the toilet after urinating.

“It’s very inappropriate to show a radical, leftist propaganda piece that political to children,” Ruzicka said. “If parents want their children to learn about those things and do them in the home, wonderful, fine, but it’s not the place of the school to show a one-sided propaganda piece to children without parents knowing about it.”

Cieslewicz said such values should be decided in the home, not at school.

“They shouldn’t be troubling our youth with the woes of the world and making them feel like we’re in slavery or they have to worry about how many times they flush the toilet or if they have a plastic water bottle,” Cieslewicz said, referring to pledges in the video to “end slavery.”

Ruzicka said she contacted local media about the video after receiving complaints from several parents. Ruzicka said she worried the video’s messages would confuse children whose parents might choose to use plastic bags when shopping or who want their children to flush the toilet after every use. Also she said she didn’t like a pledge “to be of service to Barack Obama” as he is here to serve Americans, not the other way around.

Ruzicka said she’d like to see the school district send a link to the video to all parents before an upcoming back-to-school night so they can voice their opinions and discuss it with their children. Williams said it’s unlikely the district will send out a link, but parents are welcome to access the video on YouTube.

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

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

National Zoo – Giant Panda

By FNZ
Sept. 3, 2009

Giant pandas live in a few mountain ranges in central China, in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. They once lived in lowland areas, but farming, forest clearing, and other development now restrict giant pandas to the mountains.

Habitat

Giant pandas live in broadleaf and coniferous forests with a dense understory of bamboo, at elevations between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. Torrential rains or dense mist throughout the year characterizes these forests, often shrouded in heavy clouds.

Physical description

The giant panda, a black-and-white bear, has a body typical of bears. It has black fur on ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, and shoulders. The rest of the animal’s coat is white. Although scientists do not know why these unusual bears are black and white, some speculate that the bold coloring provides effective camouflage into their shade-dappled snowy and rocky surroundings. The panda’s thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat. Giant pandas have large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles for crushing tough bamboo. Many people find these chunky, lumbering animals to be cute, but giant pandas can be as dangerous as any other bear.

Size

About the size of an American black bear, giant pandas stand between two and three feet tall at the shoulder (on all four legs), and reach four to six feet long. Males are larger than females, weighing up to 250 pounds in the wild. Females rarely reach 220 pounds.

Status

The giant panda is listed as endangered in the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Animals. There are about 1,600 left in the wild. More than 160 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers around the world, mostly in China.

Life span

Scientists aren’t sure how long giant pandas live in the wild, but they are sure it’s shorter than lifespans in zoos. Chinese scientists have reported zoo pandas as old as 35. The National Zoo’s Hsing-Hsing died at age 28 in 1999.

 

Diet

A wild giant panda’s diet is almost exclusively (99 percent) bamboo. The balance consists of other grasses and occasional small rodents or musk deer fawns. In zoos, giant pandas eat bamboo, sugar cane, rice gruel, a special high-fiber biscuit, carrots, apples, and sweet potatoes.

 

Social structure

Adult giant pandas are generally solitary, but they do communicate periodically through scent marks, calls, and occasional meetings. Offspring stay with their mothers from one and a half to three years.

The giant panda has lived in bamboo forests for several million years. It is a highly specialized animal, with unique adaptations.

Feeding adaptations

Millions of Zoo visitors enjoy watching giant pandas eat. A panda usually eats while sitting upright, in a pose that resembles how humans sit on the floor. This posture leaves the front paws free to grasp bamboo stems with the help of a “pseudo thumb,” formed by an elongated and enlarged wrist bone covered with a fleshy pad of skin. The panda also uses its powerful jaws and strong teeth to crush the tough, fibrous bamboo into bits.

A giant panda’s digestive system is more similar to that of a carnivore than an herbivore, and so much of what is eaten is passed as waste. To make up for the inefficient digestion, a panda needs to consume a comparatively large amount of food—from 20 to 40 pounds of bamboo each day—to get all its nutrients. To obtain this much food means that a panda must spend 10 to 16 hours a day foraging and eating. The rest of its time is spent mostly sleeping and resting.

 

Water

Wild giant pandas get much of the water they need from bamboo, a grass whose contents are about half water. (New bamboo shoots are about 90 percent water.) But giant pandas need more water than what bamboo alone can provide. So almost every day wild pandas also drink fresh water from rivers and streams that are fed by melting snowfall in high mountain peaks. The temperate forests of central China where giant pandas live receive about 30 to 40 inches of rain and snow a year. Charleston, West Virginia—a city with a similar temperate climate—receives about the same amount of rain and snow: an average of 42.5 inches a year.

 

Reproduction

Giant pandas reach breeding maturity between four and eight years of age. They may be reproductive until about age 20. Female pandas ovulate only once a year, in the spring. A short period of two to three days around ovulation is the only time she is able to conceive. Calls and scents draw males and females to each other.

 

Female giant pandas give birth between 95 and 160 days after mating. Although females may give birth to two young, usually only one survives. Giant panda cubs may stay with their mothers for up to three years before striking out on their own. This means a wild female, at best, can produce young only every other year; in her lifetime, she may successfully raise only five to eight cubs. The giant pandas’ naturally slow breeding rate prevents a population from recovering quickly from illegal hunting, habitat loss, and other human-related causes of mortality.

Development

 

At birth, the cub is helpless, and it takes considerable effort on the mother’s part to raise it. A newborn cub weighs three to five ounces and is about thesize of a stick of butter. Pink, hairless, and blind, the cub is 1/900th the size of its mother. Except for a marsupial (such as the kangaroo or opossum), a giant panda baby is the smallest mammal newborn relative to its mother’s size.

Cubs do not open their eyes until they are six to eight weeks of age and are not mobile until three months. A cub may nurse for eight to nine months. A cub is nutritionally weaned at one year, but not socially weaned for up to two years. more about panda cub develoment

 

Lifestyle

A wild panda spends much of its day resting, feeding, and seeking food. Unlike other bears from temperate climates, giant pandas do not hibernate. Until recently, scientists thought giant pandas spent most of their lives alone, with males and females meeting only during the breeding season. Recent studies paint a different picture, in which small groups of pandas share a large territory and sometimes meet outside the breeding season. Much remains to be learned about the secret lives of these elusive animals, and every new discovery helps scientists in their battle to save this species.

Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus and species: Ailuropoda melanoleuca

 

Source: National Zoo

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

Choosing Right After School Program

By AFT
Sept. 2, 2009

What happens after school is equally as important as what takes place during the school day. It’s important that you and your child choose the right after school activities.  Obviously as the parent, you’ll be the one making the decisions.  However if you can include your child in the process, you’ll have better buy-in.

If your child has sports practice, dance lessons or choir practice, there will be other adults present.  That’s a good thing.  Dropping your child off at the mall isn’t such a good idea.  If children have nothing to do, the potential for trouble is much higher.

Walking around the mall isn’t really considered, “something to do.”  If you want to go to the mall with your child, that’s great. What I’m referring to is your child taking the bus or getting dropped off, without an adult there to accompany her.

One third of shoplifters apprehended are teens age 13-17. Not suggesting that all teens are out to shoplift, just merely that the opportunity is greater when kids are wandering the mall un-chaperoned, with nothing to do.

Another not so hot idea is dropping your child off at a movie theater.  Unless you’ve seen the movie he wants to see, you haven’t approved the content.  Besides there are much better things your child could do with his time that sit and watch a movie.

If they want to go to a friend’s house after school, make sure an adult will be present.  By “making sure” I don’t mean asking your child if the friend’s parent will be home.  Get a home phone number (not a cell phone number) and talk to the mother.  You’d be surprised at the number of times the other parent didn’t even know the children were planning to be together.

Many schools now have after school care which basically means your child can stay at school until you can pick her up.  This gives them a chance to get homework done and play in the gym, in the presence of an adult.

Children grow up way too fast.  Make sure they are using their time wisely.  Remember, they are our future generation!

Source: Apples 4 The Teacher

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

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