Childhood Obesity, Drug Abuse Top Health Concerns Adults Have About Children

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Childhood obesity and drug abuse are now the top health concerns for kids rated by adults, according to a new poll by University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. The fifth annual survey of the top 10 health concerns for kids asked more than 2,000 adults of different races and ethnicities to rate 23 different health concerns for children living in their communities. Most of the top concerns pertain to long-recognized risky behaviors for youth: drug, alcohol and tobacco use, as well as teen pregnancy. The recent results also suggest that parents are paying attention to new safety risks associated with the Internet and other technologies, including sexting. “The perception of drug abuse as a big problem matches recent national data showing increasing use of marijuana and other drugs by U.S. teens,” Matthew Davis, M.D., director of the National Poll on Children’s Health, said in an article on the University health system website.

Commissioner Amy Howell DJJ GJSA

Georgia’s Commissioner of Department of Juvenile Justice Talks about Her Kids, All 22,000 of Them

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Georgia’s Department of Juvenile Justice Commissioner Amy Howell isn’t ashamed to admit she was a bit of a snotty teen. She had a mean eye-roll and attitude to boot, she has said, and really didn’t see a life past the age of 25. That is until until those in her life who cared about her most, finally got through to her.

When it comes to juvenile justice and heading the DJJ, Howell takes a similar approach. For her it’s personal.

“The goal has to be on the lasting success for young people,” she said. “If we want to make sure they don’t recidivate we need to make sure we’re giving them, and setting them up in the community with, the opportunities for that lasting success.”

Howell recently told a contingent of Georgia YDC Directors that while she considers the juvenile facilities are ‘their house,’ the kids incarcerated are her kids – and she expects them to be taken care of while there.

“My Kids.”

That’s how Howell refers to all of the some 22,000 ‘and two’ kids that are overseen by Georgia’s DJJ: 20,000 kids under community supervision, 2,000 in incarceration and the two in her own home.

As Hurricane Irene Hits the East Coast, Parents Get Kids Through the Storms

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This weekend many east coast families are canceling or changing their final summer travel plans and figuring out how to explain the violent winds and rains of hurricanes to their young children. Hurricane Irene is something many kids have not yet experienced. The destructive, monster of a storm is raking the Eastern Seaboard . Some kids remain oblivious to the storm, while others are obsessively watching weather updates or are intrigued by the science behind it. Once the wind and water damage hit, many kids may experience serious anxiety, possibly amplified by the overwhelming media coverage on TV and on the Internet.

bullying

Bullying Effects Academics, Especially for Blacks and Latinos, Study Finds

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Bullying not only causes physical and emotional damage, but victims may also suffer academically, particularly high-achieving black and Latino students, a recently presented study found. Two sociologists discovered that the grade point average of all students who were bullied in 10th grade dropped by 12th grade, according to the Boston Herald. The GPAs of white students dropped slightly while the grade point averages of black students dropped almost one-third of a point and bullied Latinos lost half a point. Stereotypes of minorities as being tough or street smart could be one reason to blame, Lisa M. Williams, lead author of the study and Ohio State University doctoral student, said. “Schools may think that because students are black and Latino, they’re better able to handle bullying,” she told the newspaper, “and their schools won’t have the same type of [bullying prevention] programs.”

The study relies on nationally representative data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002.

In Philadelphia, Summer Might be Over but not the Curfew

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As the Labor Day weekend approaches, officials in Philadelphia have decide to extend a curfew on young people they say has been effective in extinguishing flash mobs. The summertime curfew has been in effect the last few weeks, since a group of teens attacked several people in the city’s downtown. A spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter told the Philadelphia Inquirer the curfew is working and would be extended until the start of the regular school year on Sept. 6. After that, students will find themselves subject to the city’s school-year ordinance that makes kids aged 13-17 subject to a 10:30 weekday, and a midnight weekend, curfew.

Social Networking Teens More Likely to Drink or Use Drugs, Study Finds

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Teens who spend time on social networking sites such as Facebook are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol or use drugs, says a new survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA). The report says:
Compared to teens who do not spend time on a social networking site in a typical day, teens who do are:

Five times likelier to have used tobacco (10 percent vs. 2 percent);
Three times likelier to have used alcohol (26 percent vs. 9 percent);
Twice as likely to have used marijuana (13 percent vs. 7 percent).

Maggie Goes On A Diet Not Light on Controversy: Children’s Book Targeting Kids 6-12 Raises Questions

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A new book aimed at kids aged 6-12 tells the story of an overweight 14-year-old girl who goes on a diet and becomes popular after losing weight. “Maggie Goes on a Diet,” will be released in October, but the book is already embroiled in controversy. The cover features pudgy Maggie standing in front of a mirror holding a pink party dress that is clearly too small. Her reflection is a much thinner girl. According to a plot summary, Maggie "goes on a diet and is transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star.

Two Years Later, OJJDP Still without a Leader

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More than two years after taking office, President Obama has yet to appoint a permanent administrator to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), a federal agency that funds some state-level juvenile programs and ensures federal standards are being met. The delay has been caused, in part, by a bill removing the Senate confirmation requirement for this and hundreds of other executive branch appointments. The bill has passed the Senate, but has yet to go in front of the House of Representatives for a vote. The measure, S. 697, also known as the Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011, received support from both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) before being passed by the Senate in June. The push to remove Senate confirmation for the OJJDP top position has been strongly opposed in some quarters.

Teens Facing Preventable Addiction Leading to Costly Health Problem for Nation

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Teen addiction is “the largest preventable and most costly public health problem in America today,” according to a recent report discussed by the the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Researchers at Columbia University National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that 75 percent of high school students nationwide have used addictive substances, such as cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine or prescription drugs. And these numbers don’t include incarcerated adolescents or those who have dropped out of school. Addiction is more likely for “the underdeveloped teen brain,” heightening the possibility of impaired judgment and bad decisions throughout life, the report says. It also says that teens who are exposed to parents' substance use disorders are more than three times as likely as other teens to have a substance use disorder themselves.