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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2011)
14 in other words january25 2011 Better Parenting: Why Focus On Homework? What Really Matters? By Sonia Spackman MA, MFT the chips can be exchanged as TV time-- middle school and high school. Develop has started at the WGS library two days or whatever motivates your child. If you good habits now and high school won’t a week on Wednesdays and Thursdays DON’T HELP TOO MUCH from 3:00 – 4:00 P.M. for grade school have to remind older children more than be as difficult.” What kind of help, and how once, they lose TV or a privilege.” students. Parent permission forms much homework help should parents HELP YOUR CHILD BE A SELF- were sent home with students. Middle give? Experts agree parents need to have school teachers will recommend middle STARTER SET A TIME AND PLACE some involvement, but not too much. Judy Dodge, a study skills When it comes to homework and school students for the Homework Club. The goal is getting children to do their consultant, thinks that getting the kids planning for projects and tests, post a High school students will be selected for homework themselves without having to involved to do their homework is the calendar on a wall, door or desk just for Twilight School as volunteers become stand over them or do it for them. tests and projects. Another available. If you are a middle school or teacher’s job. And The recommended homework the parents’ job is large calendar can be used a high school parent, call your school for Helping with load is ten minutes of work per year of creating a home for the family schedule. information. homework is an schooling through middle school. That environment where Have a homework important part of means first graders would have ten kids can get their completion chart and/ SHARE CONCERNS WITH YOUR parenting. Helping or a contract with your CHILD’S TEACHER minutes while sixth graders have about homework done. one hour. Give only as much help as is Homework needs to Be sure to let them know if child with a designated your kids develop appropriate for your child’s age. time schedule, homework your children are having difficulty or be at a time and place discipline and a A study by the nonprofit Public that has a quiet, well- location, homework rules are unable to do most of the work by proper work ethic is and special terms for themselves. Parent Assistant is an on- Agenda group found that almost one- lit space, away from fourth of American parents have done distractions and with even more important. rewards and consequences line tool that allows parents to view part of their children’s homework for all the right supplies, signed by child and their child’s academic progress and them. This can be a problem because a dictionary, a desk or parents. Free copies of attendance. You can access this tool homework is a child’s first chance to table. It’s a good idea to have an hour of Homework Completion Charts and The from the school website www.vernonia. develop a strong work standard. fun and a snack after school, and then it Homework Contracts may be picked up k12.or.us or www.nwpartnership.org/pa. at the library. is time to do homework. MOTIVATE YOUR CHILD TOWN HALL MEETING -- Doing their homework teaches BREAK BAD HABITS BEFORE GIVE YOUR CHILD A DEADLINE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS kids to do something they sometimes THEY START Thursday, February 10, 2011 Set a rule that homework should don’t want to do and, in the process, they Homework should start before be done by 8:00 P.M.; unfinished work from 6:30 – 8:00 P.M. There will be gain a greater sense of responsibility 5:00 P.M. This routine helps kids simply goes back to school the next day, approximately seven stations set up to and better self-esteem. Kids feel develop the habits for tougher and longer says John Rosemond, psychologist and inform the public about some of the great good about themselves when they assignments that are required in middle author of Ending the Homework Hassle. things that are going on in our schools. accomplish something that was hard school, high school and college. A sixth Deadlines focus kids and teach time Please make it if you can. to do. Ruth Peters, psychologist and grade student said to me the other day: management skills. author of Overcoming Underachieving “I don’t have to worry about homework Resources: Sharon Cromwell, Education suggests: “Think about using a reward/ until I get in high school.” David CONSIDER OUTSIDE RESOURCES World; Teri Cellina, Better Homes and take away system. Make a chore chart Spackman, grade school counselor, If your child is struggling with Gardens; Betsy Van Dorn, Family that includes homework as a task. Then maintains, “Whatever bad habits kids a subject, and you can afford it, you Education.com; David Spackman, WGS give your child game chips or tokens for have learned with homework will might want to pay an older student to be counselor. finishing chores, including homework; become patterns much harder to break in a homework buddy. Homework Club Natural Path to Health: Diabetes - Part 1 By Dr. Carol McIntyre We should all be aware of what diabetes is and how it can impact our lives. For many of us, it already has impacted our lives. Maybe you know someone who has diabetes or you have been diagnosed yourself… or maybe you’re “pre-diabetic” and wondering how to prevent further progression. I hope to enlighten you to the basics of this widespread illness and give you some treatment ideas as well. First, there are different types of diabetes. The most common is “Type 2”diabetes (previously known as “adult onset”). This type is acquired. One is not born with this form of diabetes. Un- fortunately, in the last decade, more and more Americans have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and the age of the patients continues to get younger and younger! Because of this, Type 2 is no longer referred to as “adult onset.” This type will be the main topic of discussion throughout this article series. Although Type 2 is the most common type, there is also Type 1, which was once referred to as “juve- nile diabetes” because it was diagnosed in childhood or early adulthood. This type occurs when the beta cells of your pancreas are unable to produce insulin. Without insulin, the body cannot prop- erly utilize sugar to feed the cells of your body. People diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes will take insulin for the rest of their lives. The third most common type of diabetes is Gestational diabetes. This type is ac- quired during pregnancy because of the greater demand on the female body to utilize sugar during fetal development. Typically, this type will resolve after the pregnancy, but it does put the woman at a greater risk of developing Type 2 dia- betes later in life. So, what is diabetes you say? It is a disease in which the blood glucose/ blood sugar is too high. This can hap- pen when the body doesn’t produce in- sulin (like in Type 1) or when the body exhausts its production of insulin due to insulin resistance. Let’s start from the top… Generally speaking, when a person eats food, that food is turned into glucose (or sugar) in your body and transported throughout to feed your cells. Insulin is the hormone produced by the beta cells in your pancreas that help the sugar get from your blood- stream and into your cells so it can be used for energy. Without insulin, the food that is turned into sugar cannot get into your cells to be used as energy and just “hangs around” in your blood. This can be very damaging to organs and blood vessels, leading to all types of car- diovascular and kidney disease, eye and skin problems and much more. In Type 1 diabetes, the body is no longer producing insulin. Therefore, insulin must be supplied in order for the body to function and survive. With Type 2 diabetes, however, there is a process of development. Type 2 diabetes often begins with what is known as insulin resistance, meaning the body’s tissues are not prop- erly using the insulin to move the sugar into the cells to make energy. The pan- creas will continue to make insulin to try and achieve energy production until eventually it becomes exhausted and no longer makes insulin at all. This basi- cally leads us back to the state of a body without insulin and more and more Type 2 diabetics are having to take insulin shots in order to survive. As a physician, I do not want to see the rate of diabetes continue to climb in our society. I am hoping that through this next series of articles, I can educate you on the process of exactly how Type 2 diabetes develops and what you can do for yourself to ensure that you are not diagnosed with this devastating ill- ness. Next, we will look at the risk fac- tors associated with Type 2 diabetes and ways to prevent them. Then, we will discuss treatment. Looking forward to having you along for the discussion! Take care and Be well. Dr. Carol McIntyre is a 2008 graduate of the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon, and has lived in Vernonia for over 4 years. She currently practices from her office located at 786 Bridge Street treating all types of disease using Naturopathic and Chinese medicine including acupuncture, spinal manipulation, herbal and nutritional therapy. Business hours are Tuesday and Thursday by appointment. Call (503) 481-4096 to schedule.
