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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1993)
Smoke Signals January 1993 Page 11 Project Home Safc.The Challenge The Bureau of the Census estimates that from two to six million children between the ages of six and thirteen return home from school to homes where no adult is present. These so-called "latchkey children" or children in self care, are on their own for several hours of the day. Latchkey children live in families where parents work outside the home. These children in self-care, may be alone or may have the responsibility of looking after their younger brothers and sisters. Current projections indicate there maybe 35 million latchkey children by 1995 if local communities do not respond with more effective solutions. Unsupervised children must be considered at risk. For example, six thousand children each year die as a result of in-home accidents and fires; in nearly every instance, there is no adult present. Even when latchkey children escape physical harm, research indicates that premature responsibility for self-care results in emotional scars. Many child-care professionals believe that even those youngsters who appear to develop self-reliance through self-care often miss valuable opportunities to develop interests, talents, and personal skills that could be of great future importance. Recognizing the challenges faced by latchkey children, as well as the many ways their plight affects society as a whole, the American Home Economics Association, with funding from the Whirlpool Foundation, launched Project Home Safe in an effort both immediate and long-term solutions to a major social problem. The choice ofhome economists to spearhead the project ensures professional expertise to analyze and communicate the dimensions of the latchkey crisis; to develop varied courses of action; to effect local solutions to local problems; and to assist children through critical growth and development stages. Project Home Safe will be implemented by volunteer home economists nationwide. Home Safety Tips for Children in Self-Care JANUARY MEALSITE MENU TUESDAY, JAN. 5 WEDNESDAY, JAN. 6 LjRSDAY, JAN. 7 Chicken Pot Pie Hamburger Macaron, Salad Salmon Patties Pears & Cottage Cheese Cauliflower Buttered Rice Peanut Butter Cookies Celery Sticks T Bread & Butter Peaches Spinach Garlic Bread X. i . n. jj Chocolate Pudding TUESDAY, JAN. 12 WEDNESDAY, JAN. 13 JT1 S Y JAR 14 Dinner Casserole COOK'S CHOICE wT? . , j c i j Mashed Potatoes Tossed Salad n Jell-o wBananas D , ... Bread Butter Bread Puddmg TUESDAY, JAN 19 WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20 THURSDAY, JAN 2 1 Boiled Ham Dinner Oyster Stew Cottage Cheese wJell-o Toasted Chccse Sands- ?pl Jocs Spice Cake Carrot Salad Cole Slaw Bread & Butter Butterscotch Pudding TaterTots Cheese Cake TUESDAY, JAN. 26 WENESDAY, JAN. 27 THURSDAY, JAN. 28 Chicken & Dumplings Macaroni & Cheese Roast Porl Buttered Corn Stewed Tomatoes Mashed Potatoes & Gravy Tossed Salad Broccoli Asparagus Jell-o wCrushed Pineapple Sugar Cookies Apple Sauce Cake & Ice Cream Birthdays for January Mary Lane ELDERS' MEETING JesseBahr Dorothy Lane Raymond Carlton Maxine Leno Eleanor Catabay 0rvine Len0 Edith Cunningham Velma Mercier Irene Curl Catherine Russell Edwina Hawks James Smith Earnest Hoffer Joseph Vicenzi Herman Hudson, Jr. Although many parents fear kidnapping and drugs as the greatest threats to their children's safety, accidents and fires account for far more injuries and deaths among children. Therefore, safety at home should be a top priority i n preparing your child for self-care. Before your child stays home alone, you and your child should do a home safety check together, Check to see that: All doors and windows can be locked and that your child can work the locks. A list of emergency numbers is posted near each phone. A11 dangerous items are out of reach of young children, including: poisonous products (drain cleaner, alcohol, etc--mark them "poison"), poisonous plants, medicines, vitamins, aspirin, laxatives, etc., matches and flammable materials. Electrical cords are out of the way where they can't be tripped over. There is at least one smoke detector on each level of your home, and all are working properly with batteries. Your family has fire escape plans and practices fire drills. Your child knows the safest place to go in the event of a severe weather warning (tornado, etc.). In some communities, fire or health departments provide information or assistance for home safety checks. In addition to doing a home safety check, it is also important to teach your children how to prevent accidents and injuries by being careful around the house. Decide what home safety rules are important in your home. Then, you and your children should talk about those rules so that they understand and follow them. Common home safety rules include: Pick up toys, games, and other things on the floor that aren't in use. Stay away from matches and fire. Use only those appliances a parent said is OK to use. Walk, don't run in the house. Never play with electric appliances or their power cords. Wipe up spills right away. Stand on a sturdy stool when reaching for things up high. Resources On Safety For Children in Self-Care Child Alone (6 pages) National Safety council 444 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 6061 1 Cost: Free Your Home Safety Checklist (2 pages) U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Washington, D.C. 20207 Cost: Free Send a request for the publication to the above address. Safe at Home, Safe Alone (64 pages) Miles River Press 1009 Duke Street, Washington, D.C. 20036 Cost: $1.00 Send a check to the address above. What If I'm Home Alone? Corporation for Public Broadcasting 1111 16th Street, Washington, D.C. 20036 Cost: $1.00 Send check to address above. Reader's Poem "Spring" With each March migrating geese start North in giant flocks. The warming, soft Spring breeze Breaks ice sheets into blocks. The ice floats ever downward the lakes and streams soon clear. The geese now headed homeward make music for the ear. I have listened every year, for over fifty Springs, for this music loud and clear, amid the whispering wings. If, within this lifetime, the geese should cease to fly, I know a vital part of me would wither up and die. I often awake from pleasant dreams to feel the beat of far off wings, to high to hear, yet clear. A vibrant part of Spring. As vibrant as the warming days, the first born blacktail fawn, the budding trees that clearly say, "come out, for Winter's gone. " -Condensed from the poem, "Spring" contributed bv Ron Zumwalt.
