Whats Inside this Month?
Children Who Live With Smokers More Likely to Miss School
Reuters Health Information
2003. © 2003 Reuters Ltd.
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NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
May 23 - New study findings show that fourth-graders who live with a
smoker are more likely than those who do not to miss school because of a
respiratory disease.
Living with more than one
smoker further increased the risk of school absence, especially if the
child had asthma, according to the report.
These findings indicate
that even children who are old enough to attend school full-time, and
therefore spend every weekday away from home, still feel the effects of
second-hand smoke, lead author Dr. Frank Gilliland and colleagues, from
the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, note.
"Although (second-hand
smoke) exposure among school-aged children is likely to be substantially
lower than that among preschool children, the adverse effects appear to
be substantial," they write in the May 15th issue of the American
Journal of Epidemiology.
The current results
"add to the importance of promoting smoking cessation among parents
who smoke cigarettes," Dr. Anthony J. Alberg, from the Johns
Hopkins University in Baltimore, and colleagues note in a related
editorial.
The researchers obtained
their findings from information about illness-related absences among
1932 California fourth-graders during 1996. Parents or guardians
reported whether their children had been diagnosed with asthma, and how
many smokers lived in their households.
Children who lived with at
least one smoker were 27% more likely to have been absent from school
due to respiratory illness than children whose homes were smoke-free.
And the more smokers in the
house, the worse off children were, the authors note. Children who lived
with at least two smokers were 75% more likely than those from
non-smoker homes to miss school due to respiratory illness.
Having asthma made the
situation worse, Dr. Gilliland and his team write. Children with asthma
who lived with smokers were 2.35-times as likely to stay home because of
respiratory illness than non-asthmatic kids from smoke-free households.
In asthmatic children who
lived with at least two smokers, the risk of such absences shot up by
more than four-fold.
Dr. Alberg and his
colleagues suggest that school officials could interpret repeated
absences as a sign that a child has undiagnosed or inadequately treated
asthma.
Am J Epidemiol
2003;157:861-873.
HOW
A BULLY BECOMES A BULLY:
He (or
she) is angry. Someone might have bullied him in the past.
·
He has a low self-esteem. He
thinks controlling you will help him feel better about himself.
·
He might have been exposed to a
lot of violence in the media. (TV, books...) A lot of movies make
violence look cool. But if you look closer, the "good guy" is
always cooler!
·
His (or her) friends, or peers,
could be bad influences, talking him into doing things he may, or
may not, understand are wrong.
·
His caretakers might have lacked
in supervision. They might have been too busy to teach him how wrong it
is to hurt others. Or maybe they spoiled him; making him think he can do
anything he wants, including bullying!
WHAT
TO DO ABOUT BULLIES:
·
Inform your teachers &
parents. If his bullying is physical or violent, tell them not to
give your name. That could make the bully angrier, and then he'll come
after you harder.
·
Travel to school or social
events in groups. Don't walk alone.
·
Avoid the bully at all costs.
·
Ignore him. That will take away
his power he "thinks" he has over you. He'll get bored, and go
look for someone else to pick on.
·
Confront him with the problem.
Do this only if the bullying is mental, not physical. Maybe you can
explain how it makes you feel. If he doesn't care, and continues to
bully you, report him, and avoid him.
·
Take a safety-training workshop.
This should only be used as a last resort (in self defence). Using this
to show off for your friends, or simply because someone made you angry,
could lead to lawsuits, and YOU becoming a bully!
Instead,
each of us must take the journey inside ourselves and deal with what we
find there. We can help,
but no one can do it for us.
~Getting through the Day, strategies for
adults but as children by Nancy J. Napier.
Most
entrepreneurs consider themselves good communicators. Here's their best
advice
Communication could be the entrepreneur's most important skill.
Just think of all the areas where communication comes into play:
convincing customers of your product benefits, understanding your
client's needs, coaching employees, resolving conflicts with and
between your colleagues.... Surely, good communication skills are
prerequisite to business success.
So, are you a good communicator? GrowthWays, the
eWeekly of Fast-Growing Companies, put that question to its readers in a
recent poll. It even asked respondents to submit their best
communication tips.
The results? Some 87% of respondents believed they are effective
communicators. And they offered these nuggets of great advice:
- "Here are five
ways to start a good conversation and show genuine interest
in another person:
- "I
noticed..."
- "Tell
me..."
- "I
appreciate..."
- "What
do you think..." or, "I need some advice..."
- "Why
do you say that..."
- "Don't bring
anger into a conversation anger is one letter short of
danger. To be effective, you have to be patient. Don't send the
other party the wrong cues make sure that you have made them
comfortable enough and not turned them off. Body language, direct
eye contact, open honesty and a healthy positive attitude go a long
way."
- "Listening is
very important to proper communication. Listen first and
then reply in the same business manner of the person you are
communicating with. Watch the person you are communicating with for
signs of understanding. This is especially true for multi-cultural
businesses. (Remember: English is not everyone's first language.)
Try not to use slang as it is not always understood by
everyone."
- "I believe in one-to-one
communication. Whether it's with the media or employees,
let them feel like you are speaking only to them."
- "When working
with my clients, I try to tell stories that they can relate to.
In other words, I paint pictures in their minds, be they good or
bad, to make my point. Sometimes we meet several times and the same
point is one of the outstanding items to be discussed, so I must
paint another picture each time we meet."
- "In today's world of
'fast food solutions', it's too easy to forget that many people need
time to absorb the message you are trying to get across. Rather than
attempting to drive "my" block of information through
"their" block of information, I try to speak to
people in one-to-one situations where time is not an issue
and we can relax. I have found that if you can establish a coffee
klatch atmosphere, people appreciate the effort and pay more
attention to what you have to say. Sincere caring and listening on
your part go a long way towards building communications
rapport."
- "The most
important way to avoid barriers is to listen to the other person.
I find that most people are nervous they want to get what they
need to say out and get the situation over with (myself included).
If you go in and listen, you can often identify the other person's
position on the matter and adjust your reply accordingly. You have
the upper hand this way by knowing what the other person
needs."
- "I use 'active
listening' techniques whereby the listener repeats key
points to ensure that the message is clear."
- "When communicating with
a potential customer, make sure you are not going in half
cocked. The customer in most cases hears sales pitches
every day, so have all the facts about your business and what you
are trying to sell. A customer does not want to hear that you don't
have the proper information to respond to a question about your
business that he may pose."
- "Talk to a
potential customer as you would talk to a friend. Make him
feel comfortable and your conversation will flow a lot easier."
- "Plan ahead.
Consider potential roadblocks or concerns of your communications
target. Have answers ready."
- "For any type of written
communication from the largest corporate proposal to the
smallest e-mail proofread, proofread, proofread.
Never send anything out before you've had a chance to read it
thoroughly."
- "I write down
pertinent remarks in a conversation, make a rolling task list
and review the task list with all involved at the end of the meeting
or conversation. Works for me!"
*****PARENTS
BEWARE always ensure that you check the privacy policies on any
websites where you or your children may be asked for personal
information, especially when this information may be sold or used
without your permission.
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