Healthy Teens: Success in High School and Beyond - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0962164542 ISBN 13: 9780962164545

Inhaltsangabe

This easy-to-read guide for families of teens covers crucial issues kids face today. The book emphasizes the connection between healthy lifestyles and family involvement, and the success of teens in school and in life. Healthy Teens offers common sense advice for parents and professionals working with teens.

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Alice R. McCarthy, Ph.D., is a nationally known civic leader, educator, and writer. She is a Cornell University graduate in early childhood development and education, and she completed her doctorate at Wayne State University (WSU) in 1986. Her work at WSU concerned human growth over the life span and curriculum development. Since her degree work, Dr. McCarthy has devoted her energies to family education, research, and curriculum writing related to health and the family.

Currently, Dr. McCarthy is involved in several health education projects related to children and families. She is writing a curriculum for families, Parents as Partners: Keeping Kids Healthy, based on nationally distributed health curricula. She is also preparing a national curriculum in health for students in grades kindergarten through six, entitled, Health 'n Me! Her book, Healthy Teens: Success in High School and Beyond, was published in September, 1996, with the support of the school health programs of the State of Michigan's Departments of Community Health, Education, State Police, and the Family Independence Agency. Healthy Teens was immediately sold out in its first printing. A second edition is in print. Dr. McCarthy has conducted several research projects, all of which have been devoted to the health education needs of families.

Since 1992, Dr. McCarthy's company, Bridge Communications, Inc., has been publishing three different four-color, four-page health newsletters for families. Healthy Beginnings is for families with children in pre-kindergarten through grade 3; Healthy Growing is for grades 4-5; and Healthy Choices is for grades 6-8. These newsletters are published twice each school year, and are purchased mainly by intermediate districts. The Healthy newsletters, which reach between 550,000 and 600,000 families each issue, have received many national and state awards.

In 1994 and 1995, Dr. McCarthy published Healthy Preschoolers: At School-At Home to help parents teach their preschoolers about health and safety issues. This book for families was developed with the guidance of professionals at the Michigan Department of Education, the Michigan Department of Public Health, and Children's Hospital of Michigan.

Dr. McCarthy has been the executive editor of a number of manuals and magazines for families related to child development, family issues, and health. In 1991 and 1992, Dr. McCarthy was the executive editor of Good For You!, a 48-page, four-color health information magazine developed with a federal grant designed to expand family involvement in the Michigan Model for Comprehensive School Health Education. In 1993, her company, Bridge Communications, Inc., published a four-color magazine entitled, Healthy Families and Healthy Children, for Growing Healthy(r), a national health education program taught in Oakland County, Michigan. These two magazines reached nearly one million parents in Michigan and across the United States.

Between 1987 and 1994, Dr. McCarthy prepared a column -"The Advisory Board-for the Parent Talk" page of The Detroit Free Press. She currently prepares "All About Families", a column for the Suburban Communications Corporation that features professionals who answer family questions.

Dr. McCarthy began her advocacy for health education over twenty years ago by initiating a health education curriculum in the school system her five children attended. Her civic roles are extensive. She is the past chairperson of the Board of Regents of Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and past Chairperson of the Board of Directors of The Merrill-Palmer Institute, Wayne State University. She has been honored nationally and state-wide with many awards and commendations.

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Chapter 12 - Teen Safety And Crime Prevention
Teens are of the age when they can be away from their families and be more independent-going places with friends or going alone. This new-found freedom becomes a problem for some teens because they feel invulnerable-they take risks. The key to increasing your teen's safety away from home is awareness. The more aware your teen is of possible dangers, the safer he or she will be.

In the teenage years, the desire to belong or fit in is especially strong, which may make your son or daughter go along with unsafe activities, or reluctant to leave an unsafe situation. Share the following information with your teen and help him or her understand that being aware is smart, and will help them stay safe.

Statistics show that people who think about possible crime situations and plan what they would do ahead of time are better off. First, they are more aware of their surroundings and therefore are much less likely to be chosen as targets. Second, they are more likely to be able to keep their wits about them and escape without serious injury if they are attacked.

Sexual Assault
Sexual assault is any sexual act committed by one person against another without that person's consent. No matter what it is called-sexual assault, sexual abuse, or date, acquaintance, or stranger rape- such conduct is against the law and is never the survivor's fault.

Michigan law recognizes four degrees of sexual assault, depending on whether the assault consisted of penetration or of contact without penetration, and on the relationship between the assailant and the victim. The legal term for sexual assault in Michigan is criminal sexual conduct, which puts this crime in its proper perspective and creates a clear-cut distinction between the criminal and the victim.

Sexual assault is a crime of violence and degradation, and has nothing to do with lust or sex or love, and is never the survivor's fault. Force is a part of any sexual assault, which can be in the form of emotional coercion, implicit threats, verbal threats, or physical force with or without a weapon. Rape is always the responsibility of the rapist, not the person being attacked.

Rape Awareness and Prevention
Few people would say to a victim of armed robbery, "You had it coming." Unfortunately, our society has long blamed sexual assault on the victim. The facts about sexual assault show an entirely different picture.
* One in four women is sexually assaulted before the age of eighteen.
* One in three women, and one in eight men will be sexually assaulted at some time in his or her lifetime.
* Most sexual offenders are someone the targeted person knows and trusts.
* Survivors of sexual assault do not lie about the crime. False reports of sexual assault occur at the same rate as any other crime.

Dating and Sexual Assault
Rape is an unpleasant subject-even more so in dating relationships. We don't want to think about it. We don't want to talk about it. We don't want to believe that this violent crime could happen to us or someone we love. Please review the information below very carefully, and then discuss it thoroughly with your teen. Help him or her develop an understanding of the facts about date or "acquaintance" rape. Many such crimes go unreported because the survivors feel they somehow invited the attack by going out with the perpetrator. Although this crime is most often committed against women and girls, teenage boys are vulnerable, too (to attack by men or other boys). Most people find it unbelievable, but boys are at great risk because they do not even consider it a possibility, and have no idea what to do. The element of surprise works in the criminal's favor. Young men are also the least likely to report a rape because of the shame involved.

Your teenager needs to know that sexual assault can happen in relationships. Talk with your teen about sexual assault before they start going out with other teens in groups or on dates. Tell your teen that, no matter what the circumstances were that led up to the assault, rape is never his or her fault. Not all rapes can be prevented, but taking some precautions can reduce the risk. Teach your son or daughter these rules.

* Know what your sexual limits and values are. Make sure you have it clear in your mind whether, with whom, and under what circumstances you would engage in sexual behavior, and how much.
* No always means NO. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are, who the person is, or how you feel at the time; no means no. It is never OK to force yourself on someone. If someone tries to force themselves on you, it is OK to defend yourself.
* Speak up immediately! Silence can be misinterpreted as consent. Communicate to your date your intent and expectations about dating and sexual limits. State your feelings clearly and firmly.
* Stay alert. Drug and alcohol use, besides being illegal, reduce a person's ability to evaluate potentially dangerous situations.
* Act on your gut feelings. Leave an uncomfortable situation-you do not owe anyone anything.
* Do what it takes to stay safe. Scream, yell, or get angry if you must. If people are nearby, yell, "FIRE!" to get their attention (you may want to practice yelling and screaming).

Self-defense Strategies
There is no single plan or tactic that will work in every assault situation. Your teen needs to know that his or her gut feelings about a situation may be the most important self-defense tool he or she has. Your son, especially, needs to understand that it is possible for him to be sexually assaulted, and that awareness is a means of protecting himself. Discuss these points with your teen.

* Trust your instincts. If a situation feels unsafe, it probably is. Stay calm and do not panic-concentrate on your breathing to keep from freezing up. Take your inner feelings seriously and react quickly.
* Get away. If at all possible, get away to somewhere safe and seek help immediately. Never stay in a situation that makes you uncomfortable, whether that is on a date or while walking home alone. Always carry enough money for a phone call and a bus or cab fare home.
* Talk to the attacker. Most rapists report that they never considered the victim a person. Talk about family and parents, or tell the rapist he is hurting you. You may make him see you as more than an object. (Some people have escaped sexual assault by telling the attacker that they have HIV/AIDS or another sexually transmitted disease.)
* Make a scene if other people are nearby. It is perfectly acceptable to shout out loud, "THIS MAN IS BOTHERING ME!" or "GET YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF ME!"
* As a last resort: Fight back. Fighting back may stop the assault and create a moment for the you to get away, or fighting may increase the intensity of the attack. There is no set rule because every situation is different: Use your best judgment. Statistics do show that survivors who fought back were more likely to stop the attack. If you decide to fight back, no tactic should be attempted half-way-you must use all the strength you have to create a chance to get away.

Don't Give Up
There is no one "right" solution or guarantee in a sexual assault, but survivors who don't give up have a much greater chance of escaping. Not all people are physically or emotionally prepared to defend themselves in an assault. Generally, unless people (this includes adult males) have had a chance to think through and/or practice self-defense tactics, they will be at a disadvantage in a hand-to-hand fight with a criminal.

Self-defense classes may help your teen feel more confident about using a physical response. Ideally, families should advocate for personal protection classes as part of a school's physical education curriculum. Rape crisis programs and community education programs may also have information on self-defense resources.

Detroit News columnist, J.B. Dixon reports the results of a Channel 7 (Detroit) survey of rapists revealed that 60 percent would stop an attack if the victim fought back; 63 percent would be stopped by a liquid tear gas or pepper spray, and 67 percent would be stopped by a whistle or alarm.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0962164542
• ISBN 13: 9780962164545
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar