APRIL 2008 -- IN THIS ISSUE:

• Coming soon:
  Children's Advocate May-June 2008 articles
  
  
• What's hot:
  Popular articles from the Children's Advocate archives -- with additional resources
  
  
• Get active:
  Advocacy opportunities and state policy
  
  
• Tips for using the Children's Advocate in your work
  
  
• Subscribe/Unsubscribe

COMING SOON:
Children's Advocate May-June 2008 articles

All articles in English, Spanish, and Chinese!

Grassroots Snapshot:
Riverside parents push developers to create a buffer zone between warehouses and homes

Hot topic:
Parent Voices calls for more state child care funding

Raising kids:
Parents and parent educators discuss fun and easy ways to keep kids learning over the summer

Early care and education:
Teachers and providers offer tips for working with children with autism

Parent Voices:
Parent Voices calls for the state to require paid sick days for all workers

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• Tell us what YOU think about the Children's Advocate articles.
• Read more articles from the Children's Advocate.
• Subscribe to the Children's Advocate.

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WHAT'S HOT:
Popular articles from the Children's Advocate archives

"They miss their parents"

Federal raids in immigrant communities are disrupting children's lives

Families from all over the nation went to D.C. to describe how raids in immigrant communities have disrupted the lives of families. One California mom, Norma Yahira Olivedo Mejia, told about receiving a phone call saying that her husband had been arrested in a raid in Richmond. "I was seven months pregnant…and my husband was the sole provider for myself and our two-year-old daughter," Mejia said.

Read the full article | Download the pdf
Spanish version | Chinese version (pdf)

Additional resources:

• Paying the Price: The Impact of Immigration Raids on America's Children, from the Foundation for Child Development, discusses the impact that recent ICE worksite raids have had on the children of undocumented workers. Finds that the children experienced family separation, economic hardship, schooling interruptions, and mental trauma.
  
  
• The Lost Children, an article from the March 27th New Yorker, describes the detention of immigrant families in a former prison and the impact of the prison-style conditions on children. Reports that the children were depressed and fearful, though an ACLU lawsuit successfully pushed for changes.
  
  

Talking with preschool children about sex

It's never too early to start educating kids about bodies, babies, and privacy

For many parents, talking about sex with preschool children begins with the question "where do babies come from?" For others, it begins around toilet training, when boys and girls may first begin to notice anatomical differences. "My older son announced one day, 'boys stand up to pee and girls sit down,'" says Karen Perry, a mother of two boys, aged two and three. "He was very proud of himself."

Read the full article | Download the pdf

Raising kids
Learning to deal with allergies

Parents need to learn to recognize allergy symptoms and triggers -- and to stay alert!

If Orange County mom Linda Marienoff Coss had not been so alert, her trip to the children's museum might have turned into a trip to the emergency room. In the museum, she says, "there was a mock archaeological dig where kids could pretend to look for dinosaur bones. The dirt didn’t look normal. Luckily I didn't allow my son to play in it. As it turned out, it was all walnut shells, which my son is very allergic to."

Read the full article | Download the pdf
Spanish version | Chinese version (pdf)
Read more articles like this

Additional resources about allergies and asthma:

• Allergy Guide, from Kaboose, provides information on allergies, including symptoms and ways to avoid allergy triggers.
  
  
• Exposure to Maternal Distress in Early Life Is Associated with an Increased Risk of Childhood Asthma, from the January 2008 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, finds that children may have a higher risk of developing asthma if their mothers are under long-term stress.

Mental health for young children:
Experiencing the world in a positive way

When a three-year-old has trouble playing with others and responds to problems by hitting other children, is this cause for concern? What if a small child seems fearful all the time and hesitates to participate in group activities?

When young children seem upset or show disturbing behaviors, it is up to the adults who care for them to figure out the causes and find a way to help. But most child care workers have no training in mental health, and most parents and caregivers lack the knowledge and skills they need to respond to a troubled child.

Read the full article | Read more articles like this

Additional resources:

• Early Childhood Health Problems and Prevention Strategies: Costs and Benefits, from Partnership for America's Economic Success, finds that at least one in five children has mental health problems that cause at least mild impairment. Also finds that it is cost-effective for society to invest in early childhood health -- specifically, improving mental health and reducing obesity, serious injuries, and exposure to tobacco smoke.
  
  
• The Children's Advocate offers additional articles:

For parents on childhood depression (and maternal depression), autism, and ADHD

For early care and education teachers and providers on valuing relationships, ADHD, aggression, and autism (coming in our May issue!)

Heart Start, articles on children's social-emotional development

Going to the doctor

Realistic explanations, stories, and silly rhymes all help kids get comfortable

Visiting a doctor or going to the hospital can be a terrifying experience for a child. The unfamiliar smells, bizarre equipment, and painful shots may take on exaggerated dimensions because children are confused and scared. Recognizing and understanding this fear, a few authors have written excellent nonfiction "guides" to hospitals and doctor's offices. Describing the machines, people, and procedures, these authors show children what to expect and minimize their anxiety. Children's authors have also written captivating and funny fictional stories with sick characters and helpful doctors, showing children why going to the doctor or to the hospital is sometimes necessary and doesn't need to be frightening.

Read the full article | Read more articles like this

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• Tell us what YOU think about the Children's Advocate articles.
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GET ACTIVE:
Advocacy opportunities and state policy

May 7: Hunger Action Day is an opportunity to talk with legislators about issues related to hunger. California Hunger Action Coalition, 415-777-4422 (California Food Policy Advocates)

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• Check out our full list of advocacy opportunities.
• Tell us about YOUR regional or statewide advocacy campaign.

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TIPS:
Use the Children's Advocate in your work

• Read articles in English and Spanish -- and now in Chinese! -- on our website.
  
  
• Distribute formatted, pdf versions of articles from our website to colleagues and parents.
  
  
• Reprint Children's Advocate articles in your print or email newsletter. Please credit the article as being "From the July-August 2007 issue [or whichever issue it is] of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children" -- and be sure to send us a copy!
  

Use the Children's Advocate for

• Outreach: Give to families as a resource.
  
  
• Program and staff development: Pass out at staff meetings as a basis for discussing program ideas or issues in the field.

• Community education: Use as part of parent and provider education, ESL, and support group curriculum. Discuss selected articles.

• Community engagement: Distribute to community advisory councils, leadership teams, and other community forums.

• Advocacy: Use to educate policy makers or legislative action teams.

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The Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children, reports on issues, trends, and public policy affecting young children and their families in California. Check out http://www.4children.org for more Children's Advocate articles. An advocacy listing does not constitute an endorsement by AAC.

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Jessine Foss, Assistant Editor
Children's Advocate, Published by Action Alliance for Children
1201 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Oakland, CA 94612; (510) 444-7136
http://www.4children.org