Extension News: Youth Archives

4-H science education initiative kicks off with Science Discovery Institute Feb. 12

Across the nation, Cooperative Extension's 4-H Youth Development program has embarked on a mission to expand activities that engage young people in science education.

Given the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to our nation's continued economic vitality and to young people's future job prospects, the National 4-H Council has launched a major campaign to promote STEM education, called "One Million New Scientists, One Million New Ideas."

Science Everywhere event Feb. 12

A free 4-H Science Everywhere Discovery Institute at UNH on Saturday, Feb. 12, kicks off New Hampshire's 4-H science plan.

Youth and adult teams will spend a day of hands-on science learning, interacting with UNH faculty and students as they participate in one of four science education tracks: engineering/physical science, environmental science, food/health science and plant/animal science.

As 4-H Science Ambassadors, these youth-adult teams will return to their communities and share their experiences with youth 4-H clubs, schools and other youth programs across the state. Any interested youth-adult teams in New Hampshire are welcome to join and participate in this event.

More 4-H science-ed programs in the works

Our statewide 4-H Youth Development program recently received grants from the 4-H National Council and the Noyce Foundation to expand opportunities for students to experience hands-on science learning.

Four 4-H staff also attended a National 4-H Science Leadership Academy and returned with a plan for the Granite State. At the academy, Rick Alleva, Claes Thelemarck, Michael Koski and Julia Mawson participated in workshops with science education leaders across the country, gathering a wealth of resources to implement here in New Hampshire.

If you'd like more information about 4-H science activities or other 4-H Youth Development programs, contact Rick Alleva in Rockingham County at (603) 679-5616/ e-mail rick.alleva@unh.edu or visit our 4-H web pages.

Largest troop deployment in state history adds new sense of urgency to program

Operation: Military Kids (OMK) New Hampshire had just wound down a successful summer camp season for military kids and families, when another 700 New Hampshire National Guardsmen and women were deployed.

"The September 11 deployment brought to 1,800 the number of National Guard, Reserve, and Active Duty service members who have deployed from New Hampshire in 2010--the largest deployment in state history," says Charlotte Cross, the Extension 4-H specialist who directs the N.H. Operation Military Kids program.

"This large deployment adds a new sense of immediacy to our ongoing work supporting military kids."

Supporting New Hampshire's military kids since 2005

Since 2005, UNH Cooperative Extension's 4-H Youth Development program has served as the local hub of this nationwide program funded by the Army/4-H Youth Development Project.

In New Hampshire OMK supports more than 4,000 geographically dispersed children who have a parent in the Armed Services, as well as the additional 2500 New Hampshire youth who have an older sibling, stepparent, or other close family member serving in the military.

The program, run in partnership with the various branches of the U.S. military and an OMK State Team, consisting of numerous state and local organizations, provides broad support and helps OMK tie into existing resources for kids and families, including after-school programs, Scouts, and Boys and Girls clubs. 4-H clubs throughout New Hampshire get involved in various ways.

Special challenges underscore the need to support military kids

"Because New Hampshire no longer has any military bases, children of military families often feel isolated from other kids with whom they can share their feelings and experiences," says Cross. "Many of these youth have limited opportunities to interact with other military kids for support and connection, and their unique needs may go unrecognized in their schools and communities.

"Military kids who worry about the safety of a deployed family member or react to major changes in their home life, may experience increased anxiety, anger, and impaired concentration. This can lead to decreased academic performance, social withdrawal, and increased risk behavior.

"Deployment often results in changing family roles and destabilization of family systems," Cross continues. "Older youth may need to take on some of the roles of the deployed parent by doing chores or watching younger siblings, leading to less participation in usual after-school or weekend activities.

"Military families have a higher rate of divorce and separation, substance addiction, and child neglect and abuse. And the strain doesn't end once the deployment is over."

Learn more, get involved

It's all about connecting Read Cori's story. Scroll down to bone up on the components of the OMK program and how you can get involved.

Get involved! Opportunities for families, individuals, and community groups to support the military kids in their neighborhoods, schools, and communities.

Hero Pack Guidelines The large 2010 deployment has resulted in requests for hundreds more 'hero packs', small backpacks filled with age-appropriate items, including toys, journals, and cameras, given out to military children when their parent is deployed. Hero Packs are tangible way to salute these youth for their strengths and sacrifices. The packs and their contents are usually donated and put together as a community service project.

Operation: Military Kids 2009 Report Discover all we did last year.

WMUR's Positive Parenting segment on OMK

OMK in the news: UNH student volunteers stuff Hero Packs for military kids

Head for thinking, Heart for caring, Hands for working, Health for better living

Over the past 100-plus years, Cooperative Extension's 4-H Youth Development program has touched the lives of tens of thousands of New Hampshire's young people aged five to 18 with an approach that imparts essential life skills through learning by doing.

Today's 4-H still offers the club structure and projects in animal science, clothing design, carpentry, and vegetable gardening that grandma would recognize.

But you're as likely to find today's 4-H'ers exploring career options, entrepreneurship, nutrition and fitness, computer technology, GPS mapping, rocketry, public speaking, entomology, shooting sports, photography, and much, much more.

Interim results from an ongoing research project at Tufts University suggest that 4-H participation provides measurable and significant advantages for kids across a great range of variables studied. Compared with other youth, 4-H kids had higher grades in school, more community involvement, fewer risky behaviors, and less susceptibility to peer pressure.

"Kids thrive in 4-H because of sustained involvement with caring adults, the sense of belonging that comes from connecting with their peers in safe environments, and engagement in projects and activities that follow their own interests," says UNH Extension Educator, Rick Alleva. "There's no topic a kid can't explore in a 4-H club or afterschool program. All projects encourage mastery, independence, generosity, healthy living, citizenship and civic engagement."

How do we do it?

Well-trained, well supported volunteers actually conduct a high percentage of 4-H programs, as club leaders, project leaders, and on-tap community resource volunteers.

In 2009 4-H programs touched the lives of more than 20,000 young people and involved more than 2,600 adult and youth volunteers.

All 4-H programs engage youth in core activities that emphasize leadership, citizenship and lifeskill development. But because the needs and interests of children, adult volunteers, and families differ from one New Hampshire region to another, you'll find the 4-H clubs and activities in one county differ significantly from those in a neighboring county. Contact your local Extension office to learn more about 4-H in your county.

New forms of outreach: Training afterschool providers, supporting military kids

Nationally and locally, Cooperative Extension's youth outreach never stops growing to meet society's changing needs.

In recent years, the 4-H program has become involved in training afterschool program staff in the 4-H positive youth development model, and in the process increasing access of young people to 4-H.

Since 2005, UNH Cooperative Extension has also coordinated a statewide support system for the more than 4000 children of National Guard, Reservists, and active military personnel called Operation: Military Kids.

Cori's story A military kid speaks for herself.

Operation: Military Kids 2009 Report

Today's 4-Hers tell their stories

Shaping a Life: "I never dreamed I would achieve as much as I have through 4-H"

From farm to 4-H to Dartmouth for Walpole's Kirsten Beaudry

Bridget Aznive, a UNH junior majoring in animal science, grew up on Aznive Farm in Loudon, where her family raises purebred Hereford cattle. Here she shares the story of her 13 years in 4-H.

Ask 100 4-H'ers what 4-H is and what it means, and I doubt you'll find two answers exactly alike. To every member 4-H is a little different as their experiences are never the same.

I began 4-H in Cloverbuds when I was five years old. It was a fun meeting once a month, where I got to make interesting crafts, and the meetings were filled with fun events and snacks.

Learn at your own pace

I moved up into 4-H when I was eight, but I still didn't expect my experience to go beyond making friends and exhibiting the things I'd made at the fair. That's truly the best thing about 4-H, it lets you discover your goals and learn at your own pace.

I compare 4-H to college: the first day of class your professor hands you a syllabus with the goals of the course clearly laid out on paper. In a way there's little room for discovery; by the end of the class you're expected to have learned all the objectives on that sheet of paper.

But when you join 4-H, no one sits you down and says, "Okay, you're a 4-H'er now. By the time you leave you should have developed the skills to make you a better community member, and have improved your public speaking and leadership skills."

4-H lets you discover and build these skills over time, at your own pace and you really learn and remember them better than you will ever remember how calculus applies to everyday life. It becomes a part of you, it envelops you, and you don't even realize the skills you've gained until you sit down and really think about it.

Perseverance, responsibility, teamwork

Everyone learns things differently. I learned the most in the ring with the horses. One of my first-ever goals in 4-H was to get the horse I was riding to trot all the way around the ring without stopping, an endeavor that was extremely difficult for me and probably took close to a year to achieve.

Through the 4-H horse program I learned responsibility. I learned how to fall and get back on afterwards. Although I didn't realize it at the time, each time I fell I had a setback. By getting back on, I learned to overcome those setbacks and succeed.

Working with the horses I learned a lot of lessons in teamwork and patience. You can't force a horse to do something they don't want to do, and in order to work as a successful team, you need to be patient and let things go at their own pace. I learned that I couldn't just give up, that sometimes there is no easy way out without giving up, and that sometimes the best choice is the hardest.

Leading and teaching

As my experiences in 4-H evolved, I focused less on the awards and more on the workshops and trips that catered to my interests, as well as the leadership roles available to me. These experiences not only provided me with immense knowledge but with skills that I was able to build on and develop as I progressed in 4-H and life.

I learned to balance a budget and stay on track as treasurer of both my local 4-H club and my Junior Leaders group, a valuable skill that I have been able to apply in college, to help keep the costs of my education in check.

As I got older I began to help my mom and other 4-H leaders teach the younger members some of the skills I had learned. At times this came naturally to me---encouraging new members to participate in the meetings, being used as an example, demonstrating the different gaits of a horse, demonstrating an emergency dismount, or explaining what I had learned in different projects.

Other times I experienced many difficulties, giving me a new outlook on just how much the leaders had done for me when I was younger. When I helped with the sewing group, I learned that simple tasks like the right amount of pressure on the pedal for the speed I wanted the sewing machine to travel at, and I struggled to find a way to explain it to someone who had never sewn before.

When I joined the Junior Leaders group, I experienced an entirely new side of 4-H. While the number of projects decreased, my level of involvement in the club planning increased immensely. Until then the leaders had a large part helping to keep the meeting running smoothly and coming up with projects that involved members of all ages.

In Junior Leaders everyone was closer in age, and we took more control in planning meetings and events. The level of community service also increased immensely. Large community service projects that everyone could organize and plan took over much of our time both inside and outside of meetings.

Discovering a career path

4-H has taught me so much that helped shape me into the person I am today. As I became active in the horse project, I overcame my initial fear of horses and also learned about the need for large animal veterinarians across the nation. This, along with the love of animals that developed over time in 4-H, helped me set my sights on a career in veterinary medicine.

In college I discovered just how difficult my selected major was, but through the lessons I learned as a 4-H'er, I was able to get through the difficult times, setting realistic goals and ways to meet my goals for each class. 4-H also helped me to overcome my shyness. Today I have the skills to deliver a well-organized presentation and communicate my ideas to others.

These skills have also helped quite recently in the UNH CREAM class, where 29 other classmates and I manage a herd of 26 cows at the Fairchild Dairy. Being able to work as a team makes the process of selecting bulls for our cows, and deciding how to improve our herd while increasing our profits easier.

For me 4-H wasn't just a club I was involved in as a kid, it's a part of my life that has helped me set realistic goals for myself and stay the course. I truly can't get enough of 4-H, and I can't wait to become re-involved with 4-H as a leader after I finish my schooling.

Looking back, I never dreamed I would have achieved as much as I have through 4-H; it's been a life- shaping experience I could never regret.

Another 4-H story

From farm to 4-H to Dartmouth for Walpole's Kirsten Beaudry

Exciting variety of ag-based activities during August 10-13 field trip

Agriculture is the most essential activity supporting human life and well-being, but many young people never get a chance to explore the great diversity of career choices available in food production and food-related industries.

A four-day 4-H field trip to Western New York in August will give them a chance. Participating teens will visit fruit, vegetable, dairy, and grain producers; talk to farmers; visit the Empire Days agricultural expo; meet teen producers; learn about college-degree programs focused on agricultural work, and much more. They'll also be live-blogging their experiences throughout the trip.

Why New York?
Michael Young, Rockingham County 4-H educator who organized the trip, laughs. "It's not as if we couldn't find New Hampshire farms to visit. But we consulted kids in planning this trip, and it turns out that leaving your home state for a few days feels like more of an adventure. We'll follow up with visits to local farms and visits from area farmers."

The trip is open to all youth ages 13 and older in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. The $150 cost covers transportation, food, and lodging,

Learn more, register online

Trip itinerary

Brochure & comprehensive training package available for parents, parent-educators, community groups

"Many years of research have shown that bullying in our schools and in our society is a much more damaging and dangerous experience for children than we ever suspected. Unfortunately, it's also much more widespread and is occurring at an earlier age than ever before," says Malcolm Smith, UNH Cooperative Extension family life and family policy specialist.

"We've also learned that bullying has many serious consequences for the children who are bullied, for the bullies themselves, and for the bystanders who witness it."

Debunking common myths about bullying

To debunk common myths about bullying and offer parents, schools, and communities concrete, practical advice about what to do, Smith has summarized the latest research findings in two publications (order online)

• Understanding Bullying, a 16-page booklet for parents or for schools, agencies and community groups that would like to have a good discussion-starter for parent groups.
• Understanding Bullying: an expanded training package for professionals who work with parents. "This is a comprehensive 'take-and-go' curriculum for parent educators, school personnel, social service, court and other professionals who want to provide parents with the latest research on bullying," Smith says. "The package includes a CD with handouts and resources, a PowerPoint presentation with narrative, links to Web sites and recommended reading on bullying, as well as teaching recommendations and evaluation materials."

"We've included concrete steps parents of victims and parents of bullies can use if they learn their child is being bullied, or has bullied others. We've also included information about the increasing problem of cyberbullying, since today's kids spend so much time online and on cell phones."

Bullying a top priority for agencies and nonprofits

"Bullying is an important priority for several state and federal agencies," says Smith. "The issue is so important that the Children's Alliance of New Hampshire has made bullying its top educational priority for 2010."

House Bill 1523, currently wending its way through the legislative process, would update the state's current bullying law," Smith says.

"It defines both bullying and cyber-bullying and emphasizes that bullying isn't just peer conflict, but always involves an imbalance of power. It will require schools to have clear bullying policies and to use only evidenced-based information to educate teachers about bullying.

"The bill also requires schools to develop policies for reporting incidents of bullying, and procedures for notifying parents of both the victim and the bully." Smith says.

"Cooperative Extension will be offering a series of parent educational forums this spring--at least one in each county, as well as through our 4-H Youth Development program. We will also be offering train-the-trainer workshops for professionals who work with parents.

"These forums will cover evidence-based information on bullying and give them specific information about what to do if their child is bullied, is a bully, or becomes a bystander to acts of bullying."

Contact your county Extension office to learn when the forums and trainings will take place in your area, or email Malcolm Smith for more information.

Download

Understanding Bullying, a 16-page brochure that summarizes the latest research on bullying and provides parents and professionals who work with youth a variety of concrete tips on how to identify and help victims, bullies, and witnesses to acts of bullying.

Order online

Understanding Bullying A 16-page booklet for parents, or for schools, agencies and community groups that would like to have a good discussion-starter for parent groups.

Understanding Bullying: A comprehensive, research-grounded curriculum for professionals who work with youth, parents, and families. includes a CD with handouts and resources, a PowerPoint presentation with narrative, links to Web sites and recommended reading on bullying, as well as teaching recommendations and evaluation materials.

For more than a century, New Hampshire 4-H Youth Development programs have recognized health as one of the four H's of the well-known 4-H clover leaf (joining head, heart, and hands).

With the epidemic of childhood obesity as a backdrop and $50,000 from the Wal-Mart Foundation for Healthy Living and the National 4-H Council, the New Hampshire 4-H program is boosting its statewide commitment to youth wellness with its new 4-H Healthy Living Challenge.

According to Extension 4-H specialist Paula Gregory, "The Healthy Living Challenge will link youth and their families, community wellness groups, 4-H volunteers and after-school staff, and land-grant university experts to mobilize young people and get them excited about healthy living. The program tackles nutrition, physical fitness and safety in three interrelated phases."

• Ready, set, go provides opportunities for youth to learn how to be healthy and fit, discover nutritious foods, and become engaged in physically active games.


• Keep going challenges young people to reach a daily goal of 5-2-1-0: five fruits and vegetables, spending no more than two hours watching TV or using electronic games, one hour or more of exercise, and eliminating sugary drinks and snacks.


• Go public involves young people spreading the word about healthy choices, becoming active locally to foster creative approaches to individual, family, and community wellness. Many 4-H youth will be showcasing their experiences through posters, speeches, demonstrations, and media productions.

"The project will create a statewide 4-H action plan for future healthy-living programs," says Wendy Brock, UNH Extension 4-H program leader. "We hope the plan and the activities that emerge from it will trigger the young people involved to create their own long-term action plans for health."

Project kicks off

The 4-H Healthy Living Challenge was launched in June during the annual four-day 4-H Teen Conference on the UNH campus." Two-thirds of conference workshops featured health and fitness topics. Teen participants received pedometers and a pledge card challenging them to eat nutritious meals, get lots of exercise, and make decisions that help them stay healthy," says Gregory.

"We used the same approach--workshops, pedometers and pledge cards--at the Northeast Regional SET (Science, Engineering and Technology) Forum and a 4-day career tour to New York City.

"During the Career Tour, 42 participating teens and chaperones collectively logged 1,037 miles as they walked city streets learning about careers in the fashion industry. Many 'trained' for the trip by increasing their daily walking during weeks preceding the tour," says Gregory.

More Healthy Living Challenge activities

• In Hillsborough, Grafton and Merrimack counties, gardening programs reached more than 250 children working alongside UNH Cooperative Extension volunteers. For example, at the Massabesic Audubon Center in Auburn, children from inner-city 4-H afterschool and summer programs participated in the 4-H Green Thumb Team initiative. Activities included planning, planting, tending and harvesting theme gardens and individual yardstick-size beds. The Green Thumb teams helped harvest their crops, bringing some to their own tables and donating the remaining 1700 pounds to the New Hampshire Food Bank.


• In August, military youth affected by family member's deployment participated in an Operation: Military Kids (OMK) You're the Chef camp, where they learned about many topics related to food and meal preparation, including nutrition, food purchasing, food safety, meal planning, and cooking techniques. During the weekend, campers prepared four different meals and also enjoyed recreational and social activities such as hiking, nature study, and team-building games.


• 4-H Microwave Magic and Up for the Challenge: Lifetime Fitness, Healthy Decisions are two wellness curricula being rolled out this spring in afterschool programs and 4-H clubs across the state in conjunction with our Nutrition Connections staff.

Learn more

Stayed tuned to our 4-H events calendar Find upcoming health-and-fitness based events.

If you work with youth and want to get involved in the Healthy Living Challenge, call the 4-H Youth Development educator in your county.

NH HEALthy Schools Initiative Learn more about this UNH Cooperative Extension initiative to improve New Hampshire schools' nutrition and fitness environments.

Greta was small, shabby and mismatched. Her dark hair fell in no particular style, her fingernails were chewed and jagged.

Though to some eyes these traits might add up to a disheveled, uncared-for appearance, somehow Greta wore them intentionally, like Pollack's perfect spatters or Basquiat's emotive scribbles.

Greta was one of seven 5th graders participating in my 4-H Afterschool program. She usually worked by herself, slightly removed but close enough to the group to chime in if she needed to. As in, "Uh-uh. Her name was Mrs. Kole," when the other kids referred to the new substitute as Mrs. King.

Greta was a serious and inventive artist. When we were folding origami cranes she insisted on gluing hers to a branch; when we needle-felted wool stars she wanted to make a heart.

She often asked to take her work home. The other kids were happy enough with our routine of work-for-an-hour, forget-for-a-week, but Greta wanted to finish her stuff. In the event that she did finish, she would ask for materials to take home so she could make another.

In return for supplies I became privy to the stories of how she taught her brother this, gave her mother that. With these stories came the teacherly satisfaction that what we were doing within certain walls was moving to the world beyond them.

Yay for me, yay for 4-H, yay for bright, bossy Greta!

The story could stop there, and the most important part--the part about transcending those walls--does. But the next piece of it sticks with me too, and somehow makes the loaned sewing needle and the extra origami paper mean more.

At some point during those weeks I found out that Greta's current home was the shelter in town. She told me this without missing a beat, without hushing her voice, and without lowering her eyes. She wore this information with the same matter-of-fact intention she displayed when she wore one blue and one green sock.

Inspired by Greta's enthusiasm and grace, I've since started a simple 4-H crafts program at the same shelter where she and her family lived. Besides seeing actual pieces of Greta--her drawings on the walls, her family's story on the Web page--I see her focus, grace, and skill in the women and children who sit in a circle around me each week.

(Name and several details changed to protect "Greta's" identity.)

by Arianne Fosdick, UNH Cooperative Extension Volunteer Management Program Assistant

"Throughout New Hampshire, military units representing all branches of the armed services are preparing for large-scale deployments in 2010," says Charlotte Cross, the UNH Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development specialist who directs the state's Operation: Military Kids (OMK) project.

"With more than 4,000 children from military families living in our state, there is a pressing need for support and services to address the unique challenges these youth and their families face before, during, and after a parent or loved one deploys."

Symposium will mobilize community support for military kids & families
To mobilize community resources for these "military youth" and their families, OMK will offer a symposium, Partnering to Support Military Kids and Their Families, Wednesday, October 14, in Concord. The event aims to attract community leaders and volunteers, educators, members of the faith community, and youth- and family-serving agencies and organizations.

Organized by Cooperative Extension in partnership with all branches of the military, the New Hampshire Council of Churches, and the Disaster Behavioral Health Response Team, the symposium will take place at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center on 2 Institute Drive in Concord, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The morning program will feature speakers from each branch of the military and Operation: Military Kids who will discuss the different stages of deployment, how each stage differs among the various branches of service, and some of the support needs for children and families. A guest panel will then take questions from the audience.

In the afternoon, participants will meet in small groups to develop strategies and channel resources that will best meet the unique needs of Granite State military families.

"Because of the significant number of service members scheduled to deploy in 2010, New Hampshire's military youth and their families are facing many new challenges," says Cross.

Number of children affected by a loved one's deployment to rise 10-fold
"To illustrate the increasing need, OMK normally distributes between 100 and 200 "Hero Packs" each year, but in 2010, we expect to distribute more than 2,000 packs," Cross says. "Hero Packs, backpacks filled with items such as disposable cameras, calling cards, stationary, and age-appropriate fun items, are presented to military youth when a parent or loved one deploys, in recognition of the sacrifices these young people make.

"We need donations of items to fill the packs, and donation drives are a wonderful opportunity for groups to engage in a worthwhile community service project."

"We're also always in need of childcare providers," says Captain Ana McKenna, New Hampshire National Guard Family Program Director. "For example, military families join together at monthly Family Readiness Group meetings to offer support to one another and are routinely faced with the challenge of locating caring individuals to provide childcare that includes engaging youth activities.

"There are many ways for individuals and community groups to get involved, and we are excited about the chance to explore ways to work together at the October 14th symposium," McKenna says.

As an added benefit, after the symposium ends, attendees can explore the many Discovery Center exhibits until 5:00 p.m., at no charge.

The symposium registration deadline is October 8th. Space is limited. Cost of $20 covers refreshments and lunch. Questions? Please contact the OMK office at 603-862-2297.

Register online for the October 14 Partnering to Support Military Kids and Their Families symposium

Download the Partnering to Support Military Kids and Their Families flyer

Learn more about Operation: Military Kids in New Hampshire

National OMK Web site

Policy analysts and researchers from UNH Cooperative Extension, the UNH Department of Family Studies, and the Whittemore School of Business and Economics have completed a comprehensive review of the state's Child Support Guidelines and made recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Support Services.

"Even though the current guidelines have been working fairly well for many people, with the rapidly changing economic climate and measurable changes in the patterns of parents involved in child support, it was time to revisit the guidelines," said project leader and Extension Family Life and Policy Specialist Dr. Malcolm Smith.

State and federal laws require the Department to conduct a review of Child Support Guidelines every four years.

Information collected from many publics
Over the past year, the team held public forums in Manchester, Keene, Portsmouth and Littleton and solicited input from people who pay and people who receive child support, other interested parties, and a variety of key stakeholders.

"One of the strengths of this process was the well-rounded approach taken by the review team," said Smith. "This review will be used internally by the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Support Services (DHHS DCSS) and will be reviewed by the N.H. Legislature for possible implementation in the next session."

"The most important feature of our evaluation," said Dr. Reagan Baughman, an economist from the UNH Whittemore School of Business and Economics, "was that we listened carefully to all parties affected by child support and developed recommendations that balanced the concerns of payors, payees and their children."

Recommendations move on to state legislature for action
According to Dr. Michael Kalinowski of the UNH Department of Family Studies, "This final report makes several recommendations, each of which we believe will provide some improvement to the child support formula and practice, and which together form a balanced and integrated package."

"We are very pleased to present this study to the N.H. Legislature," said Mary Weatherill, who directs the DCSS. "Not only because it meets federal and state requirements, but more importantly because it provides an unbiased, reliable economic analysis."

Read the complete 2009 NH Child Support Guidelines Review and Recommendations Report or the brief summary of recommendations.

5-year-old school wellness program becomes HEALthy Schools

After five years of extraordinary success, UNH Cooperative Extension's Changing the Scene school wellness program has changed its name to HEALthy Schools: Healthy Eating and Active Living in New Hampshire Schools.

The program provides New Hampshire schools with resources, technical assistance, and peer support to help them improve their school nutrition and physical activity environments.

"We changed our name to reflect our close collaboration with the statewide HEAL (Healthy Eating, Active Living NH) initiative and other partners," says Valerie Long, Cooperative Extension nutrition education coordinator.

Since 2003, the program has worked with more than 580 school personnel in 330 Granite State schools and Head Start programs. More than 50,000 children have received the health-promoting benefits of changes their schools have made.

Learn more about HEALthy Schools

When Rockingham County 4-H Educator Rick Alleva began work in the fall of 2002, he began by asking around about programs for youth in what he calls the Lower Seacoast--Seabrook, Hampton, North and South Hampton, and Hampton Falls. "The answer? 'Not much,'" Alleva says.

Responding to the need
"Forty percent of adult males in Seabrook never finished high school, and the town has one of New Hampshire's highest unemployment rates. Hampton has one of the state's highest homeless and transient populations, including a lot of kids.

"Drug and alcohol issues are huge across Lower Seacoast towns. Yet the whole area had no special youth development programs for kids who needed them most," he says. So Alleva convened a November meeting of all the local agencies that deal with young people: social service agencies, schools

, police. "Like many such community initiatives, we decided to apply for a grant to fund a comprehensive program of youth development services," Alleva says. “We didn't get the grant, but we had energy. We kept on meeting. In fact we've met monthly ever since."

The Seacoast Youth Leadership Project kicks off
"At that first meeting, I connected with Vic Maloney of Seacoast Youth Services, a nonproft at the time working primarily as a diversion program, providing drug and alcohol education, anger management, and community service opportunities."

Alleva wrote a proposal that was awarded a $200,000 Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) grant to jumpstart an after-school program for the middle-schoolers most at risk. Paula Gregory, the 4-H Youth Development specialist who directs the CYFAR program in New Hampshire, notes that Alleva's proposal "is one of six five-year, community-based New Hampshire projects collectively awarded more than $2 million since the CYFAR program began in 1991."

"The Seacoast Youth Leadership Project kicked off as a two-day-a-week after-school leadership program for middle-school kids who were dealing with personal, social and emotional challenges," says Alleva. "Vic had no staff for an after-school program, so the grant covered the cost for two new staff and I began bringing in interns from the UNH family studies department. We've had five to date, and they've all have been great. "We've gradually migrated most of the annual CYFAR funding to Vic, allowing him to hire a recent UNH graduate and former intern Stephanie Charron full time this year."

The project gets a home
"When the project began, Vic was working out of a condo office in Hampton. At one of our monthly meetings, Bruce Pierce, pastor of the Church of Christ, brought up that his church owned an1845 brick school building they weren't using in Seabrook. Bruce gave Vic a tour of the old Dearborn School that had been mostly a storage facility for years and they worked out a lease.

"With $10,000 cobbled together from small grants and more than $200,000 in volunteer services, we scrubbed and we renovated. We moved in in 2004. Today we have 5000 square feet at SYS with a new kitchen, floors, bathrooms, fresh paint—and the lights all work."

The original two-days-a-week after-school program evolved rapidly to become a five-day a week after-school program with SYS expanding its in-school supports for kids as well. A four-days-a-week, three-week summer program begun in 2006 has expanded into this year's five-days-a-week, eight-week Summer Extreme, featuring field trips, hiking, biking, adventure treks, and more.

Alleva brought special skills
Alleva came to the job after years of experience as a community youth organizer and a direct service provider who'd worked the streets, managed homeless shelters, and run a residential treatment center for youth. The best way to start a program? "You just start hanging out with kids," says Alleva. "All kids are cool. Parents will get involved if you show respect, commitment, and care for their kids."

Alleva adds, " One important feature that distinguishes our programs from many others: we don't kick anybody out. We work around their problems. If a young person has difficulty reading, you need to give him or her extra help and teach them to read better. If a kid has emotional or behavior issues, you don't exclude them, you give them a place to belong where others can help them feel and act better."

Besides hanging out with kids, "I've served as a sort of jack of all trades in the project," says Alleva. "At various times, I've served as grantwriter, participant recruiter, activity leader, and staff trainer."

Wider Extension involvement
"We've also had other Extension staff involved," Alleva says. "Rockingham County Nutrition Connections coordinator Terri Shoppmeyer does food and fitness activities--healthy food is part of everything we do, and the kids are planting a garden this summer. 4-H specialist Trent Schreiffer co-leads our after-school technology program. He has kids building rockets and remote-controlled cars, doing digital videography, and educational computer gaming. Our county family and consumer resources educator, Karyn Blass, co-leads a Girl's Space group and helps with other family activities, and our other family educator, Claudia Boozer-Blasco, has helped with family and parent programs as well."

"But this isn't the sort of project where Extension can come in and give a few isolated workshops," Alleva says. "While our role will change, we need to stay involved and engaged here on an ongoing basis. Vic and three of his staff have all signed on to become trained 4-H volunteer leaders, which will expand their own capacity as well."

Making a difference
"Cooperative Extension programs are supposed to answer the question, 'How did you make a difference?'" says Alleva. "In our case, that's both tough and easy to answer. With very limited financial resources, we now have a program for middle school kids in grades fifth to eighth that began with an idea, started up as a two-days-a-week after-school lifeskills program that in less than five years has evolved into a dynamic five-days-a-week after-school and summer program.

At the same time, substance abuse prevention and intervention activities for middle- and high-school-age youth have been greatly expanded at SYS as well. "We have monthly family nights, when kids cook a meal for their families, movie nights, substance-abuse support groups, cooking classes, a leadership program that does service projects (including adopting a half-mile stretch of Seabrook beach to keep clean). We teach media literacy, team building, healthier living, food and fitness, science and technology, and help kids make good decisions for themselves and their community. This fall, our Techno-Team will be 'going green' and exploring sustainable energy (wind and solar) and environment-sensitive activities."

But the project's evolution hasn't followed a smooth, linear path. "I'd characterize what we've been doing as building the merry-go-round while we're whirling around on it," Alleva says. The network of organizations and individuals that began meeting in 2002 has recently formalized itself as the Lower Seacoast Youth and Family Coalition by drafting a memorandum of understanding that articulates its mission and commitment.

Their vision: The youth and families of the Lower seacoast area are engaged in positive community activities and are empowered to do whatever it takes to lead healthy lives. "You got that?" says Alleva. "Whatever it takes."

Changing the Scene launches Web page

Since 2003, Changing the Scene, UNH Cooperative Extension's school wellness initiative, has worked with school personnel in 403 New Hampshire schools and five Head Start programs, to help the schools improve their overall nutrition and fitness environment.

Based on a U.S. Department of Agriculture program, Changing the Scene works by enlisting school nurses, school lunch personnel, teachers and administrators to survey and improve the entire school environment, from school cafeteria meals to snacks served at classroom birthday celebrations, from expanding exercise opportunities for students and staff to reaching out with health and fitness messages to parents and the general public.

Three-quarters of participating schools have already taken significant steps that include buying fitness equipment, starting before-school walking programs, adding nutrition education to the curriculum, and developing newsletters to send home to parents.

Parents, educators, healthcare professionals and others who want to learn more about this health promotion effort, please stop by our Changing the Scene Web pages, where you'll find success stories from participating schools, sample newsletters, curriculum materials, tips on improving children's nutrition and increasing physical activity, and more

2nd-time winners in financial lifeskills competition move on to nationals in Orlando

For the second time, Sullivan County 4-H has won the state championship in the 2007 New Hampshire Jump$tart Coalition's LifeSmarts financial literacy competition.

The team of five high school students: team captain Allen Abendroth, Rachel Shklar, Amy Barriger, Rebecca Mailhot, and alternate Caroline Mailhot, beat high school teams from Winnacunnet, Raymond, Newfound Regional, Mascoma Valley, and Interlakes Regional.

The Sullivan County team will represent New Hampshire at the LifeSmarts National Competition April 21 to 24 in Orlando, Florida.

What can a child learn down a garden path? Just about everything they need to know, it turns out.

Child care providers, teachers, parents, and others who work with young children will gather for the 3rd annual Growing a Green Generation conference on gardening with children, Saturday, March 17, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Child Study and Development Center at the University of New Hampshire campus in Durham, New Hampshire.

The day will be packed with hands-on workshops led by early childhood teachers and plant science educators. Participants will learn ways to help young children to learn and grow through year-round gardening activities.

Participants will learn from the experts during hands-on sessions in the UNH horticulture research greenhouses. Specialists in Permaculture will share how these techniques might support gardening with young children. UNH Extension educator Margaret Hagen will explain the use of charts and tables from the Growing a Green Generation curriculum, and UNH Extension program coordinator Dot Perkins will focus on integrated pest management.

Afternoon workshops by early childhood teachers and extension educators include: Gardening in an Urban Environment; Gardening with Infants and Toddlers and Creating a Community Garden, One School’s Story.

People registering by March 1 will receive the early-bird discount rate of $75.00; after March 1, the fee rises to $85.00, which includes breakfast, lunch, and all sessions. For more information or to register, download this brochure, or call 862-3200.

During the holidays we traditionally think about providing food to those who can’t afford to provide for themselves. While the holidays are difficult for families with limited incomes, many families must search year-round for food from emergency sources, such as food pantries and soup kitchens.

The New Hampshire Food Bank, the only food bank in New Hampshire, knows the challenges of hunger all too well. Serving more than 350 soup kitchens, shelters, and food pantries throughout New Hampshire, the Food Bank distributed 3.9 million pounds of food last year—up from just over two million in 2004, according to Melanie Gosselin, the Food Bank’s executive director. By supporting the New Hampshire Food Bank, you are supporting an organization that “feeds the programs that feed the hungry.”

New Hampshire’s emergency food system: straining from the need
More than 95,000 people in New Hampshire live below the federal poverty guideline, $20,000 annual income for a family of four. An additional 120,000 people live in households with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty level.

The majority of New Hampshire’s poor adults hold jobs, but earn low wages. From 2000 to 2005 New Hampshire experienced a loss of manufacturing jobs and an increase in low-wage retail jobs. We see this shift reflected in the rise in use of federal food assistance programs and food pantries.

Last year 56,338 people received food stamp benefits in New Hampshire, yet only 54 percent of the households eligible to receive the benefits choose to participate in the program. This lack of full participation in the federal nutrition assistance programs strains the already-burdened emergency food system. Even when families participate in the food stamp program, they must still rely to some extent on the emergency food system, since average monthly food assistance benefit per person is $80.56.
 
Studies reveal the extent of hunger and need in New Hampshire
America’s Second Harvest, the organization that provides networks for more than 800 food banks around the country conducted a national survey in 2005 to determine the extent of need in each state. Food pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens reported increases in requests for their services and survey respondents verified their need to visit one or more food pantries a month in order to meet their family’s nutritional needs. Here in New Hampshire:

• 45 percent of respondents said they had to choose to pay medical bills before food
• 42 percent choose to pay for utilities before food
• 27 percent reported paying for rent before food

The recently released New Hampshire’s Basic Needs and Livable Wage Study indicates that a family of four (two parents, two children, both parents working) must have an income of $48,625 to meet their basic needs—is two to two-and-a-half times more than the average low-wage employee earns annually. The study defines the basic needs as food, shelter, heating fuel, transportation, taxes, basic telephone service, childcare, healthcare, and some clothing allowances. It assumes the family prepares all of their food from home and doesn’t count cable television or internet services—living conditions most of us would consider stark at best.

These aren’t temporary statistics occurring only during the holidays. These figures persist throughout the year and are on the rise. Census and federal nutrition assistance program data show a steady increase in individuals and families looking for sources of food to meet their basic needs.

In October the United States Department of Agriculture released their 2005 Household Food Security Study, which indicates the percentage of people who have difficulty buying enough food for their families because they don’t have enough money. The USDA survey reports:

• Nearly 7 percent of New Hampshire households experience food insecurity because they don’t have money to buy enough food to meet their family’s nutritional needs.
  
  
• More than 2 percent report going without food for a number of days at some point during the year because they didn’t have enough money to buy food.

Need for emergency food supplies will continue
Unless these root causes of hunger and food insecurity change, many families in New Hampshire will continue to require emergency food assistance to meet minimum nutrition needs. You can support the New Hampshire Food Bank with donations of money, food, or time. The virtual food drive is a welcome effort to combat hunger in New Hampshire. Every dollar donated to the food bank has the buying power of four meals. Donations of food with high nutritional value and volunteering are all welcome sources of support.

By Helen E. Costello, MS, RD, LD, UNH Cooperative Extension Nutrition Connections Program Food Security Consultant

Costello chairs the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the America Dietetic Association and sits on the advisory councils for both the UNH Center for a Food Secure Future and the New Hampshire Food Bank.

For more information about hunger and food security in New Hampshire:

• Extension’s hunger and food security pages
• UNH Center for a Food-Secure Future
• New Hampshire Food Bank

UNH Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Youth Development program challenges all youth, their parents, and community youth programs to walk 70 miles—the width of New Hampshire—by June 1st.

All participants in 4-H Get Up and Go become part of a larger statewide initiative, Walk New Hampshire (Walk NH), designed by the Foundation for Healthy Communities and led by pediatrician Dr. Susan Lynch, wife of Governor John Lynch.

Why should only kids benefit? Adults need exercise, too, so we designed 4-H Get Up and Go to encourage parents and other adults to lace up their walking shoes and join their kids in a walk across New Hampshire.

Away from the distractions of work, television, and computers, a long walk or hike makes for quality family time. By becoming more active themselves, parents will model health-promoting fitness for their children.

We also want community groups, including after-school programs, churches, and other community groups to put their best foot forward by becoming 4-H Get Up and Go partners.

4-H Get Up and Go participants will receive a Walk NH log book to record their miles and a special 4-H Get Up and Go Footprint Banner Kit. Volunteers will stitch the banners from all over the state into a single banner, and present it to Governor and Dr. Lynch at a special celebration in June.

Adults and youth who reach their goal will receive an “I Walked NH” certificate from Gov. Lynch and an invitation to join the June celebration.

There’s no charge for participating in this statewide youth and family fitness program.

4-H Get Up and Go is sponsored by UNH Cooperative Extension, in partnership with the Foundation for Healthy Communities, PlusTimeNH, and Operation Military Kids, with support from the Norwin S. and Elizabeth N. Bean Foundation.

For information or to register, download this brochure, or contact Jay Martin or Julia Steed Mawson, at 641-6060.

Walking Resources

• Walk New Hampshire
• Walking for Fitness Overview
• Starting Up and Staying Safe
• CDC’s Kids-Walk-to-School Program

From Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day, we Americans spike our long winter darkness with holidays, bowl games and other special events marked by feasting, food exchanges and a general celebration of abundance.

Yet, according to a report released November 19 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, last year 36.3 million Americans either went hungry or reported uncertainty about getting enough to eat at some point during the year. This figure includes 13 million children.

By national standards, New Hampshire , with the fourth-highest median household income in the nation, has a relatively low rate of hunger. Yet our state’s affluence masks the harsh truth that tens of thousands of Granite State residents can’t stretch their incomes to meet the basic food requirements for healthy living.

Hunger and food insecurity in New Hampshire

Although we don’t have hard data on hunger and food insecurity in New Hampshire , we can gauge its incidence through related indicators like these:

• A U.S. Census Bureau report issued last August estimated that 96,000 New Hampshire people lived below the federal poverty guidelines ($18, 850 for a family of four) at some point during 2003, up from 79, 200 in 2002 and 63,300 in 2000. Most of these people rely on a combination of government food assistance programs and emergency food providers to get enough to eat.
  
  
• The 2003 USDA Household Food security survey revealed that 45 percent of households reporting hunger or food insecurity have incomes above 130 percent of official poverty levels, meaning they probably don’t quality for federal food assistance programs.
  
  “We have real concerns for the thousands of people who earn just enough that they don’t qualify for food stamps and other government assistance programs,” says Val Long, Nutrition Coordinator for UNH Cooperative Extension’s Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program.
  
  “Steep increases in the costs of housing, fuel, transportation and healthcare, as well as food, haven’t been matched by increases in wages. A lot of working families have begun depending on emergency food pantries to feed their families. The emergency food system was intended to be just that: help for temporary emergencies. But people have begun relying on it chronically. That shouldn’t happen in the United States . It’s not an acceptable way to ensure that people are getting a nutritionally adequate diet that keeps them active and healthy.”
  
  
• In 2000, 36,266 New Hampshire residents received food stamps. By 2004, that number had risen to 48,449.
  
  
• Survey results released in December by the National Low Income Housing Coalition indicate that to afford the average two-bedroom apartment (including utilities) in New Hampshire , a worker must earn $16.75 per hour, more than three times the federal minimum wage.
  
  
• By the end of 2004, the New Hampshire Food Bank will have distributed about four million pounds of food to nonprofit and emergency food providers throughout New Hampshire —a million more pounds than last year, according to executive director Melanie Gosselin. “In one year, we expanded membership from 240 agencies to 342,” she says.

New Hampshire ’s emergency food providers

The federal government’s nutrition safety net, which includes the Food Stamp Program, the Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program (WIC) and the School Meals Program, has traditionally built nutritious food and nutrition education into their programs.

In recent years, the net has frayed. Many low- and moderate-income people with incomes too high to qualify for food stamps and other government assistance programs can’t keep up with the escalating costs of housing, home heating fuel, and transportation. Responding to an increase in need, the state’s charitable emergency food system has grown dramatically in recent years.

Founded in 1984 as a program of Catholic Charities, the New Hampshire Food Bank serves as a centralized warehouse and distribution center for a network of nonprofit daycare centers, senior feeding sites, emergency food pantries, soup kitchens and homeless shelters.

The New Hampshire Food Bank maintains an affiliation with a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks and perishable food “rescue operations” called America ’s Second Harvest . The nationwide organization takes advantage of its collective buying and bargaining power, and today serves local agencies that feed needy people in every county in the U.S.

The New Hampshire Food Bank receives food from grocery stores, wholesalers, farmers and individuals, as well as cash donations from individuals, organizations and a variety of fundraising activities. The Food Bank requires its members to acquire nonprofit status, have refrigeration if they plan to store perishable foods, and undergo periodic inspections that ensure safe food handling practices. Agencies preparing food onsite must have state-certified commercial kitchens.

Some emergency food facilities offer classes that promote nutrition and cooking skills to the agencies and their clients. For example, a nationwide program called Operation Frontline, pairs nutritionists with chefs from local restaurants to teach cooking skills and nutrition to clients of emergency food pantries. UNH Cooperative Extension Nutrition Connections staff in Hillsborough and Rockingham counties have collaborated with Operation Frontline to teach classes which deliver nutrition education to Food Stamp clients.

In addition, some food pantries provide other services that range from cash assistance to meet emergency needs for housing, fuel, clothing, and medicine, to job training and health screenings and clinics.

Observations from the field

Persis Gow, the bookkeeper for St. Paul ’s Church Food Pantry in Concord , has noticed an increase in demand on the pantry in recent years and months. “In January 2004, we served people from 25 surrounding towns. In November, we had people from 30 towns,” she says. “In 2001 we added 363 new families—people we’d never seen before. Already this year we’ve had 400 new families, with December figures not in yet. In 2001 we served 3688 children under 18; in 2004, to date, we’ve had 4228.

Gow says people who visit the pantry include elders, single parents, and people with disabilities. “But lately, I’ve noted an increase in the number of traditional, stable, working families—mother, father and children, all with the same last name,” she says. “That’s new.”

Dot Hunt has served as treasurer of St. John’s St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in Concord for the past 22 years. “There are at least 27 food pantries here in Merrimack County , and we’re all busy. Our numbers are up, with 400 new families this year. As many as 1200 individuals pass through each month,” she says. “We’re seeing more elderly, more working families and—what’s new for us—more single young people. Sometimes three or four single people will be living together and one will come in to get food for them all.”

Hunt says the pantry also provides emergency help with rent, medicine, fuel and clothing. “Usually I get about 12-14 requests a month for help with fuel and rent. But one month not too long ago, I had 60 calls. We’re seeing a lot of people facing eviction.”

2005 hunger study

In 2005, the N.H. Food Bank will participate in the Hunger in America Survey that America ’s Second Harvest conducts every four years. “This will be the first time New Hampshire has joined the survey,” says Erin Chamberlain, the N.H. Food Bank’s program services director. The two-part study will collect demographic data from face-to-face interviews with clients of emergency food pantries and soup kitchens, as well as from a survey of provider agencies themselves. “It will give us hard data about who is hungry in New Hampshire and how they deal with it,” says Chamberlain. “The study will also help us learn about what our member agencies are doing for the people in need and what more we could do for [the agencies].”

If you or someone you know needs food

If you face a family food emergency, or know someone who does, find the most available source of food. Call the Nutrition Connections staff person in your county or call your town hall and ask how and where to apply for local welfare. If you have children in school, go to the school nurse for help finding out whether your children qualify for free or reduced lunches. The New Hampshire Assistance Handbook offers sections on eligibility and how to sign up for food stamps WIC, and other government assistance programs.

If you want to help

Besides educating yourself about the extent of hunger and food insecurity in your own community, you can also participate in a local food drive, contribute cash to the Food Bank, or volunteer your time at a food pantry or soup kitchen.

Donating directly to the N.H. Food Bank instead of purchasing food products yourself increases the buying power of your donations. “A $10 donation to the N.H. Food Bank will buy 40 meals for hungry people,” says Gosselin. “Our buying power allows us to sell food to local pantries at only 18 cents a pound.”

Since most local pantries or soup kitchens run on volunteer labor, citizens can also consider donating time. Call to find out if an emergency food provider near you (link to list of emergency food providers) needs help.

Resources 

Nutrition Connections
This list connects you with UNH Cooperative Extension county staff who provide nutrition education to low-income individuals and families in New Hampshire. Staff can help connect you with emergency food resources.

New Hampshire Food Bank
New Hampshire ’s only food bank; warehouses and distributes food to a statewide network of 342 member agencies.

America ’s Second Harvest - America’s Food Bank Network
A nationwide network of more than 200 food banks and “food rescue” operations.

Serve New England
An “alternative to food shopping” that offers families of any income level deep discounts on major brand name foods in exchange for at least two hours of volunteer service each month. New Hampshire has 35 pick-up locations. You can buy a package of frozen meats, fresh fruits and vegetables at about half the grocery store price. No limit on how much food you can buy. Call 1-800-603-4855 for nearest location.

New Hampshire Assistance Handbook

Published in 2003, but updated for 2004, the handbook contains a listing of critical resources for people in need, including food assistance, shelters for the homeless and for battered women, nutrition education, legal assistance, fuel assistance, social services, and much more.

Kids Café
A service of the Salvation Army. Serves dinner to needy Manchester children, followed by an hour of crafts or games, four nights a week

The Paradox of Hunger and Obesity in America
Obese, but hungry and malnourished? This paper, issued jointly by Brandeis University ’s Center on Hunger and Poverty and the Food Research & Action Center , helps explain the apparent paradox of how dual threats of hunger and obesity can co-exist in individuals and families.

By Peg Boyles, UNH Cooperative Extension writer/editor, and Helen Costello, Food Security Coordinator

See also: "It can happen to anybody."

The war in Iraq and the global war on terrorism changed the face of our military and those who serve our country. These families need support. To help this coming summer, UNH Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Camps will offer free week of summer camp to children of deployed parents.

UNH Cooperative Extension and the NH National Guard collaborated with the National Military Family Association and Sears, Roebuck and Co. to provide a summer camp experience for children of military families this summer.

This summer camp experience will provide a unique offering for those involved in the military and those involved with UNH Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development to create a community just for children of military families.

Are you, or do you know someone who is a member of any branch of the military service? Is there a child in the family who would like to go to camp this summer, free?

As a way to do something special for children from military families, Operation Purple Camp takes place at the University of New Hampshire’s 4-H Bear Hill Camp from August 14 to August 19. UNH 4-H Bear Hill Camp is located in Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown.

The National Military Family Association (NMFA), through the financial support of Sears, developed the camps, 22 this year, as a way to get children from across the military services together to learn from one another and share their experiences in dealing with deployment-related stress.

They will learn about different cultures, share talents, gain new skills and most importantly, enjoy much-deserved carefree fun and treasured lifetime memories. The New Hampshire outdoors provides a natural learning environment that helps young people put the chaos of their every day life on the back burner for a week while having fun “being a kid.” The UNH 4-H Youth Development program is dedicating a week of camp this coming summer to serve military youth from New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and other states.

Funding for the Operation Purple at UNH 4-H Bear Hill Camp is from Sears, Roebuck and Co.  Sears’ partnership with NMFA is part of the Sears American Dream Campaign, the company’s multi-year, $100 million commitment to strengthen families, homes and communities.

Operation Purple Camp at UNH 4-H Bear Hill is available to children of military personnel, targeting kids 8-16 years of age. All are encouraged to apply.

The goal of Operation Purple at UNH 4-H Camp Bear Hill is to have all branches of service represented, with emphasis on those service branches from New Hampshire and the New England region. First priority will be to those youth who have a deployed or recently deployed parent (or other family member residing in the same house as camper). Deployment must occur from June 2004 to September 2006.

The registration process runs from April 15 to May 15. Families can call 603-862-2184 to get an application for Operation Purple at UNH 4-H Bear Hill Camp or visit the website and click on the Register for Operation Purple. Click on the Operation Camp Purple logo to learn more about the program nationally.

Background Information

About NMFA

NMFA is a predominantly volunteer-operated 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization with a dedicated group of volunteer representatives, based around the world.  These representatives are the “eyes and ears” of the association. Through their daily lives they embody the military lifestyle, including active duty, reserve, Guard and retirees.  They also interact, educate and inform military families of their benefits.  In so doing, they contribute to the association’s mission: to improve the quality of life for all military families through education, information and advocacy. For more information about the NMFA visit the association Web site.

About the Sears American Dream Campaign

Sears’ partnership with NMFA is part of the Sears American Dream Campaign, the company’s multi-year, $100 million commitment to strengthen families, homes and communities.  From helping low- and moderate-income homeowners nationwide outfit and maintain their homes to assisting victims of natural disasters to providing thousands of children with new apparel, the Sears American Dream Campaign is making a meaningful difference in communities across the nation. For more information about the Sears American Dream Campaign, visit the campaign Web site.

by Chris Conlon, UNH Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Camps Manager

Focus on Fashion
Early in the morning of August 10th, more than 40 New Hampshire 4-H teens and their adult chaperones boarded a bus bound for New York City — center of the nation’s fashion industry—where they will spend four days exploring career opportunities in the fashion business.

Teens in general have a keen interest in fashion, and many 4-H teens have worked on clothing and textiles 4-H projects for many years. Older teens have also begun thinking about their futures. To help teen 4-H’ers connect their skills and interests with their futures, the 4-H Foundation of New Hampshire has sponsored a Focus on Fashion trip to the Big Apple every four years since 1993

“The purpose of the trip is to introduce kids to careers in the clothing and textiles industries by introducing them to the tremendous diversity and vastness of it,” says Lynn Garland, the 4-H Youth Development educator who organized this year’s trip. “They get to see the differences in techniques, equipment, processes, and range of fabrics between home construction and highly specialized kinds of commercial construction. The get to see aspects of the industry they may never have imagined.”

“Our itinerary this year includes behind-the-scenes visits to the garment district, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Fashion Institute of Technology, Fairchild Publications—the publisher of Women’s Wear Daily, the George Simonton’s LPS Apparel Fashion Company, and a shop in the trendy retail SOHO district owned by a woman who left the field of investment banking to follow her dream of designing hats,” says Garland. “We’ll also visit Ellis Island and take in a show at Radio City Music Hall.”

From 4-H sewing projects to Broadway and beyond
If 4-H had offered the Focus on Fashion in the mid-1980s, former Milford 4-H’er Sue McLaughlin would almost certainly have signed up to go.

Her passion for sewing and other crafts, and the artistic, spatial, and people skills McLaughlin acquired during a decade in her mother’s 4-H club, eventually propelled her to Broadway and beyond. After seven years in the wardrobe department at Lincoln Center, McLaughlin joined the acclaimed New Amsterdam Theater production of The Lion King, where she had responsibility for “dressing” the characters of Scar and Zuzu. She later toured with the show for 15 months to cities all over the U.S., maintaining the show’s hundreds of exotic puppets.

“I made it myself”
Because 4-H encourages and enables kids to stay involved in projects long-term, McLaughlin stuck with sewing. She became good at it, and even began designing her own patterns. She took up knitting, woodworking, and other crafts, and excelled at them all.

“I loved being able to say, ‘I made it myself,’” she says.

After high school, McLaughlin worked a couple of years to save money for college, then enrolled in Hofstra University, in Hempstead, New York—close to New York City and its theaters, so she could follow her dream of becoming an actress.

After graduation, she headed for Broadway, but quickly discovered acting wasn’t for her. “I found auditioning before strangers intimidating and overwhelming,” she says.

“By chance, I got a job as a personal assistant, or ‘dresser,’ for an actress working at Lincoln Center in the production of My Favorite Year,” says McLaughlin. A dresser is someone who helps the actors in and out of their costumes during performances, takes care of costumes, keeps them clean, ironed and in good repair—eight or more performances a week can put a lot of strain the costumes,” especially in shows with a lot of dancing,” McLaughlin says. “There are safety issues involved as well.”

“That first job enabled me to join the Theatrical Wardrobe Union,” she says. “The wardrobe supervisor kept asking me back, and I worked a series of shows at the Center.”

“4-H gave me skills I could market”
“Once I got backstage, I knew it was where I belonged and what I wanted to do,” McLaughlin says. I realized 4-H had given me real solid skills I could market: my sewing skills gave me the tools I needed to look after the costumes; my knowledge of how to work with people helped me understand working with people under the kinds of pressure (theater) people work under.”

McLaughlin stayed in the wardrobe department at Lincoln Center seven years, working in such productions as Carousel, The Heiress, Hello Again, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, and Juan Darien. She moved from dresser into other jobs, including assistant wardrobe supervisor, and wardrobe supervisor in small shows.

When she heard of an opening for a dresser for The Lion King, she sent over her resume and got the job. As one of 16 dressers for the show’s 45 actors, she spent much of the next few years in “the bunker,” a huge room under the stage where the actors dress for the show. In photos, the place looks chaotic, with costumes and parts of costumes draped on benches, stuffed into plastic laundry baskets under the benches, hanging from walls, and poking from cubicles. Part of the dressers’ job involves calming the chaos, placing every part of every costume in a precise location for easy access.

Later, when McLaughlin went on tour 15 months with The Lion King as one of three people in charge of maintaining the show’s hundreds of puppets, she used her 4-H spatial and artistic skills to pick up new skills. “I learned to paint with tiny brushes,” she says. “I learned to repair carbon fiber materials using toxic epoxies that required a respirator. I’d worked so much with power tools in 4-H, I had no fear of learning to use new ones; coworkers taught me to sand and to weld. Some of The Lion King puppets actually contain several actors and are constructed around welded metal frames that need maintenance.

“A chance to use my desire and my talent to help people”
Despite “having to work mostly nights and weekends, which made it hard to socialize with anyone outside the theater,” McLaughlin says, “I loved my job. I loved my co-workers. It’s been fantastic. But I fell out of love with New York City. The pace is so driven. I’ve always felt like a fish out of water there.”

Through a colleague, she learned about a graduate program at Pratt Institute in creative arts therapy that would allow her to take summer intensive courses in Lincoln, New Hampshire, and work and serve internships during the rest of the year.

McLaughlin seized on the program as an opportunity “to use my desire and my talent to help people through art,” she says.

To complete the portfolio required for application to Pratt, McLaughlin once again pulled out skills gained in 4-H: “I designed a dress and submitted some wheel-thrown earthenware pottery,” she says. She also had to fall back on her 4-H work ethic. Before Pratt would even admit her into the creative arts therapy program, McLaughlin had to take an additional two years of courses in oil painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, and psychology.

“A window through which to see that everyone has something valuable to offer”
Now working part-time at The Lion King (she’s on tour with the production this month), and halfway through the demanding graduate program, McLaughlin finds herself anticipating a new career. She did an internship with young children last year; this fall, she’ll intern at a day treatment center for drug addicts in the South Bronx.

“Being able to do art with people, helping them find new ways to express themselves, is very exciting,” she says. “And yes, I do see myself coming back to New England.”

Looking both backward and forward, McLaughlin says she gets continuing inspiration from something she heard during a round-robin discussion at a national 4-H conference years ago: “I don’t even remember what I said myself that day, but one of my peers observed that ‘4-H gives us a window through which to see that everyone has something valuable to offer.’ I’ve carried that with me ever since.”

Along with the excitement of a new school year, some students and parents have concerns about bullying in the schools. Studies show most bullying happens at school or on the way to and from school.

The issue of bullying has received a great deal of media attention since the 1999 school shooting at Columbine. Bullying has long been considered part of growing up, but has emerged as an important issue that youth, parents, schools and communities have begun joining together to address. Research shows that bullying is common among children. It is often vicious and cruel and should be looked at as an early form of aggressive, violent behavior. By the age of twenty-four, 60 percent of bullies have criminal records as well as more arrests for drunken driving, domestic violence and child abuse.

Bullying research

Bullies try to control other children by using words or physical means. Bullying usually involves an imbalance of power or strength. Dr. Melissa Holt of the UNH Family Research Laboratory/Crimes Against Children Research Center, reports these interesting findings:

• Current estimates suggest that nearly 30 percent of American students are involved in bullying as a bully, victim or both bully and victim.
• Students more likely to be victimized by their peers include males, students who don’t "fit in," and those who are obese, in remedial education or have developmental disabilities.
• Victimization has been linked to depression, loneliness, low self esteem and school avoidance.
• Students who bully are more likely to have behavioral, emotional or learning problems, be male, be from homes that display indifference to their child or condone fighting back
• Most studies have documented that teachers report lower prevalence rates of bullying than students do. Special attention paid to the school environment, school staff behaviors and student skill development can result in a safer school.

According to the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, bullies may be impulsive, easily frustrated, rebellious, and view violence in a positive way.

Bullying tends to start in the early school-age years. It escalates during elementary school and peaks during middle school. By late middle school or high school some bullies are involved in criminal behavior or may become involved with gangs. At this age bullies can become violent and/or antisocial. They are more likely to get into fights, vandalize, steal, drink alcohol, smoke, start skipping school or even drop out. They may start carrying a weapon. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau has educational materials on bullying.

Bullying involves both boys and girls

Both boys and girls engage in bullying. Verbal bullying, such as making threats, name calling, using sarcasm, and teasing tends to be the most common form of bullying in both genders. However, boys can be more physical; pushing, kicking and hitting. Girls can be more indirect, such as spreading rumors or leaving a child out of activities. Bullying can also occur via e-mail or instant messaging.

Both boys and girls become victims of bullies. While the most common form of bullying for both genders is verbal, boys report more often having been physically bullied. Girls are more likely to say they are the subject of rumor-spreading and sexual comments. Both boys and girls use social exclusion as a way to bully others. Bullies may also threaten not to be someone's friend if the friend refuses to do what they say. Boys are likely to be bullied by other boys. Both boys and girls bully girls.

Signs of bullying

Many warning signs may indicate your child is being bullied:

• Avoiding going to school
• Having grades drop
• Wanting to be dropped off or picked up at school more than usual
• Coming home with torn clothing, bruises or other signs of physical harm
• Complaining of having been "robbed" of money or other possessions
• Showing signs of fear, anxiety or depression
• Having trouble sleeping, frequent bad dreams
• Complaining frequently of headaches, stomach aches or other physical ailments
• Having few, if any, friends with whom he or she spends time

Working to stop bullying

We can all work together to stem the incidence of bullying.

• Kids can ask for help and tell others when they are, or when they observe others, being bullied. If they feel safe, they can tell the bully directly to stop the behavior.
• Parents can learn more about dealing with bullying. They can talk with their children, teachers and counselors if they suspect their child is being bullied or is bullying others.
• Schools can develop an effective bullying prevention program and work to create an environment that encourages courteous and respectful treatment of one another. Bullying situations require close communication between school and parents.
• Communities can encourage partnerships among schools, youth groups, non-profit organizations, the spiritual community and law enforcement agencies to help youth and adults develop tolerance, mutual respect, and skills to deal with bullying situations. Bullying is a form of victimization, not conflict. Therefore, rather than mediating a bullying situation, it is important to send the clear message that bullying is inappropriate behavior that must stop immediately, and that no one deserves to be bullied.
• States can enact laws such as New Hampshire's RSA193-F:3 Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention. This law requires each school board to adopt a pupil safety and violence prevention policy which addresses pupil harassment. A 2004 amendment requires school districts to notify the parents or legal guardians of the district’s policies on bullying, and requires schools to report bullying incidents both by telephone and by a written report sent by mail to the parent or legal guardian of the pupils involved.

Charlotte W. Cross, UNH Cooperative Extension Professor/Specialist, 4H Youth Development.

A recent nationwide study by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) confirms and provides fresh insights into what many teachers and others who work with teenagers already know: American teens don't get enough sleep. 

As a consequence, more than a quarter of high school students report falling asleep at school at least once a week; more than half report driving when they feel sleepy; and nearly a third of teens say they need two or more caffeinated beverages per day to stay awake.

What’s more, nine of 10 parents believe their teens are getting enough sleep, revealing a huge awareness gap between teens and parents.

Adolescence brings changes in brain chemistry

Teenagers’ late-to-bed, sleep-until-noon habits may seem related to stereotypical adolescent defiance. However, brain scientists tell us that teen brain chemistry differs from the chemistry of both adults and younger children. Teens start to secrete melatonin, a hormone that helps to trigger drowsiness at the end of the day, up to two hours later than younger children. This normal hormonal shift causes teens to feel more alert later at night and to wake up later in the morning.

Combine this delay in chemical signals with teens’ obligations to school, homework, paid work, as well as the attractions of TV, video games, the Internet, and interaction with peers, and the result is a serious sleep deficit for many teens. 

The NSF's 2006 Sleep in America poll conducted last fall randomly surveyed 1,600 households across the U.S. The poll, fashioned by experts on adolescent sleep, asked questions of one family member between the ages of 11 and 17 and one parent or guardian in the same household in order to compare their responses. 

Sleep study's key findings

• More than a quarter of high school students report that they fell asleep in school at least once a week in the past two weeks; 14 percent say they arrived late or missed school because they overslept.
• Just one in five adolescents gets an optimal nine hours of sleep on school nights; nearly one-half (45 percent) sleep less than eight hours on school nights.
• The average 6th-grader sleeps about of 8.4 hours on school nights, while a typical high school senior sleeps just 6.9 hours.
• Over the course of a week, high school seniors miss nearly 12 hours of needed sleep.
• More than half of adolescents report feeling too tired or sleepy during the day.
• More than half of adolescents say they know they get less sleep than they need to feel their best.
• Eighty percent of adolescents who get an optimal amount of sleep say they’re achieving As and Bs in school, while adolescents who get insufficient amounts of sleep are more likely than their peers to get lower grades.
• Among those adolescents who say they’re unhappy or tense most often, 73 percent feel they don’t get enough sleep at night and 59 percent stay they feel sleepy during the day.
• Nine out of 10 parents believe their teens get enough sleep most nights of the week.

Unhealthy behaviors

• Driving drowsy: More than half (51 percent) who drive say they’ve driven while drowsy during the past year.
• Frequently consuming caffeinated beverages and foods: 31 percent of those surveyed drink two or more caffeinated beverages a day.
• Napping: 38 percent of surveyed high school students took at least two naps per week in the two weeks preceding their poll interview.
• Giving up on exercise: 28 percent of adolescents say they felt too tired or sleepy to exercise.
• Sleeping late on weekends: Most adolescents are sleeping between 1.2 and 1.9 hours longer on non-school nights.

UNH Cooperative Extension has Family & Consumer Resources educators in each county http://extension.unh.edu/Counties/Counties.htm who offer a variety of parenting programs. If you have questions about parenting teenagers (or younger children), or if you’re interested in the local schedule of Extension parenting programs, contact the county office and ask for the parent educator.

 by Thom Linehan, Family & Consumer Resources Educator, MerrimackCounty


For more information about teens and sleep

• Adolescent Sleep Needs and Patterns
  Full report on teenage sleep habits from the National Sleep Foundation’s 2005 nationwide survey.
   
  
• Signs and symptoms of sleep deprivation in teens
  
  
• Living with your teen: Adolescents and Sleep
  
  

• Later high school start times
  Starting high school later in the day may be an effective way to apply knowledge of adolescent sleep needs. This report describes the experience in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which adjusted their high school start times to accommodate adolescent biology.
  
  
• Lack of sleep
  Learn more about how lack of sleep may affect adolescents

Divorce is hard on everyone, but especially children. Getting tangled up in the legal system can be confusing and can lead to wars between parents, where there are “winners” and “losers” of the divorce. What’s really best, however, is when both parents feel they have won, because this promotes better outcomes for children.

The laws that regulate a state’s divorce procedures can contribute to whether or not parents come out feeling like winners or losers. In the best of cases, the state legislature can provide guidelines on how to make divorce less adversarial. The state of New Hampshire recently has done just that. The State’s Task Force on Family Law has revamped the laws that regulate divorce procedures in the state of New Hampshire. The Parental Rights and Responsibilities Act, which will take effect October 1, changes substantially how the state of New Hampshire approaches divorce.

In the best interests of the child
Weighing what is “in the best interests of the child” has served as the foundation of all child custody decisions since the early 1970’s. Most states outline how to determine what is in the best interests of children, and now New Hampshire will as well, using criteria that include:

• The relationship of the child with each parent
• The ability of each parent to provide the child with love, affection and guidance
• The ability of each parent to ensure that the child’s basic needs are met
• The child’s developmental needs and the ability of each parent to meet them
• The ability of each parent to support a relationship between the child and the other parent and to foster frequent and continuing contact with that parent
• The ability of the parents to communicate with each other
• Evidence of family violence or maltreatment

Language
Enter a New Hampshire courtroom in the near future, and you may be surprised by the language being used. Like many other states, New Hampshire has abandoned value-laden terms, such as sole physical custodian, in favor of more neutral terms, such as residential responsibility, when talking about with whom the child lives. Below are the new terms and the old terms they replace:

• Parental rights and responsibilities: This term replaces the old concept of “custody,” setting forth what rights parents enjoy as parents and what responsibilities the state expects them to meet. It specifies the role each parent will have in making decisions about the children and providing financial support for them.
• Decision-making responsibility: This term replaces “legal custody” and refers to who is legally empowered make substantive decisions about the children’s lives.
• Residential responsibility: This term replaces the old phrase “physical custody.” This new term addresses parents’ responsibilities to provide a home for their children.
• Parenting schedule: This term, adopted by other states as well, replaces the word “visitation.” States and court systems usually adopt this new language, because they want to make sure that “fit parents” never become visitors in their children’s lives. This new language suggests that parents are both permitted and expected to remain parents.

Joint decision-making responsibilities
The new law retains the old presumption that, except in cases of family violence or other forms of maltreatment, parents will adopt joint decision-making responsibilities for their children. To read more about shared parenting visit the Web sites of the Children’s Rights Council or the Shared Parenting Information Group. Both of these resources provide fairly gender-neutral information about joint parenting.

Educational seminars for parents
The new law also retains the old mandate that parents who are divorcing and facing child custody or child support issues must attend an educational child impact seminar before their case can be heard in court. This program, called Children First, broadly addresses how divorce and parental separation affects children. For more information about this program and for a scheduling of its offerings around the state, visit the Web site of Behavioral Health Network.

Mediation
Under the new law, if parents can’t come to an agreement about the terms of their divorce, the court can order the divorcing couple to seek assistance from a mediator. The law doesn’t mandate all disputing couples to use mediation, but specifies that each case be handled on a case-by-case basis. Of course, any couple can voluntarily use mediation if they are having trouble coming to a resolution of their divorce agreement.

For more information about mediation, see this recent issue of Bar Journal of the New Hampshire Bar Association or visit the family section of Mediate.com.

Parenting plans
In many states across the nation, parents are being encouraged to develop a detailed plan for the remainder of their children’s childhoods. The recently adopted New Hampshire divorce law encourages, but does not mandate such plans.

Parenting plans outline how parents will co-parent together and who will be responsible for what. Such a plan is much more specific than a traditional divorce decree and typically includes:

• Decision-making responsibility and residential responsibility for each parent
• A plan for communication, that includes how parents will gain access to and share information about their children
• The child’s legal residence (for school mailings, tax notices, medical provider communications, etc.)
• Parenting schedules, meaning when children will see each of their parents
• Responsibility for what transportation and when
• Procedures to be followed if one of the parents relocates out of the immediate area
• Details of how the plan will be modified in the future
• Guidelines for how disputes will be handled and resolved

In a nutshell, parenting plans are intended to head off future problems. The New Hampshire Bar Association offers a link to good information (from the Massachusetts Bar Association) on how to develop a parenting plan.

For more information

• The final report of the New Hampshire Task Force on Family Law
• Parental Rights and Responsibilities Act
• Helping Children Cope with their Parents’ Divorce

By Emily M. Douglas, Ph.D., UNH Cooperative Extension, assistant extension professor and family education & policy specialist

Youth mappers to chart community resources in Belknap and Strafford Counties

Every community has all sorts of places to go, to learn, to have fun, to work out, to find work and to get or give help, as well as people who make things happen.

But residents can’t connect with resources if they don’t know about them, and community leaders can learn more about the resources their communities lack once they’ve identified the ones they already have.

Identifying and documenting community assets will provide summer work for about 40 young people ages 14-20 in Belknap and Strafford Counties who will pilot a “community youth mapping” process organizers hope will spread statewide.

Between July 20 and August 5, teams of young people working with adult mentors in the pilot counties will fan out into local communities to identify and “map” their local assets. Decked out in colorful t-shirts that identify them as youth mappers, the teams will canvass neighborhoods, surveying businesses, service agencies, recreation programs, churches, health care facilities, emergency services, and a host of other resources, including many not listed in traditional service or business directories.

Once the teams have designed their surveys, conducted their interviews, and recorded their data, they—and perhaps others—will enter their information into an online database with interactive maps they can update and expand as the project grows.

In addition to gaining valuable skills and gaining a broad understanding of their local communities, those involved in the mapping project will earn either academic credit or cash for their work.

Getting young people involved in asset mapping
“Asset mapping is the name given to the process by which community members take stock of community strengths and assets,” says Charlotte Cross, a UNH Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development Specialist who organized and leads the project. “Youth mapping brings young people into the process.”

Through her work with nonprofit agencies serving youth, college faculty, businesses, the criminal justice system, community leaders, teachers, school administrators, and parents, Cross had discovered tremendous interest in the concept of youth asset mapping.

“I spent the past three years looking at various models that would offer tools and training materials, and help communities with planning, training and organizing the data collection. The Academy for Educational Development (AED), Center for Youth Development and Policy Research, kept rising to the top,” she said. “They’d developed and tested a model they call Community YouthMapping (CYM) that’s been used in more than 100 sites across the U.S., as well as in other countries, including Haiti, Egypt, the Netherlands and parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. AED had credibility and funding from many foundations and government agencies. And they’d developed a nationwide online Community YouthMapping Web site where local teams can store, update and access their information.”

Project history
In March, Cross had recruited a group of five co-sponsoring organizations (see links at end of article) and convened an orientation meeting to gauge interest in community youth mapping, inviting an AED consultant to give a presentation on the specifics of the organization’s CYM model.

“We had a tremendous response,” Cross says. “Seventy people showed up, representing youth-serving organizations from all over New Hampshire, and 30 said they’d be willing to serve on a statewide CYM steering committee.

“What’s more, two agencies immediately stepped forward and offered themselves as pilot sites for this initiative: the Community Response Coalition (CoRe), in Belknap County and the Transition Resource Network at Strafford Learning Center, covering Strafford County. The two groups collectively committed $77,800 of their existing funding to pilot the initiative locally.” The county sponsors recruited youth for the project through schools and youth-serving agencies.

Youth mappers develop individual and team skills while serving the entire community
“Community youth mapping is designed to be the foundation of a community’s information infrastructure,” says Cross. “It involves a comprehensive process that supports the entire community, while serving those youth immediately involved in the process.”

“Overall, it’s a youth development initiative. I think of it as ‘supervised fieldwork,’” she says. “The youth involved learn valuable workforce skills, such as how to conduct interviews, record information, work with databases, analyze, report, and present what they’ve learned.

“They also develop important job-readiness ‘soft’ skills: teamwork, conflict resolution, communication, professional behavior. They take leadership roles that help build self-esteem. They learn more about and become more engaged their communities.”

In trainings held July 18-22 in both counties, the teens and their adult mentors were introduced to the Community YouthMapping process and the survey tool they’ll use to collect and record information. “The training features role-playing, canvassing safety, dealing with difficult people, professional protocols, interpersonal relations and daily expectations on the job,” says Cross.

Next steps
“We’ve received a $25,000 grant from the N.H. Workforce Opportunity Youth Council we’ll use to purchase the statewide license that will enable all participating communities to access the online CYM system and pave the way for future projects among the dozens of organizations that have expressed interest in sponsoring youth mapping programs locally,” says Cross.

This fall, Cross says she’ll bring all interested parties together for a follow-up workshop to share the results of the summer pilots and form a statewide CYM steering committee.

“State legislators have also expressed interest in the project,” she says. “In June, I was invited to give a presentation to the Legislative Caucus for Young Children, and they’ve invited me back this fall to discuss the results of our summer pilots.”

For more information about Community Youth Mapping Initiative, contact Charlotte Cross at (603)862-2495.

For more information about CYM’s co-sponsoring partners

• Belknap County Citizens Council
• Community Response (CoRe)
• Makin’ It Happen
• N.H. Department of Health and Human Services, Maternal and Child Health
• Reclaiming Futures

Child sexual abuse is a largely hidden problem in New Hampshire, as it is around the world. We hear a lot about child sexual abuse in the media, and some people feel our attention to the topic has been overblown. But in reality, the sexual abuse of children persists in a climate of secrecy within families.

Two levels of conversation about child sexual abuse

We have two levels of conversation about child sexual abuse in our society: public and private.

At the public level, we almost universally condemn sexual abuse and describe perpetrators as deviant and despicable people. Despite the fact that most people who commit child sex abuse are people their child victims depend on for the very basics of life—food, shelter, and emotional support, we still tend to teach our children about the danger of strangers. That’s partly because people find it difficult to face, and even more difficult to act upon, the fact that someone they know and may even love could be sexually abusing a child.

The complexity of the situation at the private, personal level is masked by the simplistic portrayals of child molestation we typically see on TV and in movies. For example, perpetrators often make children feel responsible for the abuse. This makes it difficult for victims to tell their story, since they may feel they have to incriminate themselves to tell the truth about their situation. Child victims abused by perpetrators upon whom they depend for survival and emotional support, rightly feel conflicted about accusing their abusers of harm.

In typical media depictions, all children are pure and innocent and all molesters are evil. In these narrow portrayals, child victims of sexual abuse often don’t see or hear their own story of abuse. If children have feelings of affection toward their abusers, or if they’ve gone along with the abuse or responded to the sexual advances, they rightly fear they will be judged if they tell their story. And when victims do speak out, they often find that while the people around them believe the sexual activity occurred, they may attribute some responsibility to the child.

Research has shown that nationwide, around 90 percent of sexual abuse cases are never reported to the authorities. Even when cases are reported and investigated, New Hampshire state law requires child protective workers to meet a high burden of proof in court before cases are substantiated and families are provided with services or children are removed from abusive situations.

So what can we do?

Our Science article offers national policy recommendations that would begin to plug the gaps in our knowledge of child sexual abuse and how to treat it effectively. But there is a lot we can do as members of our local communities to prevent child sexual abuse.

• Respect children. Respect children’s right to say no to any touch. Do not tickle, roughhouse, or touch children in any way once they indicate they don’t want to be touched. It isn’t OK forAunt Agnes to kiss little Jimmy or squeeze his cheeks if he doesn’t want her to.
  
  
• Teach children “good touch.” Infant massage, foot massage, hugs, and other appropriate forms of touch are opportunities to help children learn to recognize what good touch is. You can help even very young children identify how their muscles feel, and how they think and feel when they experience wanted, appropriate touch. A surprising amount of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by other children and teens. Give the clear message to your children that they must respect other people when they say no to touch. What feels good to one person may not feel good to another.
  

• Look for warning signs in perpetrators. Teaching children to protect themselves and looking for signs of abuse in children are secondary measures that aren’t, in and of themselves adequate. Ultimately, to stop sexual abuse, we need to stop people from abusing children. If you suspect a particular child is in danger, or a particular adult is having sexual contact with a child, you must report it to the Bureau of Child Protection by calling the N.H. Child Abuse Report Line at 1-800-894-5533. If you have a more general concern, look at the resources at Stop It Now, or call 1-888-PREVENT.
  

• Learn more about, and continuing supporting, the N.H. Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF). While child protective services aren’t the full answer, DCYF plays a crucial role. They do much more than remove children from dangerous situations. They work with families every day in which sexual abuse is a concern. With the support of New Hampshire citizens, DCYF could take a leading role in teaching New Hampshire citizens to recognize signs of abuse in both perpetrators and victims, and take action.
  
  
• Fund sex offender treatment. Treatment can work. One thing we know doesn’t work is simply sending offenders to prison with no treatment. Stop It Now helps abusers come forward and get treatment or call 1-888-PREVENT.
  
  
• If you’re an adult or teenwith concerns about yourself and this issue, please take the first step and call this toll-free helpline at 1-888-PREVENT (1-888-773-8368), or visit this Web site.

by Kathy Becker Blease, PhD, UNH Cooperative Extension Family Education and PolicySpecialist

For more information

• How you can help stop child abuse & neglect
• Warning signs of child sexual abuse
• Common questions about child sexual abuse
• If you worry about your own sexual feelings toward children
• Child sexual abuse resources

On Sunday, it’s quiet – by Friday, the laughter is contagious. That’s because over 100 youth from across New England, children of military deployed parents, have come to know one other, making new friends and finding someone they can talk to about having a parent or caregiver off to Iraq or one of several other military assignments overseas.

These children, who find themselves “Suddenly Military” when a member of their family leaves for military deployment, were at “ Camp Purple ” this past week at the UNH 4-H Camp at Bear Hill State Park . free through the efforts of UNH Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Youth Development Program, with support from the National Military Family Association and Sears, American Dream Campaign.

Operation Purple is the designation for all military branches working together. The overall goal is to provide the youth with a normal camp experience, showcasing the different branches of the military. Each day features a different branch of the military through a flag raising ceremony and playing of their branch anthem.

Whether it was learning archery or swimming, by the end of the week, the camaraderie among the kids was apparent. Arm and arm, they’d trudge up the stone steps to the dining hall to “sing” for their lunch, try to win the most points on the archery range or just have fun on the beach or in the water. One camper proudly showed off the felt “frog” she’d made in the arts and crafts class.

Thursday was New Hampshire Day, and helping serve lunch was UNH Cooperative Extension’s Dean and Director John Pike and Maj. Gen. Kenneth Clark, Adjutant General of the NH National Guard. As 4-H Youth Development Program Leader Wendy Brock noted, “It’s all about the kids.”

New Hampshire is one of 15 states participating in Operation: Military Kids (OMK) for National Guard and Reserve youth and families left behind.  As the lead organization for the NH OMK program, UNH Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Youth Development Program, with its network of youth development programs throughout the state, has worked closely over the past several months with the Army and Air National Guard.

National Guard units receive support through the Family Assistance Centers in Concord , Hillsboro , Littleton , Manchester , Portsmouth and Somersworth. Each center supports families throughout the state. At Operation Purple Camp, young people, ages 8-16 years, this week had the opportunity to master new skills from swimming, archery and crafts, and along the way learned about leadership skills experienced generosity while doing a service activity; and associated with other youth who have the common bond of a deployed family member.

The goal was to provide youth with a normal camp experience, showcasing with pride the different branches of the military. Each day features a different branch of the military through a flag raising ceremony, playing of their branch anthem and hopefully having some representatives from that branch of the military in attendance.

Click here for photos.

An article entitled The Science of Child Sexual Abuse, co-authored by Kathy Becker Blease, UNH Cooperative Extension Family Education and Policy Specialist, appears in the April 22 issue of the journal Science.

In the Policy Forum article, Becker Blease joins lead author Jennifer Freyd of the University of Oregon and a team of experts in psychiatry, law, political science, and psychology, to summarize scientific findings on the topic and offer recommendations to researchers and policy makers.

The authors cite research on childhood sexual abuse, which shows:

• an association between child sexual abuse and serious mental and physical health problems, substance abuse, suicide, victimization and criminality in adulthood.
  
• most child sex abuse is committed by family members and individuals close to the child, which increases the likelihood of delayed disclosure and possible memory failure and increases the potential for negative reactions by caregivers and lack of intervention.
  
• 20 percent of women and 5 to 10 percent of men worldwide report incidents of sex abuse in childhood.
  
• nearly 90 percent of child sex abuse cases are never reported to authorities.
  
• cognitive and neurological mechanisms that may underlie the forgetting of abuse.

To address serious gaps in the research-based understanding of child sex abuse, and problems caused by a knowledge base scattered across many disciplines, the authors call for:

• vigorous interdisciplinary research efforts to determine the prevalence of child sex abuse and identify its causes and consequences, prevention and treatment.
  
• expanding the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, a federally funded coalition of 54 centers providing community-based treatment to children and their families.
  
• creating an Institute of Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence within the National Institutes of Health.

“A 1996 U.S. Department of Justice Report estimated the annual cost of rape and sexual violence against children at $1.5 billion in medical costs, and $23 million in overall costs,” says Becker Blease. “Expanding our efforts to understand, prevent, and treat child sexual abuse will help us provide better training to health professionals, provide better scientific documentation to policy makers, and raise the levels of both public and private awareness on this important topic.”

Link:

• The Science of Child Sexual Abuse (manuscript version)

• Program Goals
  Parents and caregivers should look for programs that have evidence of five defining characteristics known as the Five C's. They are competence, confidence, connections, character and caring. Competence promotes the enhancement of specific skills, either academic or hands-on. Confidence relates to self-esteem, and a sense of identity. The third C, connections, builds relationships between the youth and peers, teachers, parents, youth leaders and others in the community. Character refers to increased self-control, cultural development, spirituality, morality and a decrease in unhealthy behaviors. The fifth C, caring, targets youths' ability to understand and identify with others. The 4-H Youth Development program framework would add another C, contribution, which encompasses "making a difference in the lives of others through service."
  
  
• Program Atmosphere
  The quality of youth development programs also depends on atmosphere. Caregivers and volunteers' attitudes, behaviors and principles are an important factor in the success of the program. Roth and Brooks-Gunn describe atmosphere in five dimensions. First, atmosphere encourages development of supportive relationships with adults and among peers. Programs should also focus on empowering youth, or allowing youth to be involved in decisions so they believe they really can make a difference. There should be clear expectations for positive behavior and recognition for good behavior, or demonstrated success in a particular skill. Finally, youth programs must provide stable and relatively long-lasting services.
  
  Program Activities
  Successful youth development programs use the 5 C's (competence, confidence, connections, character, and caring) to achieve their goals. Programs should last for at least a school year to create a supportive, empowering environment, encourage youth to contribute to their community and ensure youth are recognized for their contributions. Finally, programs should foster opportunities to build and develop skills, talents, and positive activities to broaden their horizons.
  
  UNH Cooperative Extension's 4-H Youth Development program has examples of exemplary programs such as 4-H Clubs, and youth involvement in local community initiatives, but what of other examples in New Hampshire?
  
  One example is the New Heights-Adventures for Teens program in Portsmouth whose mission is "to assist youth to develop the competence, character, confidence, and resiliency necessary for a healthy and successful adulthood." Teens can hang out in the Teen Center from 11-4:30 pm (in the summertime), participate in an activity workshop, take part in fundraising and much more. Adventure trips include surfing, wilderness workshops, canoeing, white water rafting, and even urban adventures.
  
  Youth in grades 6-12 are welcomed as part of the New Heights activities with a staff/participant ratio of one to five or less. A one-day orientation welcomes new teens to the program. Another program in New Hampshire that reaches youth is Girls Inc., whose "prevention and empowerment" programs have been around for 30 years. Currently Girls Inc. serves girls in six locations, Nashua, Concord, Belmont, Manchester, Newport and Rochester. Programming is offered in after school, summer camp, and community outreach centers. Check their website to see the list of possibilities from Friendly PEERsuaion, the substance abuse prevention and education program; to Sporting Chance, development of basic athletic skills.
  
  Some communities have successful Youth to Youth programs. Youth to Youth, founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1982, is a community-based program working to prevent adolescent alcohol, tobacco and drug use. It is primarily a youth leadership program with teens as the nucleus, working in partnership with adults to prevent substance use in their local community. The Dover Police Department provides an excellent example. What all these (and the many others in New Hampshire) have in common are well-defined program goals in a specific kind of atmosphere with activities that empower youth by enhancing talents and abilities.

“Young children love to dig in the dirt, pick flowers, and pull up plants to see how they grow. They have a fascination with bugs, beetles and worms,” says Extension program coordinator Dot Perkins.

“The Growing a Green Generation children’s gardening curriculum takes advantage of that fascination, using a gardening environment to teach basic skills and foster a love of nature.”

For three years, Perkins has helped develop, evaluate and refine the gardening curriculum, a project begun in 2000 as a collaboration between the UNH department of plant biology and the Child Study and Development Center.

Growing a Green Generation offers parents and teachers a storehouse of information and child-tested activities that introduce children to basic botany, soil science and a full sequence of gardening tasks, from measuring the garden area, to planting, weeding, watering, fertilizing, mulching and harvesting. It offers instructions for creating eight different theme gardens, numerous garden-related arts and crafts activities, garden-related experiments, snacks, songs, games and trips, as well as useful tables and references for teachers.

“We’ve designed the activities to engage all the senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch,” says Perkins, “We’ve included sections on container gardening for situations in which children don’t have access to a plot of land,” says Perkins. “The projects use recycled and inexpensive, commonly-available materials. Yes, you can buy a $30 root view—that’s a device with a window that lets you look at what’s going on with the plant below the soil surface—but a recycled soda bottle works just as well.”

“Our main goal for the project was to create a curriculum that would allow pre-school and kindergarten teachers, day care providers, and parents who’ve never planted a seed to have a successful experience with young children in the garden,” says Perkins. The project receives financial support from the Anna and Raymond Tuttle Environmental Horticulture Fund.

Colorful icons accompanying each activity page provide a quick visual overview of the skills the activity helps develop and the plant knowledge children will gain from it. Each activity page tells how much time the activity will take, then moves on to list the learning objectives, materials needed, set-up instructions, sequence of actions, questions teachers can ask to stimulate children’s thinking about the activity, and a glossary of new terms the activity presents.

Teachers and children the CSDC and New Hampshire Technical Institute’s Child and Family Development Center have tried and tested all the activities; the curriculum appends a section of comments Perkins collected during the project’s evaluation phase.

“The curriculum will continue to grow and evolve as we try new things and get feedback from teachers and others who use it,” she says. “Please get out into the garden this summer, try out some of our activities, and help grow the next green generation. We’d like to hear from you!”

March 19: Growing a Green Generation

A conference on learning with young children through the joy of gardening

Today's To-Do List: get the kids ready for school, do a load of laundry, work eight hours, pick up the kids from after-school care, shop for Christmas gifts, pick up dinner, feed daughter before dance lesson, take daughter to dance lesson, start wrapping Christmas gifts, finish decorating tree, feed son before basketball practice, pick up daughter from dance lesson, help kids with homework, do dishes, put kids to bed - the list continues. Some days the "to-do" list never ends, and it grows even longer around the holidays. With long work days, complicated school schedules and extra-curricular activities, everyone is pulled in different directions. Many parents find it difficult to keep up with their children's lives, not to mention their own. Days may go by without the whole family spending any time together at all.

One important way families can stay connected is by sharing a meal. Finding time each day when everyone can sit down together goes a long way toward strengthening family bonds. According to recent surveys, less than half the families in the United States actually sit down to a meal on a regular basis. Yet, studies report family meals are strongly related to the development of adolescent mental health and stability. A Harvard Medical School study found there are nutritional, as well as social, emotional and academic advantages that occur in children when families share meals together.

Eating together regularly promotes adult-child communication skills such as listening patiently to each other and expressing one's opinion is a respectful manner. Since children thrive on routines, family meals foster a sense of security and stability. Mealtimes also provide a time for shared learning about family traditions, cultural heritage, and family values. So how are busy families expected to fit this important "to-do" item on their daily list? Consider it a Christmas gift everyone gives to each other, and make family mealtime a priority. Choose a time and put it on the calendar. Just as you would schedule basketball practice or time for dance lessons, plan ahead for family mealtime.

Think creatively and make adjustments to fit your family's schedule. Family mealtime doesn't always need to be at dinnertime. You could plan a Saturday breakfast or Sunday lunch. A picnic on a blanket before or after a ball game counts too. It could also be everyone enjoying pizza at a local restaurant.

If your family usually watches television during mealtime, decrease the habit slowly. Begin with one or two television-free meals a week and gradually increase the number. By turning off the television, you eliminate the distraction that can interfere with mealtime conversations. Let the answering machine pick up calls or turn off the phone ringer to avoid interruptions. A phone call can always be returned after the meal.

The Food Guide Pyramid recommends serving a variety of foods, but that doesn't mean you need to prepare an elaborate five-course meal every night. Keep meals simple and easy. You may decide to serve the same favorite food on a certain day of the week. For example, Friday is pizza day. Family meals are a perfect time to teach children about making nutritious food choices as well as a time for modeling good table manners.

To keep the family coming back to the table, make mealtimes pleasant and fun. Focus on positive table conversations by asking questions such as, "What was the best thing that happened to you today?" Everyone should listen attentively and avoid criticism or rude behaviors. Involving children in the planning, preparing and serving of meals helps build teamwork and cooperation. Listen to their meal suggestions and invite them to help create memorable holiday foods and decorations. For a special treat, light candles on the table or use flowers to create a pleasant atmosphere.

Today's Ta-Da! List: gave the gift of a family meal, spent time and reconnected with the children, enjoyed nutritious food and pleasant conversations and strengthened family values.

Alice Mullen, MS, RD UNH Cooperative Extension Family Development, Hillsborough County

“Why do I have to go to sleep anyway?”

If you have a child and you haven’t heard this question, it’s probably because your child hasn’t started talking. Children have amazing amounts of energy. They can play for hours and they don’t want to miss out on anything going on around them. In general, children don’t like to go to sleep. So, when you ask them to go to bed, you’re asking them to do something you want them to do, not what they want to do.

But human beings can’t stay healthy without enough sleep. Sleep allows the body to relax and refuel. Bedtimes can be warm, cuddly times and are also good times to review the day’s events. Quiet talks before sleep can become some of the most enjoyable times you spend with your child.

Having a plan helps children get ready for bed and makes that transition easier. Stories, games and songs are useful in the initial stages of the transition. Anticipating the child’s needs and challenges also eases the transition. Your plan should consider the needs of all the children in the household, as they are most likely at different stages.

Children differ as to the amount of sleep they need as well as when they need it. During the first four years, most children take naps in the afternoon. That habit is outgrown naturally when they need less sleep. Sleeping is like eating to children – they will eat if they are hungry and they will sleep if they are tired. Trying to force either of these activities usually leads to major difficulties for both of you.

Establish a routine

Having a certain bedtime, complete with rituals and regularity, is important for growing children and their parents. Researchers who study sleep behaviors have found that children who go to bed and get up at different times each day instead of at set hours often have trouble falling asleep at night. They believe that children should go to bed at the same time every night, including weekends, and get up at the same time every morning. They believe that by consistently sticking to a bedtime ritual, children will fall asleep easier and bedtime will be a more pleasant time.

Regular bedtimes encourage children to develop predictable habits of sleeping at night. It’s important to realize that bedtime rituals and habits change as children grow older and become more independent.

Infants’ sleep needs

New babies alternate between being asleep and being awake without any knowledge of the difference between day and night. Newborn babies will sleep about 16 hours a day at first. Older babies need at least two naps a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, each lasting from one to three hours. Clues such as fussing, turning their heads to one side, sucking their thumbs or pieces of material, usually tell when babies are tired and ready for sleep. If you pick up on these signs of sleepiness and put them to bed, they will usually go right to sleep and wake several hours later happy and content.

If babies cry right before nap or bedtime, they may be overly tired. You can rock them, give them a back-and-forth movement in a carriage or crib, or rock them in your arms as you walk. Many babies wake up from naps feeling happy and alert. They may not make any noises at first, preferring to play quietly with their hands or “talk” softly to themselves. If babies wake up groggy or grumpy, physical exercise will help. Move their arms and legs back and forth gently, or encourage them to crawl across the room to reach an interesting toy.

Place healthy babies on their backs when putting them down to sleep. Research indicates this can reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Do not put babies to sleep on soft surfaces or with pillows or stuffed toys. These could cover a child’s airway.

Answer an infant’s cries immediately, change her diapers, offer her a drink or reassure her until she falls asleep again. By responding to her needs, you can help the infant develop trust.

Toddlers

Most toddlers rest during part of the day. Naps help keep children from feeling overly tired and actually help them sleep better at night. Toddlers between ages two and three may sleep nine to 13 hours a day. Many toddlers will take one long nap around lunchtime. Others may take two shorter naps.

Two-and three-year-olds often feel anxious about being alone and going to sleep. Many will demand that a hall light be left on or a door be left open. Soft light and the opportunity to hear household noises are reassuring. Some call you back to their rooms several times to be given drinks, kisses or a favorite stuffed animal. It is important for you to answer these calls up to a limit. After two or three times tell your child you will come back once more, but after that you he will need to go to sleep. Follow through on what you say.

Four- and five-year-olds

Most four- and five-year-olds go to sleep at night quite easily. Older preschoolers may play so hard during the day they even ask to go to bed at night. Because preschoolers are known for their dawdling behavior, some need a “pre-sleep” time and a “sleep” time. Children can use the pre-sleep time to tuck in their toy bear families, undress their dolls, color, “read”, sing or do a puzzle. The sleep time, a “turning out the light” time, can follow 15 minutes later.

Preschoolers have especially active imaginations. After age four, they begin to have dreams and nightmares. Sometimes these bad dreams wake them up and make them feel afraid. Their dreams often are about scary animals and it also is common for some preschoolers to have dreams involving fire, water or the ability to fly. Preschoolers even dream they are superheroes! Dreams usually happen during the first two hours after the children go to sleep, so it is a good idea to be especially alert to calls for help during this time period.

If your child has bad dreams, go to him quickly and reassure him that what happened was a dream. Children often cannot tell the difference between real life and dreams so it is important for you to help them learn about dreams.

School-age children

By the time children are six and seven, they can do most of the things to get ready for bed themselves and most of them go to bed easily. However, eight-year-olds enjoy staying up late and think of lots of reasons to dawdle over bedtime routines.

These children need about an hour to settle down for sleep. Reading calming stories, talking quietly to them while they relax in bed or letting them play quietly alone in their rooms are ways you can help children “wind down” from the excitement of the day’s events.

Nine- to twelve-year-olds require less sleep than younger children or teens. They need just over nine hours each night by the time that they’re thirteen.

Sleep needs change in adolescence

Teens need as much as nine and a half hours of sleep each night, but they’re getting less than seven and a half hours per night on average. Sleep patterns change in adolescence, making it harder for teens to fall asleep early and to wake up easily in time for school.

In mid-puberty, significant changes in the brain and biological clock affect their sleep patterns. Sleep phase delay occurs when the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin is secreted in the teen brain later in the evening than for young children or adults. That makes it harder for teens to go to sleep at the times they did when they were younger. Melatonin secretion also turns off later in the morning, so it’s harder for them to wake up. Sleep is also made more difficult by additional late-night stimulation from computer games, hard-driving rock music, TV and phone conversations. Lack of sleep can affect mental and learning capacities, information processing, regulation of emotions and development of social competence. Driving is another serious danger for sleep-deprived teens.

If teens get into bright light as soon as possible in the morning, then their brain is signaled to wake up. They should also avoid bright light, foods and drinks with caffeine, and other types of stimulants in the evening. Parents can help teens develop a workable schedule that allows for enough sleep by talking with them about their sleep/wake schedules and activity level.

Parents can also provide a home environment with no loud late-night activities, TV or music. Limiting phone use close to bedtime can help. Parents can model good sleep habits by paying attention to their own bodies’ sleep needs and going to bed earlier.

Parents can help children of any age develop good sleep habits and provide a home environment that’s conducive to sleep.

By Nancy Bradford-Sisson, Cheshire County Family & Consumer Resources Educator. Adapted from: “Good Times at Bedtime”(National Network for Child Care); Adolescents and Sleep ( University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension); Children and Sleep ( Iowa State University Extension)

For more parenting information:

• UNH Cooperative Extension’s parenting fact sheet series
• Do I have to eat that? A fact sheet on avoiding food fights with your children.
• Children and Obesity: Good Food and Good Moves Tips for building good nutritional and exercise habits into everyday family life.

USDA Food Safety Mobile makes its first N.H. visit The NH Safe Food Alliance, a consortium of Granite State academic, regulatory and industry groups, will sponsor the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new Food Safety Mobile at the Hopkinton State Fair September 3-6.

Al Lampson, the Food Security Coordinator of the N.H. Bureau of Food Protection who coordinated the visit, describes the vehicle as "a 35-foot van plastered with cartoon characters. Colorful costumed characters and food safety experts will be on hand to provide cooking demonstrations, safe food handling tips, free publications on food safety, and games for children. The van will be open from 9AM to 9PM. Come by and visit!"

The 4-H shooting sports program will offer an instructor training at Barry Conservation Camp in Berlin , September 24-26.

This unique program, which broadens the appeal of 4-H beyond its more traditional programs, “is the only 4-H program that requires volunteers to be trained and certified before they can teach,” says Larry Barker, Coos County 4-H educator who coordinates the shooting sports programs in New Hampshire.

“The instructor program tends to attract people with a lot of expertise in outdoor activities and an interest in recreational or competitive shooting, says Barker. “We emphasize putting the focus on youth development—how to work effectively with kids.”

The shooting sports program offers instruction in rifle, shotgun, pistol, muzzle loader, archery, and hunting & wildlife. “We deliver the program through ongoing 4-H clubs, as short-term, special interest workshops, and at two of 4-H camps - Bear Hill, which offers archery, and Barry Camp, where we teach rifle and shotgun.”

“Like other 4-H projects, our shooting sports program has a subject matter base,” says Barker. It has strong links to natural resources, wildlife, outdoor recreation and safety. We draw content from sports medicine, psychology, education, biological and physical sciences, engineering, mathematics and technology, as well as American traditions, folklore and history.

Its core concepts stress safety, ethical development, personal responsibility, and life-time recreational skills.

Barker continues, “Personal development for young people and leaders is the real objective. The program promotes responsibility, decision making and identifying realistic, personal goals. We work to make "every kid a winner," and to "make the best better."

This year, Barker won a grant that allowed him to obtain 5000 gunlocks and gun safety kits, which will be distributed across the state by 4-H members. “As a service activity, our local shooting sports club, the Coos Sharpshooters, will distribute gun locks at the Lancaster State Fair to anyone over 18 who wants one,” Barker says.

For more information on the leader training or any aspect of the 4-H shooting sports program, call Larry Barker at 788-4961 or check out the national Web site.

The Internet is now part of our everyday lives. The ability to access any type of information, any time of the day or night, communicate with people from all over the world and shop for virtually anything from home will forever change the way we live and work. Our children need to become experienced Internet users to find even menial jobs in the future.

Information on the Internet is governed by the First Amendment: freedom of speech. The information found, however, in some places may be viewed as inappropriate for children. As a parent, you must decide what's right for your child to see and read, just as you have the responsibility to govern what she watches on television or what books he reads.

Although there are lots of sites most of us would agree should be off limits to kids, the number of educational and positive web sites far outweigh the questionable ones. Filtering software is available to lock out sites with offensive information, but they may not be 100 percent effective.

Putting the computer in a visible location in your home is the best way for you to monitor what your child is doing on the Internet, A computer in a family room or the kitchen allows you to supervise the sites your child accesses.

If the computer must go in your child's bedroom, face the screen toward the door and insist the door remain open while on the Internet. Set reasonable rules and guidelines for computer use by your children. Discuss these rules and post them near the computer as a reminder. Remember to monitor their compliance with these rules, especially when it comes to the amount of time your children spend on the computer.

The Internet's use as a communication tool is unparalleled. With an email address, you can communicate with virtually anyone. Children can converse by email or in real-time chat rooms with children from other cultures, teachers from the best schools in the world or with astronauts on the space shuttle. Barriers because of what someone looks like, how old they are or where they live don't exist in cyberspace.

The danger of someone misrepresenting themselves to your child on the Internet is very real and kids must be aware of this possibility. Safety rules on Internet use aren't really much different than those we teach about staying at home alone and dealing with strangers: "Don't go with strangers. Never tell anyone when you're home alone. If someone does or says something you're not comfortable with, tell a parent or other trusted adult."

Remember "Information doesn't hurt children, people hurt children." Teach your children how to deal with inappropriate information and how to avoid potentially dangerous people online. Check out the safe surfing information for parents and children at www.cyberangels.org

Make sure your children never gives out personal information to someone on the Internet. This includes name, address (even what city they live in), phone number or the name of their school. Under no circumstances should they ever agree to meet someone face-to-face and if someone on the Internet pressures them to give out any personal information, they should cut off communication and let you know about it.

Above all, as a parent you can help your child by learning about the Internet with them. Get to know the Internet services your child uses. If you don't know how to log on, get your child to show you. Find out what types of information is offered on their favorite sites and whether there are ways for parents to block out objectionable material. The more you understand about the technology, the easier it will be to set appropriate parameters and help your child understand the need for safety.

New Hampshire’s delegation to the 75th National 4-H Conference in Washington DC returned home from a week in which 350 youth and adults gathered to share ideas and form recommendations in guiding future national 4-H youth development programs and programs in their communities. The six day conference is awarded to 4-H members for outstanding achievement in their local 4-H program. The New Hampshire delegation, Rachel Henderson of Weare; Sarah Smith of Danville; and Hannah-Joy Waechter of North Hampton, were accompanied by chaperone Michele King. All of the youth felt that this conference was the high point of their 4-H career.

The conference challenged the youth participants to “Build the Future – TAG, You’re IT!” Conference activities included workshops and roundtable discussions culminating in a town hall meeting. Ideas and recommendations gathered at the roundtable discussions will be shared with Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns and Extension leaders at the national, state and local levels.

Conference also included a visit to Capitol Hill. During the visit, the delegation met with each of New Hampshire’s state legislators and updated them on current 4-H Youth Development programs and the impact they are having on New Hampshire’s youth. In addition, their goal was to make sure the decision makers in Washington understand that strong youth development programs help to cultivate youth with a strong sense of self and community.

In their conversations with our Senators and Congressmen, the youth focused primarily on two programs currently at the forefront of the UNHCE 4-H Youth Development program; Operation Military Kids and 4-H Afterschool.

N.H. 4-H youth explained with eloquence that Operation Military Kids is a nationwide program run in partnership with the USDA and Army CYS. It is an effort by both organizations to offer support to families who have found their lives changed by the deployment process. Unlike “regular” military, National Guard families living out in the community, find themselves facing a number of obstacles when a family member is deployed. Issues like loss of wages and suddenly being a single parent family are coupled with the worry about a family member who may be in harms way. While there is no easy solution, Operation Military Kids seeks to offer support by offering self-affirming programs to the youth of these families.

They went on to explain that 4-H Afterschool recognizes out-of-school hours can be some of the most dangerous hours for youth who do not have productive ways to occupy their time. Once again, 4-H is there offering opportunities for growth and self-discovery in a safe environment.

During conversation with Congressman Jeb Bradley, he observed, “it is obvious by the poise and self-confidence of these youth, your youth development program is doing good work.” Congressman Bradley took time out of his busy schedule to give the 4-H’ers a private tour of the Capitol building. The 4-H’ers exclaimed that while they were in awe of all they had experienced that day, the tour of the Capitol building was the best part!

It may sound like National 4-H Conference was all work, and while the youth did work hard, they still found time for some fun! Conference entertainment included a recycled percussion group, an illusionist, and a variety show featuring the amazing talent of the conference participants! Speakers provided inspiration on reaching your dreams, including a view from Olympic Wrestling Champion Rulon Gardner who offered his thoughts about achieving what everyone said was impossible. The conference wrapped up with a dinner cruise on the Potomac River. The evening offered the delegates from around the country an opportunity to dance the evening away with friends they had made during this busy week.

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Sixteen young people met President George W. Bush and talked with him about their 4-H projects showcased in action exhibits at an August 6 picnic held at Bittersweet Farm in Stratham.

As the first 4-H member to greet the President, Molly Hanlon demonstrated how to make fabric napkin angels. “I was surprised how easy it was talking to the President and how interested he was in my project,” she said. “Another thing that was really wonderful is that he went to all of the displays and projects, he didn't skip any.”

After visiting with Molly, the President moved on to Amy Hanlon’s rabbit display and took her sick bunny quiz. “It was fun making him take my quiz and he was a really good sport about it,” Amy said.

Meggie and Paddy Bowling demonstrated spinning, while their brother Tomas presented President Bush with an elephant he’d made that morning using needle felting techniques. At the table featuring crafts projects, President Bush talked with Samantha Strebel, who demonstrated how to make envelopes, and Ashley Harris, who was painting garden gnomes. At a table focusing on health projects, Holley and Heather Weeks demonstrated how to take blood pressure and perform CPR. President Bush sat right down in the chair and asked Heather to take his blood pressure, later joking with the press corps that Heather had said he was in good health.

The President next visited the consumer and horticultural judging table coordinated by Chris Rice, followed by a display of quilts 4-H’ers had made for the ABC Quilt Project or for David’s House, two organizations that donate handmade quilts to children facing major illnesses.

Lester Barthelemy demonstrated his skill at fixing leather saddles. Cacia and Morgan King had a display on 4-H Operation Military Kids and a shooting sports educational display. Clint Townson talked with President Bush about his sheep activities, focusing on feed and breed identification. Cori and Grace Magnusson shared their experiences creating robots.

In addition to the gift of the hand-made elephant, the President received a New Hampshire 4-H baseball cap from Chris Rice, a N.H. 4-H Making our Best Better T-shirt from Samantha Strebel, and a 4-H Liberty Bear from Clint Townson.

4-H volunteers Monica Hanlon, Susan Rice, Robin Weeks, Sue Strebel, Judy Cogger, Mike and Michele King, Lucy Rhodes, Brenda Barthelemy, Lisa Townson, Cheryl McCarthy, and Kris Magnusson helped with the showcase. Rockingham County 4-H Youth Development Educator Lynn Garland organized the event to show the diversity of interests youth pursue in the 4-H Youth Development Program of UNH Cooperative Extension.

By Lynn Garland, Rockingham County 4-H Youth Development Educator

4-H provides many opportunities for youth to develop their Head, Heart, Hands, and Health for Better Living. Contact the UNH Cooperative Extension office in your county for more information about 4-H educational programs for youth 5 to 18 years old.

Do you know a family affected by deployment?

Military life can create unexpected separation and hardship in families. According to the National Military Family Association, currently National Guard and Reserve members comprise thirty-eight percent of our military forces. Separations due to military service can be especially challenging for these families who often live far from a military installation. They lack ready access to the unique support services available to military families living on or near bases. Although military units provide information and training for Guard and Reserve families prior to mobilization, there may be additional needs that caring communities can fill.

Friends, neighbors, co-workers, and employers often want to be supportive. They may not know how to help when family separation invokes unexpected changes in family dynamics or intense feelings. The most important contributions they can make may be simple acts of caring and kindness. For example, the teen whose mom or dad has been called to duty may suddenly have to shoulder more of the responsibilities on the home front. This leaves little time to spend with friends. Rather than desert the teen and leave him to his new burden, his friends can be encouraged to spend time helping their buddy out. They can also share their own parents with the teen who may feel abandoned at a time when parental guidance is often secretly desired.

Other members of the community can play an important role in supporting these families. Teachers, coaches and youth leaders are in a critical place to observe emotional responses in children. These responses may include fears about the safety of a parent or older sibling who is serving the country away from home. Such fears are often based on a combination of real images of war they see on the news and their own imaginations. Children may also feel out of control, confused, and angry. It is important to try to maintain as many of the child's routines and schedules as possible, to help the child regain a sense of control. For example, this may require reaching out to the family and offering to help get a child to soccer practice. It can involve talking with the child to learn what he feels helps him stay in control of his life. Sometimes what the child needs to hear most is reassurance that we are there, and that responsible adults are still in charge.

Community organizations can also be supportive. A family may have worked through important checklists of financial details while preparing for deployment. However, they may suddenly be overwhelmed by the day-to-day realities of coping and managing during an extended period of deployment. Bills may get overlooked, and emergency home repairs may require outside assistance to be resolved. Community organizations are an excellent source of talented and caring people who may be willing to pitch in and provide needed help. When groups welcome military families into their groups, or reach out to assist, everyone gains.

Despite their best intentions, the family may fall behind in payment of important bills. Recently recognized with a 2002 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the Public Service Company of New Hampshire provides an example of how businesses can support our Guard and Reserve members. PSNH recognizes that things can slip through the cracks during deployment, and will work with these families on payment plans to ensure their electric service is not disconnected. To take advantage of this policy, families who receive a disconnect notice should call the customer service division at 1-800-662-7764 to explain their situation. Military families who have difficulty paying any of their utility, housing, or medical bills are advised to contact the individual companies to see if similar arrangements can be made.

Paula J. Gregory, UNH Cooperative Extension Specialist, 4-H Youth Development

Operation: Military Kids Kicks off in New Hampshire

When a dad, mom, brother or sister serving in the National Guard or Army Reserve deploys to Iraq , Afghanistan or elsewhere, a child’s life turns upside down. Though the families left behind still live in civilian neighborhoods, they find themselves “suddenly military.” Their civilian support networks may no longer serve their needs and they lack the support networks available to regular military families living on or near military bases. A single parent’s deployment may require children to move to a new town and school. Plus children live with the chronic anxiety of having a loved one in harm’s way, an anxiety intensified by graphic battlefield images on the nightly news.

Operation: Military Kids

According to estimates provided by the New Hampshire National Guard Family Program and the Family Readiness Program of the Regional Readiness Command of the Army Reserve, between 1,400 and 1,600 New Hampshire children currently have a parent or immediate family member deployed in the war zones of Iraq or Afghanistan.

To help support the special needs of these children and their families, UNH Cooperative Extension has joined Extension organizations in 15 other states in a national initiative called Operation: Military Kids (OMK).

To show support for this effort, Gov. Craig Benson recently signed a proclamation declaring State Operation Military Kids Week and Military Family Support Week. Participating in the signing were representatives from UNH Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Youth Development Program, the National Guard, and NH Dept. of Education.

“Nationwide and here in New Hampshire, the military selected Cooperative Extension as their partner in Operation: Military Kids because of our extensive network of youth and family programs in every county,” said Wendy Brock, 4-H Youth Development program leader for UNH Cooperative Extension. “We’ve worked closely over the past several months with the N.H. Army and Air National Guard to lay the foundations for the support network here,” Brock said.

New Hampshire OMK team training

“A seven-person team that included 4-H Youth Development staff and a New Hampshire 4-H youth who’s also a military kid himself, as well as representatives from the Army and Air National Guard and the state Department of Education, spent a week in Kansas City last fall involved in a special training that included understanding the history, roles, demographics and culture of the National Guard and Reserve forces; the issues military families and children face; and actions communities can take to support young relatives of deployed family members,” said Brock. “Since returning from training, the team has presented a “Suddenly Military” program sharing what they learned with the 4-H Youth Development and Family & Consumer Resources staffs and a statewide meeting of guidance counselors,” Brock said.

OMK programs in New Hampshire

Brock foresees the New Hampshire Cooperative Extension staff inviting military kids and their families to participate in existing Extension programs in their own area of the state. These include 4-H clubs, camps and other programs for kids, as well as workshops on parenting and family finances, and volunteer activities such as the Master Gardener program.

“In some cases, when the Guard arranges family get-togethers, we might get involved in special programming. For instance, we’ve bought several printers, digital cameras, and laminators, so we can run programs that promote family communications by having kids take pictures of themselves to send to their deployed family members. We’d run the program like one of our 4-H Youth Development ‘learn-by-doing’ educational programs—in this case, teaching kids photography. Then each child would make a card, attach the picture, and laminate it. The military handles mailing the cards.”

 
For more information about Operation: Military Kids

Contact Wendy Brock, UNH Cooperative Extension Program Leader 4-H Youth Development,
603-862-2187.

• National OMK Web site
• N.H. National Guard Family Program

Your child wants a horse – now what?

It happens to most parents at one time or another. Your child comes to you and asks for a pet. For many, cats, goldfish, hamsters or dogs become a relatively easy addition for most families to make, and owning an animal is great for teaching responsibility and compassion. However, if the animal your son or daughter really wants is a horse, the impacts are much greater.

First, consider your child’s age and stage of development. Is your child old enough and big enough to physically handle and ride a horse? Does he/she have the mental development to observe his/her surroundings and make quick decisions with respect to the animal’s behavior?

If your child wants to own a horse, they will need to learn a lot about basic care and safety, as well as how to ride. Riding lessons or a 4-H Horse Club are excellent introductions and the cost is quite nominal compared to an outright purchase of an animal.

In addition to teaching, many basics required of a successful horse owner, these activities give you and your child a chance to try the activity out before making a long-term commitment.

There are many good riding stables in New Hampshire. You’ll find advertisements in local papers or through the New Hampshire Horse Council. Be sure to ask a potential riding instructor about their experience teaching youth and make sure you ask for references.

Make sure the riding instruction takes place in a safe arena and that your child wears a properly fitted and approved safety helmet. Ask the riding instructor if the lesson includes instruction on how to care for horses as well.

If your child is serious about horses, he/she must realize there is a lot of work involved, including feeding, cleaning stalls, grooming and maintaining equipment. There are many 4-H Horse Clubs and Pony Clubs in New Hampshire as well. Contact your local UNH Cooperative Extension office for information about 4-H Horse programs.

Some stables offer a lease agreement for a horse. The agreement might call for you to pay all or a portion of the animal’s feed, care and upkeep in exchange for your child’s opportunity to ride and show the horse as much as they want.

Be sure to ask questions about who pays for veterinary and feed costs, when and how you can get out of a lease or whether you can transport the horse off grounds for shows. Get a written lease that clearly outlines the cost and responsibilities of both parties.

If you do decide to buy a horse for your child, prepare to educate yourself as much as possible prior to a purchase. You’ll need to have an appropriate facility, at either your home or a boarding facility. As with a lease situation, be sure to get a boarding agreement in writing. In addition to a shelter and exercise area, you will need space to store hay and feed and a plan to dispose of the manure your horse will create.

Selecting the right horse for your child is very important. Matching your child’s size and skill level to the size, temperament and training of the horse is critical to a positive experience, as well as the safety of your child.

Match a young, novice rider with an older, well-trained animal. Never buy a young horse for a new rider to “grow up with.” You should also consider what your child is interested in doing with the horse. Some horses are much better suited to pleasure and trail riding, while others are better for showing or jumping. Consult with a trusted and experienced person who owns or manages horses and don’t hesitate to ask a veterinarian to check a potential purchase for health problems.

The costs of horse ownership can be very expensive. The cost of buying a horse varies greatly, and the cost of boarding could run $200 or more per month. Consider both the costs of feed and bedding, which can be quite high, as well as the purchase of tack and equipment. You’ll also need a horse trailer (and the vehicle to pull it) if your son or daughter wants to take their horse to shows or events.

There are great benefits to horse ownership. Gaining skills in horse care and riding give a youth greater self-confidence, coordination and agility, and they will learn about responsibility and compassion as well.

Many people who ride regularly do so for exercise and relaxation, and the common interest in horses introduces you to many new people with similar interests. Horse ownership, however, is a great responsibility. Consider the decision carefully. This article outlines some important considerations you must make before buying a horse. Do your homework before you buy a horse; it’s very important. Consult horse professionals, reputable web sites or books, and contact your county UNH Cooperative Extension office for more information.

By Lisa Townson, Extension Specialist, 4-H Youth Development – August, 2004