MTatHome Gazette

Text Box: By Emily Clark Now, imagine what it would be like if you were sick, scared and had only third grade reading skills. Your doctor tells you, "You've got to follow these instructions exactly, or you could die." About 200 recent studies have shown the reading difficulty of most health related materials FAR exceeds the average reading abilities of the American adult. One of the biggest silent health problems today is the gap between health materials and reading skills. In the United States, the average reading level is eighth grade. In 1992, the Educational Testing Service determined that half U.S. adults read at between first and eight grade level. That is about 148 million people. It gets worse. One quarter of Americans read BELOW FOURTH GRADE level, meaning 74 million people would struggle with even the simplest, most well written health materials. Does it matter? Do you remember the anthrax scare, when someone was putting deadly white powder into our mail system? During that terrorist scare, the U.S. post office mailed millions of post cards to Americans. The post cards told people how to protect themselves from the deadly infection. They gave instructions on how to handle and report suspicious mail. These post cards were written at between ninth and eleventh grade reading level. More than half the people who got that mailing could not read it well enough to protect themselves and others. Does it matter? Do 148 million people matter? Will it matter the next time the terrorists strike? Do you remember the mailing the Surgeon General sent out explaining how to avoid contracting HIV? He made every effort to see that it was written in clear, simple language. He got criticism for just how plain talking it was in places. A later evaluation of that document showed that it was written at between seventh and ninth grade level. Half the people receiving it read at a level BELOW what was required to read it. (cont on page 6)

Text Box: Rather, 'Mow the lawn and you can have the car on Friday night,' or, 'Let's see what you can do around the house and we'll review your allowance.' And remember to show them HOW it's done. You may want to consider working with them the first few times, especially if it's a task they've never attempted before. This approach has worked well for my wife and I, who are late-starters in the 'chores for kids' stakes. Remember, if things are done out of a sense of 'duty', people tend to be ambivalent. On the one hand they may feel obliged to get on with it, but on the other they may resent it - and that builds up ill-feeling. Use rewards by all means, but it's better, I think, to help our kids realize that doing the chores is part of their development. That way they're more likely to do them willingly. This may be a tad idealistic, but this approach, when blended with an attractive reward, can lead to a well- deserved, easier life for hard-pressed parents. Happy parenting! Frank McGinty is an internationally published author and teacher. His writing includes motivational books for both parents and teenagers. If you want to develop your parenting skills and encourage your kids to be all they can be, visit his web pages,

Text Box: White noise is something we hear all the time, but rarely pay any attention. You hear white noise from: • the roar of you wheels while driving in your car,
• the hum of your fan while working at your computer,
• the hum of the motor while running a vacuum cleaner,
• and even from the roar of a crowd while watching sporting events. White noise is the full spectrum of sound frequencies a human ear can hear combined together all at once. When you hear something that creates a monotonous hum, and maybe kind of makes you sleepy, you are hearing white noise. You can purchase white noise CDs and white noise generators, download white noise mp3s or, even try running an appliance (like hair dryers, air conditioners or fans) to create the white noise necessary to calm your baby in the midst of a crying outburst. Remember, in the womb, your baby was packed in tightly. It was dark. It was warm. And the prominent sound she heard was the “whoosh” of blood flowing through the placenta (a little louder than the noise of a vacuum cleaner running). This “whoosh” of sound actually acted as the white noise your baby heard while in the womb. You can recreate the feeling your baby had while in the womb. If you lower the lights, swaddle your baby in a blanket, and play some white noise, a colic baby outburst can be eliminated in no time. Cherie L. Stirewalt is a colic baby survivor and shares her colic experiences on her website Colic-Baby-Bootcamp.com. The site offers a one-of-a-kind white noise download and white noise CD to help frustrated parents cope with their fussy baby fast! Join the Free Colic Baby Bootcamp newsletter and receive more colic related tips and tricks at http://www.colic-baby-bootcamp.com/newsletter.html.