Radio spots for the week of 8/7/11.  Broadcast on KKOY, KALN, KKOW, KINZ and KIND

Topic #1 

We all know about car safety issues, though a reminder now and then doesn’t hurt, but is there a difference as to safety and who is driving?  Well, if you have a teen driver, develop a plan for slowly increasing driving privileges and responsibilities, like no phone use, and no or only 1 friend in the car; but, how about other drivers?  So, what are the stats for safety for kids riding with parents versus grandparents?  According to a study looking at motor vehicle crashes from January 2003 to November 2007, with kids 15 years and younger as passengers, the kids had fewer injuries when the grandparents were driving.  This study was reported in the journal, Pediatrics.  What was interesting was that the total percentage of grandparent drivers involved was about 10% of the accidents, but the injury rate was less than 7%.  Now, the down side was that slightly fewer kids were properly restrained in the grandparents’ cars.  So, grandparents, be sure you have the proper car seats or booster seats installed, and that you insist the child is in the restraint while the car is moving.  Parents, be sure you know the legal regulations for your state and the recommended safety suggestions.  For example, recently, a new recommendation for 2 year olds is to keep them in rear-facing seats, if they can comfortably fit into the seats.  It has been found that kids 2 and under have far fewer injuries in rear facing seats, than when they are facing forward.  If a car seat has been in an accident, it is best not to use it again, as there could be structural damage that can’t be seen. Don’t ever leave a young child alone in a car, and in this hot weather, remember that the inside of a car can reach very high temperatures in a very short period of time.  Keep it safe, and give that kid a hug, I’m Dr. Greta McFarland.

Topic #2

School??!!  Now is the time to reconsider school time routines with the use of all media, whether it is cell phones, computers, video games, and TV or music devices.  Wake up now!!!  This is a test question, perhaps one of the most important issues you will face all school year:  Do you know about your kids and their media use?  Do you know the what, when, where, how, with whom, and why your kids are using media?  Think about your answer, as there will be consequences at the end of this session.  And yet, here’s another study on cyberbullying, this time a study from the American Osteopathic Association.  Of more than 1,000 parents of teens aged 13-17 years, 85% reported their kids had social media accounts, like Facebook and Twitter.  Over half the parents were concerned about cyberbullying.  One in 6 parents knew their child had been the victim of a cyberbully.  In most cases it was not a one-time event.  Over two thirds of parents monitored the security settings and 86% have joined their child’s online social network.  It seems girls are the worst offenders, with about two-thirds of cyberbullying occurring among girls.  And just to remind you, there have been several suicides attributed to being bullied.  So, the consequences of good media use can be:  learning about school subjects, and good communication with others.  The bad consequences can include cyberbullying, illegal activity, and having your kids stalked by cyber predators.  Now, back to the test question; Do you know the what, when, where, how, with whom and why about your kids and their media?  If your answer is, “what are you talking about?”, then…you flunked, though you get brownie points for being honest.  Develop a media plan with your kids before school starts, (things like no media in the bedroom after lights out and when and what will be done with friends and media).  And give that kid a hug, I’m Dr. Greta McFarland.

Topic #3

Do your teens hear you?  Are you sure?  Well then, have YOU heard of cotinine?  Well, “hearing and cotinine” go together, as cotinine is being used to tell if someone has been around any tobacco smoke.  Cotinine is the tobacco substance that can be tested for tobacco exposure.  Yes, it will be present if the person has been smoking, but it will also be present in those who have been exposed to passive or second hand smoke.  Cotinine can be found in saliva, urine, blood and sometimes hair.  So there now is a way to find out if people have been smoking around their kids.  And why would that matter?  Well, we do know that tobacco smoke in 2nd hand and 3rd hand smoke makes kids have more respiratory infections and conditions like asthma and allergies.  But a new study from the Archives of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, showed that teens exposed to secondhand smoke were more likely to have sensorineural hearing loss, a specific type that affects the hearing organ in the inner ear, the cochlea.  The study did the cotinine levels on the teens and checked the hearing; the higher the cotinine level, the worse the hearing loss.  The real problem was that 80% of the kids didn’t know they had a hearing problem.  This type of sensorineural hearing loss usually is seen as people get older, or from a birth condition (though these two are not related).  It is upsetting to think that maybe smoking, direct or especially passive smoking may set our teens up for hearing loss.  Who knows what is next?  Maybe in years to come, cotinine screening will be offered to all kids, and if the level is high, more extensive hearing evaluation will be suggested.  If you have a kid to hug, quit smoking, if you want him to hear you.  Now, listening?  Well, that may be a different story.  I’m Dr. Greta McFarland. Oh…the stop smoking number is 1-800-QUIT-NOW.