One concern frequently cited regarding early childhood programs is that methods for assessing some of their more important objectives are inadequate or nonexistent. This paper addresses this concern in the areas of health, safety, nutrition, dental health, and physical development during the preschool years. An organizing framework for classifying…

This guide to biological awareness through guided self-discovery is based on 51 single focus statements concerning the human body. For each statement there are explanations of the underlying physiological principles and suggested activities and discussion ideas to encourage understanding of the statement in terms of the human body's functions,…

This report discusses results of the Nevada Department of Education's fourth statewide administration of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Students in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 (N=2,702) from 75 public high schools participated in the study. Nevada high school students reported behaviors that equaled or exceeded goals established in the national…

The "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" ("MMWR") Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data in the weekly "MMWR" are provisional, based on weekly reports to CDC by state health departments. This issue of "MMWR" contains the following studies: (1) Youth Risk Behavior…

Ninth and twelfth graders were surveyed to identify their health concerns and primary sources of learning about health. Results were consistent with current epidemiological data. There were statistically significant differences by grade and gender. The most prevalent concerns were weight, staying healthy, and HIV/AIDS and other sexually…

In the Infant Development, Environment and Lifestyle (IDEAL) Study of methamphetamine (MA) effects on children, the authors screened approximately 27,000 newborn infants for MA exposure, and from that pool derived a sample of in utero MA-exposed children as well as a comparison group matched for other drug use and other factors. IDEAL measures…

In the United States black women have for decades been twice as likely as white women to give birth to babies of low birth weight who are at elevated risk for developmental disabilities. Does the black-white disparity in low birth weight contribute to the racial disparity in readiness? The author summarizes the cognitive and behavioral problems…

This study examined whether behavioral differences (exercise, dieting, changing eating habits, taking pills, or vomiting/taking laxatives to lose weight) exist when identifying the major influencing factors (media, family, friends, teacher/coach, and doctor/nurse) among Black and White men's and women's self-perceptions of body weight. Respondents…

The Kids First program at the University of Arkansas Medical School (UAMS) is an outgrowth of the Infant Health and Development Program, a randomized trial of an early intervention approach for premature, low birth weight children, which showed that intensive intervention had significant initial benefits in the cognitive development and behavior…

Designing or making changes in things students use or wear is the challenge of this Unified Sciences and Mathematics for Elementary Schools (USMES) unit. The challenge is general enough to apply to many problem-solving situations in mathematics, science, social science, and language arts at any elementary school level (grades 1-8). The Teacher…

Approximately 400,000 preschool children have a major neurodevelopmental disorder impacting on mobility, cognitive-adaptive, or communicative skills. As many as 1 in 3 children live at psychosocial disadvantage because of poverty, parental mental illness or substance misuse, or low parental educational (i.e. less than high school). In the past…

To monitor priority health-risk behaviors among youth and young adults, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). The YRBSS includes national, state, territory, and local school-based surveys of high school students in grades 9-12. In addition, some states, territories, and cities…

When Canadian parents look back on their own lives and the lives of their parents, they see changes across a generation that have profoundly affected their parenting experience, compared to when they themselves were young children. Supports for today's parents must take into consideration these changes that affect the care and nurturing of…

For at least 40 years, Newark's name has been practically synonymous with poverty and crime. Its troubled image had roots in reality. For too many families, Newark has been a hard place to raise children. For too many children, it has been a rough place to grow up. But there are signs of change, as found in "Newark Kids Count 2007," an…

This paper presents the "New Jersey Kids Count 2007: The State of Children in Our State." Gained ground on the state of children for 2007 include: (1) The number of low-income households earning federal tax credits increased 33 percent since 2001, while the average amount of the checks they received jumped 44 percent to $1,804 for tax…