Young Teens Can Be Taught To Save A Life

It's not only paid babysitters who need to know safe child care. Young teens (11-14), who stay home alone or must care for younger siblings in the absence of adults, have just as much responsibility to shoulder. And while many young people have a love of children and an earnest desire to do the right thing, few are prepared for, or even aware of, the immense responsibilities they assume. However, age and maturity don't necessarily go hand-in-hand and young teens can easily be taught to provide great child care-or even save a life!
It may seem obvious but any young teen in the position of staying home alone or caring for other children needs to know where an adult can be reached and the contact number for that adult. Additionally, they should know emergency numbers (fire, ambulance and police). It's always a good idea to leave a list by the phone. The list should also contain the Poison Center's toll free number, 800-222-1222. Should an emergency arise and it becomes necessary to call for help, the young teen should know his own phone number and be able to provide clear directions to his location.
It's important to be familiar with the house in terms of knowing all entrances and exits, fire/burglar alarms, first aid supplies, flashlights and off-limits areas. Young teens should know what to do in case of a fire, including all escape routes and where to go call for help. A medical center in Jupiter, Florida received a report about a student who had taken a babysitting class at the center. Apparently, the 14-year-old teen remembered what he'd learned when a fire broke out and he successfully got 8-year-old twins out of the house before the arrival of the fire department. The house was totally destroyed but no lives were lost.
Young teens can be taught to have the confidence, caring and skill to handle many emergencies. They should know where to locate first aid supplies and have access to a first aid chart for easy reference. (A first aid chart may be obtained from the American Academy of Pediatrics by calling 800-433-9016.) A medical center in Jacksonville, Florida learned that its babysitting class had produced an 11-year-old graduate who, while caring for her 5-year-old cousin, used abdominal thrusts to dislodge a hair barrette the young child had swallowed and choked on. In fact, the teen intervened and provided correct care when her adult aunt was prepared to smack the choking child on the back, potentially making the situation worse. Another medical center in Las Vegas, Nevada reports that an 11-year-old graduate of its babysitter program saved the life of his 14-month-old sister. While playing with his younger siblings, the young teen noticed that his baby sister had stopped coughing and began to turn red. He prevented her from choking when he performed abdominal thrusts to remove a half-bitten crayon from her throat.
Sometimes, emergencies arise due to special health conditions. Young teens must be aware of any conditions or medications used to treat those conditions and know how much, how often and how to give. A hospital in Beloit, Wisconsin was pleased to hear the heartwarming account of two sisters, ages 12 and 13, who'd helped their 12-year-old brother through a severe asthma attack while their parents were away. Because they'd taken a babysitter class at the hospital, one sister knew to comfort her brother while the other located his inhaler and then called 9-1-1. A 12-year-old graduate of a Youngstown, OH hospital's babysitter program reported back to the hospital that, because she'd taken the hospital's class, she knew how to provide care to her 11-year-old friend when she experienced a seizure and a subsequent bloody lip during an after-school bike ride.

View the original article here

[Read More...]

Teach Our Young What Capitalism REALLY Is

With the bad economic times we are in, and with no government help, we better teach our young how to survive. Just having a job (maybe) is no assurance of survival. In MOST cases - our younger people deserve a lot more than they are getting today, no matter what it may be.

We need to start teaching our young how to think differently, and get away from the barrage of mostly worthless information presently available. One example could be that by the age of 10, a youngster owns 2 skateboards, one for the owner, but the other one to rent and gain a little income. Another is to have extra footballs (or something) and rent them. The age of paper routes is gone. A paper route was only a job, something that you could earn money with, very old fashioned thinking.

Kids today take multiple tests in school to see where they "fit in" and to see what they need to survive in high school. High school students take tests to see if they have enough "somethings" to go on to college. They even have tests to see what they want to eventually be in the real world. Many of those that graduate from college get a big shock to find out that they know virtually nothing about survival.

I have seen examples of how good the son does on the high school football team, or the young lady that is stressed because maybe she's expected to be a "cheer leader" or a "soccer star" seems to be the total goal of their education. Pretty poor expectations in my opinion. Mom and dad seem to be more concerned about this folly than their child's future. They want their children to "succeed" but they totally miss the mark in values.

Many of the students do get into college, and some of them get enough educational training to get a job (even today) and work for money. Very few of them get enough education to keep a few bucks to invest in their future. They know absolutely nothing about how to protect their money or what to do in this age of electronic web scam. Even common sense fails to teach that it's better to put off that dream car and compromise with a lesser value until they can afford one of higher quality or to fill their personal dream.

They should be taught how to create income rather than fill dreams. Remember where I referenced "skate-boards" or "ball ownership"? Sure, that's over-simplification - I understand that, but the point I am trying to make is very valid.

First, teach them to be an employee, but always have the vision that to eventually be self-employed. Any kind of success in the business world (both the boss and the employee) is rooted on a strong work ethic. Very seldom does one succeed by working for someone else. There are only two kinds of employment, you either work for yourself, or you work for someone that does - (work for themselves). This thinking isn't really very popular right now, but politics will change. The goal is to build employment equity; something that working for the other guy never gives. The owner gets the equity of your labor.

Samples of self-employed include doctors, attorneys, sales, home day care, entrepreneurs, designers and builders. It mostly depends on the number of people you can see in one day. The other side is the truck drivers (especially those that own their rigs) and numerous other self-employment goals, all with the idea of amassing a number in a specific time frame.

Teach them the art of investment in their future, be it money or skills. One thing might be the accounting field. Even in Communism there is some demand for accounts. It all depends on owning your business and earning your own equity.

I believe this is one very important thing that our younger set should know and understand before they go out the door looking for their first job. Their first priority should not be to "get a job", but rather to set their goals and how to succeed in the process. Very little of this attitude is left in the present education system thus putting the responsibility on the parents and other influences.

One of the responsibilities of our parent teachers is to know the rules. The most important rule is to know that Profit comes from revenue minus the expenses. It's known as "net profit", and this must be on the plus side to be successful. I'm not anti-employees, but I do understand that hiring help is one of the major expenses of business. In my lifetime I spent most of it as an employee (even to being retired military), but my wife and I have owned our own business ventures as well.

Just imagine - if we were to create a force of creative entrepreneurial "goal seekers", where would our once proud nation climb to, what values would be created and what projects could be created and accomplished.

My whole point of this is to create a goal of more than just finding a job, or focusing on a skill. I am trying to express the open-minded idea of looking outside your box, exploring something beyond your world as you see it today, and making that idea grow in our younger generations. We can beat the situation we have found ourselves in, if we just try. Remember, our young are the future of this once proud nation. They have the power to return to it if they are educationally prepared.

Roy is retired military as a radar controller, both Airborne and Ground. Spent 9 years as a Radio Announcer and retired from the corporate world after 14 years as an information analysist, working with classified information for a computer chip manufacturer. Roy is a commercial pilot (ASEL) and has a degree in Interstate Commerce Commission law. Ezine Articles Expert Author.

View the original article here

[Read More...]