Minnesota’s Miserable Example Of Teenaged Behaviors

       Minnesota has had a couple of miserable examples of appropriate teenaged behaviors.  First, there is the case of Nicole Beecroft who was 17 years old in April 2007 when she gave birth to a live baby girl, on the floor of the laundry room, in the home that she shared with her parents.  They did not know that she was pregnant.  Not only did she hide her pregnancy; but, prosecutors alleged that she planned the death of her baby before it was born.  She stabbed her newborn daughter 135 times in the abdomen, chest and neck.  The baby bled to death; and that is when, Nicole Beecroft disposed of her child in the garbage can outside of her home. 

       A judge ruled on December 1, 2008 that Nicole Beecroft was guilty of 1st degree murder and will spend the rest of her life in prison without the possibility of parole.  What would possess a woman to not only kill her child but to do so in such an extremely violent way?  Why not give the child up for adoption?  Why not let the father raise the child?  Why not reach out to a parent, a teacher, clergy, counselor, neighbor or a friend? What was the reason behind stabbing an innocent, straight out of the womb infant? 

        Then today, there are reports that 8 Minnesota teenagers are facing charges of terrorizing and abusing nursing home patients.  The nursing home patients suffer from dementia and alzheimers disease.  The accused are minors, except for two young women, they all worked as part time aides at the nursing home.  They are accused of crimes such as spitting on the patients, physical assault, poking at them, and sexual contact with vulnerable adults.  These are serious charges and yet, they may only face 1 year in prison, and or, a fine of up to $300,000 if they are actually convicted.  I am sure that those who had alleged sexual contact will also have to register as sexual offenders for the rest of their lives.  Do you think those punishments are appropriate; if indeed, they are convicted of the crimes?  Are the punishments severe enough for the alleged behaviors?

         Where is the respect for children or for our elderly citizens?  Where is the respect for life?  In general, society has allowed our nation’s children to do what they want, with very little consequences.  When things go awry; many people find others to blame…there is very little accountability for those who go the wrong way. 

        Minnesota does not have a monopoly on violent or abusive teens; every state has such horror stories; that doesn’t make it ok.  Who is going to be the next vulnerable person?  What kind of depraved behavior is going to surface next?   We are raising a whole generation of human beings who have individuals who are either are unwilling, or incapable, of caring about other people in any normal kind of compassionate way! 

        The question is…what are we as a society going to do about it?  We had better figure out a way to understand these type of situations and change the course of these behaviors…otherwise, those most vulnerable, the elderly and the children, will be at substantial risk.  Those people at risk could be your loved ones; or possibly, even yourself! 

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

Love Babies? Give A Fan For A Shower Gift

       Every year in the United States approximately 2,500 babies die of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).  Even though those numbers have come down substantially over the years…even one death a year from SIDS is one infant death too many.  So, research on ways of preventing those deaths is very important.

       A new study is suggesting that having a fan, in the room of an infant, can greatly reduce the possibility of death by SIDS by up to 72% according to the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.  Check it out here: http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/   Invited to a baby shower?  Show your love and concern by gifting the new parents with a fan and a printout of the reasons of the importance of the gift regarding the health of their baby!  Educate parents, first time parents or teenaged parents, grandparents of the new research; empower them with the newest safety information. 

        While the understanding of the role of the fan, in the prevention of deaths of infants from SIDS, is not clearly understood…it was found that rooms that were heated to above 69 degrees benefitted by the use of a fan in the prevention of death from SIDS.  It is thought that overly warm temperatures increase the potential of death by SIDS. 

         Another possible benefit of using a fan in the infant’s room is that the fan helps to circulate the air flow around the baby.  Babies who are put to sleep on their backs do better as well, because babies who sleep on their stomachs have less airflow in the early months of life; when their necks are too weak to lift their heads if the airflow is not sufficient for healthy breathing.  There has been a big campaign to educate parents to use the BACK TO SLEEP plan for this reason.  Babies who sleep on their stomachs also have a larger incidence of rebreathing in carbon dioxide that they have exhaled.  A fan can help to circulate the air around babies.  Still, putting an infant to sleep on their back is a better solution to keeping the airflow open around baby.  Important:  Just remember that when using a fan…keep the cords away from small hands that could pull the fan down and cause injury. 

         What else can a parent do to keep their newborn infants safe from SIDS?  First of all, putting a baby to sleep on their backs in a crib with a firm mattress is an important part of the equasion.    The crib must have the side rail bars or slats spaced 2 3/8 inches apart or less; so that a baby does not get trapped between the bars.   Next, comes the idea of dressing the baby with adequate clothing to keep the baby warm; but, not so many articles of clothing as to overheat the baby.  Keep the crib free from toys, from blankets or pillows or even bumper pads that cannot be firmly attached to the side of the crib.  It is important to keep all items away from an infant that doesn’t have the ability to turn it’s head or to push away from anything that can block it’s airflow.

          Never lay an infant to sleep on an adult bed or extremely soft or conforming surface.  Cuddle time is important…but, doing so in an adult bed could allow the adult to fall asleep.  It is not worth the risk of falling asleep with your infant beside you, when you are not awake enough to keep watch over your young infant.  No one wants to live with regrets on a tragedy that could be avoided by remembering that safety comes first regarding your baby.

          If you are leaving your child in the care of a grandparent or a caregiver…it is wise to include this new information on the best way to keep your baby safe.  Take the small fan with you when you are entrusting others to care for your small child.  Make sure that they follow your direction in the way that you wish your child to be cared for.  It may be different than they have previously cared for other young babies…but, it is never too late to learn.  If they wish to care for your child…express the need for them to follow this guideline of using the fan and not bundling your child up with unneccessary blankets and clothing.

           Many years ago, i knew a young family that lost an infant daughter to SIDS.  It was a horrendous event in their family life.   In fact, their marriage didn’t survive more than another couple of years after the death of their child.   I can’t help but wonder, if this information was available then…would their child have lived?  How many babies can be saved with this new information?

          Here is a great site that can offer more tips on infant safety for parents of young infants regarding SIDS prevention:  http://sids.org/nprevent.htm  Did you learn anything new in this blog post that you felt was beneficial to you; or, someone that you know who has a young infant?

Read Full Post »

Can You Make A Difference?

       Do you ever watch the news and hear about all of the tragedies around the world and think; what can I do, I am just one person?  You watch it and are moved, yet, you think…someone should DO SOMETHING ?  It is a helpless feeling, not knowing exactly what to do; isn’t it ?   What if you are the SOMEONE who SHOULD DO SOMETHING ?   Your inner voice is telling you to take some action.  You don’t want to waste time or energy; you want to make the biggest impact whatever you do.

         You see a need somewhere; and maybe you have an idea, a product, or maybe a service that you could utilize, to help change things for the better.  Can YOU make a difference ?  You bet you can!!!  Your inner voice is trying to motivate you.  If you only knew HOW to make an IMPACT on things, to make a difference; things would be different.  Maybe, you could motivate other people to take action as well. 

         All you have to do is, get noticed by enough people; and, things could change.  I have the answer you have been searching for, whether it is for your business, personal goals, or maybe, it is a humanitarian intervention that is calling out to you. 

          What you need is the book, The Impact Factor: How to Get Noticed, Motivate Millions, and Make a Difference In A Noisy World!  

          Ken McArthur is a successful business man, an entrepreneur, an author, a business mentor; and, an all around NICE GUY with lots of integrity.  Ken recognizes the power of IMPACT on both a business and a personal level.  Ken is committed to communicating the power of Impacting the world in a positive way. 

           You see, we all leave a legacy of Impact in our everyday choices, in our areas of expertise; just by living our lives.  Why not harness the power of impact to be as effective as we can be by making a choice to positively Impact the world ?  Our areas of impact could be education, the environment, business, humanitarian aid, adoption, poverty, diseases/illnesses, finance,health, fashion, entertainment, spiritual enlightenment, crime, domestic violence, teen pregnancy, sports, elder care….the list goes on and on.  You know your heart and your skills; how do you want to change the world ?  What is your passion ? 

          Go to Ken’s free website and pick up lots of videos and audio recordings that will help you make an Impact in many areas of your life, and the lives of those around you.  Then, do yourself a favor and purchase his book.  You won’t regret it.  This book could change your life; who knows, it may change the world if you put the message of the book behind everything that you do! 

       

Read Full Post »

Teen Pregnancy

      The news spoke of an increase in teen pregnancies just the other day.  It is a sad fact of life that with all of the educational tools that this country has, that the problem of teen pregnancies continues.

      It is hard raising children in today’s world.  It is even harder to do it when you are a young (often single) parent yourself.  Education is the key to earning higher pay when you enter the workforce.  The drop out rate among young women who find themselves pregnant is staggering.  The emotional, spiritual, and financial toll is hard to overlook.

       Today, all over the news is the headline that Jaime Lynn Spears is pregnant.  She is all of 16.  She met the father of her unborn child in church.  It underscores that even with sex education, religious training, strong family bonds as well as the availability of multiple birth control methods; teen pregnancy still happens.

Read Full Post »