Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Nov. 20, 1997, edition 1 / Page 16
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http://www.thepost.mindspring.com CI)arlotte 16A HEALTH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1997 Hope for male baldness FDA gives nod to stronger version of popu lar topical drug Rogaine. See page 15 A. Local TV host highlights bet’s ‘Teen Summit’ Angela Segal, host of “Singles Talk,” a local TV show that tack les dating issues, will be a guest on Saturday’s episode of BET ^k show “Then Summit.” The popular series will take a look at the teen dating scene. During the hve talk show, Segal will take questions from viewers on how to determine the right time to begin dating. : The program is scheduled to air Saturday at noon on channel 59 on Time Warner Cable. Need a wrap? Have a gift you just can’t figure out how to wrap? Metrolina Food Bank wdl tack le the job for you for a small fee. All proceeds vrill benefit the Food Bank, which provides food to local relief agencies to help needy families. Gift wrapping service begins at $3 and increas es by size. ' The gift wrap booth, which opens Nov. 22, will be located at Carolina Place Mall in Pineville. For more information, call 376- i785. Center offers support for Senior citizens I The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Se- Bior Center is offering a series of workshops for grandparents who are surrogate parents to their grandchildren. _ The workshops tackle impor- ;tant issues facing grandparents. Two groups of workshops will be held to accommodate school ithedules. For more information, 6all 522-6222. The workshop schedule is as follows: • Nov. 24 - Interacting with school personnel • Dec. 1 — Social issues in caring for ages 8-12 and adolescent grandchildren • Dec. 8 - Child development • Dec. 15 — Recognizing special heeds for grandchildren All sessions begin at 10 a.m. and will be held at Fighting Back, 1500 N. Tryon St. i Nov. 25 - Interacting with school personnel » Dec. 4 - Special needs in caring for ages 8 -12 • Dec. 11 - Child development • Dec. 18 - Recognizing special needs for grandchildren M sessions begin at 7 p.m. and ^11 be held at the Senior Center, 2225 Tyvola Road. fJAACP announces piee tings ; The Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP recently annovmced its end of the year meeting schedule. ; Today - Branch Executive Committee Meeting, 7 p.m., Alexander Funeral Home, 112 Irwin Ave. ‘Sunday - Rehgious emphasis Service, 6 p.m. Weeping Willow AME Zion, 2220 Milton Road. Speaker: the Rev. Walter Howard i)astor of Greater Bethel AME Church. Dec. 11 - Branch Executive Committee meeting, 7 p.m. Alexander Frmeral Home. Dec. 18 - Branch meeting, 7 p.m. University Park Baptist, 2400 Keller Ave. The Nov. 27 meeting has been Gancelled. For more information, call 334- 0207. Today See ARCXJM} CHAHjOTTE page 15A The real toy story Playtime is learning time By Jeri Young THE CHARLOTTE POST Weeks of Christmas shopping culminate in a split second when a child tears open a pack age and finds Tickle me Elmo or the perfect Cabbage Patch Rid. But experts say parents should think hard about the kinds of toys and dolls they pick for children. What’s popu lar may not be the most appro priate age-wise or culturally. They also caution against choosing expensive gifts. “Many adults buy gifts with the goal of seeing an excited reaction to the newly-opened present,” said Louise Davis, extension child and family development specialist at Mississippi State University. ’ “But the real test of success will be the amount of and qual ity of play with toys. How long will the child play with it? How will the toy benefit the child’s development?” Charlotte social worker and family counselor Sunya Folayan says it’s imperative children have toys that rein force them culturally and are reflective of their appearance. ‘T don’t buy my daughters white dolls,” Folayan said. “They get enough exposure to white dolls. There are enough black dolls and shades to give any child a sense of them selves.” According to Folayan, par ents should introduce their children to well made toys with reflective featimes early on. Children begin to build their ideas of what is beautiful before they are 3 years old. In those early years, positive images are important. “Everything that is brown or dark is not always made-weU or reflective of our features,” Folayan said. “A doll should be reflective of what parents want to show their children. Parents should, make sure toys, do not, present a stereotypical carica ture of what we are.” Folayan points out that while many doUs have dark faces or are dressed in African fabrics, their message may be miscon strued. ‘T think Rente cloth is over done,” Folayan said. “It is not to be placed on everything. The same goes with mud cloth. Yes, See PARENTS page 14A Selecting toys for children can be difficult. Stores carry a dizzying assortment of dolls and toys. Experts say toys should be reflective of the child and allow for playtime creativity. Tanegla Spellman (top) searches for the perfect doll at the Toys R Us store on Independence. In the weeks lead ing up to Christmas and Kwanzaa, The Post and counselor Sunya Folayan will look at the best toy choices for kids. ^ Chile, Hush’ is funny By Jeri Young THE CHARLOTTE POST . Honey, Hush! An Anthology of African American Women’s Humor Edited by Daiyl Cumber Dance with foreword by Nikki Giovanni Norton $30 1997 What do you get when you cross famed comedian Moms Mabley and rapper Roxanne Shante. One heck of a good laugh. Shante and Moms are but two of the 70 women of all ilk high lighted in “Honey Hush! An Anthology of African American Women’s Humor.” What exactly is African American women’s humor? Pretty much whatever makes you laugh. It begins with the title, a south ern mantra used to punctuate humor that is too scandalous to be told. Accordingly, anthology editor Daryl Cmnber Dance chooses material worthy of a “honey hush” - scandalous, titillating shorts guaranteed to tease sensi bilities. Dance fills “Honey Hush” with stuff worthy of retelling at any “exhale” party, including pas sages from Teny McMillan’s ‘Waiting to Exhale.” Dance divides her extensive work into chapters whose names are almost as funny as their con tents. She kicks off with “No Big Thing for a ‘Oman,” and rounds it out with sexual advice in “Nice Girls Don’t” handling racism in “Just Like a White Man.” Black beauty is poignantly covered in “Mirror Mirror on the Wall.” For good measure, she throws in “My People, My People,” which goes into gory detail about how black folks hve - including a curious piece about ebonies. Dance ends with a general section with humor from everyone, every where. See DANCE page 14A Drugs for cholesterol may pose slight risk By Daniel Q, Haney THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ORLANDO, Fla. - Lowering your cholesterol to prevent a heart attack might also dull your edge mentally, a study suggests. The study raised the possibility that cholesterol-lowering drugs slightly reduce dexterity and attention. Cholesterol-lowering drugs have become mainstays over the past five years after several studies showed they significantly reduce the risk of dying from heart attacks. An estimated 4 miUion Americans now take the most popular of these medicines, a class of drugs known as statins. While the drugs save Uves, some doctors have wondered whether these have subtle effects on peo ple’s mental and physical perfor mance. Some studies have found that those who lower their choles terol seem more likely to die in tragedies such as car accidents and suicides, while other research has found no such link. Researchers say their new study, presented Monday at a meeting of the American Heart Association, is the first to give psychological tests to people tak ing cholesterol-lowering drugs in an attempt to sort this out. They emphasized that while their discovery of small decreases in ability are worthy of further study, people should not stop tak ing their drugs. Even if the medicines truly do impair performance - and this is not yet proven beyond doubt - their benefits on the heart are still likely to outweigh any possible risks. “We don’t know if this affects people in the way they conduct their lives,” said Dr. Matthew F. Muldoon of the University of Pittsburgh, who led the study. However, even thorrgh people might not notice the difference during their daily routine, a slight decrease in alertness or coordirra- tion could be hazardous at times when people need all their abili ties, such as when driving, Muldoon said. Muldoon plans a foUow-up to see how people taking cholesterol lowering drugs do on driving sim- rrlations, as well as whether their job performance changes. Muldoon speculated that the drugs could reduce mental func tioning in several ways. For instance, cholesterol particles in the bloodstream are known to carry nutrients such as vitaminA. Further, lowering cholesterol could reduce the brain’s supply of chemicals it needs to manufac ture signal-carrying proteirrs. In the study, Muldoon adminis tered a battery of tests to 194 men and women. Half got lovastatin, or Mevacor, a widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drug, while the rest got dummy pflls. Neither the volunteers nor the researchers knew which they were taking. Six months later, everyone was tested again. The study found this time that people getting the drugs scored sHghtly lower than the oth ers on several tests that measure attention and dexterity. There was no significant difference in their memory.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Nov. 20, 1997, edition 1
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