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LIFE/ ttit Ctiarlottt
Thursday July 7, 2005
Study shows boys are more
likely to experiment with sex
By Chens F. Hodges
cfierisJuidgesOK thecharlottepostrom
If young girls think their parents
disapptx)vc of sex, then they are
less likely to have sexual inter
course or a)ntrdct an STD, accord
ing to a study from UNC-Chapel
Hill.
However, the same doesn’t hold
true for young boys.
UNC researchers found that
girls who delayed sexual activity
early had no effect on whether
they got a STD six years later.
‘To our knowledge, this is the
first study to find a link between
adolescents' perceptions of
parental opinions about sex and
the chance that they have a sexual
ly tran.smitted infection in young
adulthcxxl,” said Dr. Carol A.
Ford, lead author of the study,
which was published this month.
In a January issue of The Journal
of Infectious Diseases, it was
reported that 4 out of 5 sexually-
active adolescent girls have HPV
or human papillomavirus, which is
linked to genital warts and cervical
cancer.
Ford, a professor in the pedi
atrics department at UNC's
School of Medicine, said “Parents
who do not approve of their ado
lescents having sex during adoles
cence should txy to effectively
communicate this.”
Other findings in the UNC
report show:
• Adolescents with higher grades
were less likely to have acquired
sexually transmitted infections six
ydars al'ter the original study than
those with lower grades
• Most family, school and indi
vidual factors linked to delaying
the start of sexual activity among
adolescents had no effect on the
respondents’ likelihtxxl of having
sexually transmitted infections six
years later.
“Our results suggest that effec
tive communication between ado
lescents and parents about sex is
important,” Ford said.
The results also showed that cur
able sexually transmitted infec
tions are common among young
adults. Researchers studied fac
tors that are associated with delay
of sex among adolescents and
found that in large part they didn’t
decrease risk for sexually trans
mitted infections in young adult
hood.
“Among 24-year-olds, the odds
of having a sexually transmitted
infection was the same whether
sex was initiated at age 13 or 17,”
said Ford. “Efforts to reduce rates
of sexually transmitted infections
among adolescents and young
adults should consider these
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By Cheris F. Hodg^* D E-A M
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WADESBORO, NC
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1501 N. 1-05 SFRVfCr ROAO • ChaRUOTTF, NC 20216
704-393-1540
Website helps kids deal with issues
By Sommer Brokaw
niE aiARWTii: post
WARM2kids.com is an
online community started by
N.C. native and former
Boston Celtics great M L.
Carr. The site is an offshoot of
his experience working with
children in New England.
Carr delivered the message of
“standing tall agednst drugs”
to middle and high school stu
dents and allowed them to
ask questions. Impressed by
his celebrity, some asked sim
ple questions like “how tall
are you?” or, “how many
championships did you win?”
However, others sought
advice. For instance, a girl
wrote him a letter that said:
“M.L., I know you said that
if your friend is on drugs, you
won’t get them in trouble by
telling your teacher because
they’re already in trouble
...but what about if my mom
sells drugs from our house,
and my stepfather touches
me in places he shouldn’t.
Should I tell on them too?”
WARM2Kids.com was bom
out of a quest to help kids
with the tougher questions.
It is now an online member
ship community for parents
and children that feature 100
celebrity role models and over
200 topics. The acronym
WARM stands for ‘We are all
role models.” Role models
range from country singer
Tim McGraw and R&B
singer Mario, to comedian
Bill Cosby Tbpics range from
suicide and self-confidence
issues to adoption and the
importance of family
“We hope kids learn that
they are not alone and no
matter what you’re faced
with you can overcome what
ever those issues are,” Carr
said. “We also hope parents
will become more involved in
how to connect with their
kids and be suppoiiive.”
Dr. Lonnie Carton, a psy
chologist and broadcaster,
helps young people who may
feel trapped by their circum
stances giving with advice on
where to go for help. The
website also has referral sites
on where to go for help on
various issues.
“We are looking to make a
dramatic difference in the
lives of young people in the
course of crises prevention,”
she said.
TTie scenarios on the site
are designed to help youth
avoid situations that will
hurt them in the future. For
example, a IG-year-old with a
driver’s permit is driving
without an adult and sees a
blue li^t. Speeding up may
seem good in the short-term,
but the long-term possibili
ties aren’t so good.
Carr, a minority partner in
the NBA Charlotte Bobcats,
is working on expanding the
program to Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Schools.
Blacks drown at a higher rate
WE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND —A newspa
per analysis reveals that
blacks are far more likely tlian
whites to be drowning victims.
In Ohio, blacks drown at an
approximately 133 percent
higher rate than whites,
according to an analysis of
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention data by The
Plain Dealer. Nationwide,
blacks drown at a 45 percent
higher rate.
“You’re not going to get
killed fix)m being black and
not knowing how to golf,” said
Dennis Harris, who runs a
summer program for inner-
dty youths here. “But this,
this will loll you.”
Aniid the deaths of five black
men and boys in the
Cleveland area in recent
weeks, some say the lack of
aquatic aaunen among blacks
— perhaps stirred by fewer
swimming pools in black
neighborhoods or a cultural
aversion to water — is a prob
lem that needs to be
addressed
Swimming is the only
mandatory sport at Harris’
summer program. Harris says
the black community hasn’t
addressed the hi^ number of
drownings nor embraced
swimming as an essential life
skill.
For many white, suburban
children, swim lessons are a
rite of passage; that’s not the
case for many blacks.
In East Cleveland, the pre
dominantly black, poorest city
in the state, there is no public
pool, and community activists
say there are more pressing
concerns to be addressed.
“We’re seeing swimming as
recreational — not as a life
skill like we are these other
things,” Stanley ^fille^, execu
tive director of the Cleveland
NAACP, which also is offering
a summer camp fpr inner-city
kids.
Computer training as well
as team-building and self-
este^n classes are mandatory
at the camp, but swimming is
optional. The focus should be
primarily on helping children
pull themselves out of pover
ty VBUer said.
“As people change their
lifestjies,. move up an eco
nomic level, this (swimming)
will move up as a priority,
too,” he said
But some public health
experts see a growing prob
lem that needs to be
addressed now.
A National Institute of
Health study four years ago
found blade males ages 5 to 19
were 12 to 15 times more like
ly to drown in swimming
pools than white males in the
same age group.
Researchers expect similar
findings in another study to
be released n^ year, said
Gitaiyali Salty a, a research
fellow at the institutes.
Some say the problems
Charlotte’s weekly link to community
news and the world around you. *
Cl^arlotte
WARM2Kids.com urges edu
cators to use content fiom the
site such as celebrity inter
views and everyday role mod
els to reach out to kids. The
goal is to help students phys-.
ically sodally and emotional
ly, not just academically
“We teach things other than
mathematics and readii^, we
fill in the holes that are no
longer taught,” said Donald
Johnson, the program’s vice-
president of business devel
opment.
Carr plans to spread the
program nationwide. ‘We
eventually would fike to have
students all over the country
participating in the pro
gram,” he said. “If we can
help someone better their
lives along the way that
would be a good legacy”
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reach beyond having a pool
neaiby or access to swimming
lessons.
Some black families have a
deep, entrenched fear of the
water that some historians
say could date to when white
plantation owners forbade
slaves fix)m learning how to
swim. And until the civil
rights movement of the 1960s,
blacks weren’t allowed to
swim in many city pools or
even at public beaches.
There also is the hair
issue—many black women
who wear their hair straight
would have to spend more
than an hour on post-swim
stjding unless they want to go
natural or braid their hair.
Ayanna TVajdor is the direc
tor of the Euclid YMC A. When
she started her career 10
years ago, TVajdor said she
was one of only 13 black
YMCA aquatics directors
nationwide.
She learned how to swim
because her mother knew
how, but said her first job in
Philadelphia showed her how
differently swimming was
viewed among whites and
blacks.
“Learning how to swim, it’s
just what you did (in the white
community). You had play
group during the day and
then swim group,” TVaylor
said. “But so often, learning to
swim is still looked at as a lux-
my in the black community
and that needs to change.”
Get The Lead Out!
Of the houses in the United States built before
1978, 85% have lead hazard reduction needs.
One in five children in the United States is at risk
for lead poisoning. Its effects can include brain
damage, kidney disease, heart disease, stroke
and death.
LeadSafe Charlotte is leading the way in
protecting children from the dangers of lead.
As part of our commitment of creating safe,
lead-free environments for families, we provide
a wide range of services, including:
• Information and education on the hazards
of lead exposure
• Free lead inspections at your home
• Free testing of children
• Free clean up, painting, repair and
rehabilitating your home or rental property.
LeadSafe Charlotte offers all of these services
at no charge to families who qualify.
CD!>
LeadSafe Charlotte.
Keeping our aiARLOTTE.
children lead safe. SSST'
_ Be Lead Safe!
LeadSafe Charlotte Hotline I Spanish 704.336.3500 I English 704.336.2114
Ahmad Daniels M.Ed. facilitator of
Men To Men^Heart to Heart Forums
& Amina Haao of S.P.LR.IJ. INC.
Present
'"Healing the Wounds, Repairing the
^ Male-Feraale Relationship Workshop
Date: Saturday July 30,2005
Time: 10;00a,rn,
guest speakers inelude
Omar Tyree and Dr. Elaine Stevens
This Male-Female Relationship workshop
To reserve your seat call
Ahmad @704-537-1533
Amina @704-947-8982/646-996-1275
Location: Oasis Shriners Temple
604 Doug Mayes Rd
Charlotte. NC
is designed to improve relationships between
men and women through heartfelt and candid dialogue,
us in the on going process of self-evaluation
as we bridge the gap
currently existing between men and women.
Access Your Courage!
Be willing to accept the Challenge!
Communicate your Feelings!
(behind University Area’s Sam’s Club)