European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 4, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Student athletes parents can help prevent injuries by Susan Schoenberger Baltimore Sun it even sounds painful helmet cracking against helmet the grunts of linemen the thud of bodies Landing in a pile. But that does t mean Junior should be locked in the Library if he comes Home with a football helmet. A student athlete is about As Likely to sustain a serious injury in wrestling As in football and More Likely in gymnastics. And parents can play an important role in preventing Many sports related injuries. Quot parents have an obligation to find out what coaches expect Quot said John Lopez former athletic Trainer for the Baltimore Colts and now director of the Towson sports Medicine Center. Quot that a the most important thing you can  Lopez and other specialists say they see a surprising number of serious injuries As Well As sprains pulled Muscles and overused joints that might have been avoided through better conditioning stronger communication Between parents and coach and proper treatment when an injury occurs. Quot kids who get Hurt and get mismanaged can have a Semi crippling injury at a very Young age Quot Lopez said. Before a child starts any sports program parents should find out How students Are chosen and what the physical requirements will be. Young children who play in pop Warner youth football or Little league baseball usually Don t risk much injury As Long As they play with children about their size said Neil Mcdonald director of the Union memorial sports Medicine Center. Quot Young kids done to run fast enough and Aren t heavy enough to cause serious injuries Quot said Mcdonald whose Center treats 4,000 athletes a year. But when they reach the Junior High and High school Levels sports become More competitive and students must be committed to the program to succeed. That should mean year round conditioning even for activities such As swimming. Overall strengthening can prevent common injuries to the Knees and other joints that take a pounding in Many sports Quot i think the most significant movement in the 70s and 80s has been strengthening Quot said or. Norman b. Rosen of rehabilitation and pain management associates of Baltimore. Quot in the past we  put a swimmer Pitcher or dancer in strengthening  once a child chooses a sport parents should introduce themselves to the coach and get a feel for his or her attitude. Is this someone who will teach your child about athletics without being Overly concerned about the teams win loss record does the coach feel prepared to Deal with injuries about 60 percent of which happen during practice also find out about the coaches feeling on warm ups and water Breaks and make sure your child gets some outdoor exercise during the summer. Its also important he said for parents to get their children to practice in time so they Don t jump right into strenuous activity. The coach also should provide water Breaks at least every 45 minutes and make sure the athletes feel comfortable getting water at any time. Because of the possibility of heat related deaths in football a it happens almost every year somewhere in the country a schools should weigh athletes before and after each morning and afternoon practice Mcdonald said. If an athlete loses More than 2 percent of his or her weight in a morning practice and does t gain it Back through fluid intake before the afternoon session he or she should t be allowed to play Mcdonald said. Quot there should be no limit As to How much water kids drink Quot he said. Though High school football still sees the greatest number of deaths or catastrophic injuries a a nationwide average of 24 a year a other Field sports such As soccer Field hockey and Lacrosse Are becoming More popular and therefore More competitive and More Likely Toj produce injuries experts say. At the beginning of the season the most common injuries Are pulled Muscles and strains. At the end of the year its overuse injuries such As tendinitis bursitis and Shin splints. If an injury does occur area experts say it s not unusual for parents to take their child to the family paediatrician who May or May not be familiar with sports injuries. But experts say teen agers should see an Ortho Peist or sports Medicine specialist. If the injury in t treated properly the athlete suffers the risk of getting Reiri Jared and seriously limiting his ability to play sports f problems can also arise when gifted athletes Are overused because their performances can make r break a team s win loss record. Mcdonald uses the Exa Isle of Young baseball pitchers whose coaches Are too enamoured of their Talent to take them out of the g me when they need to rest. A student athlete who a its to compete is highly unlikely to make that decision t self he said. Quot when you re bom you be got Only so Many or run so Many pitches in your Arm Quot he said. Quot a lot kids by the time they reach 18,19,20, have Eithe coached improperly or have thrown their Arm out. Another problem is emotional burnout which or to injury if the athlete is tired or uninterested in Thi preventing such injuries Means parents should m a sports activity is fun for their child not just for them. Quot we probably get a dozen kids a year who ask a can you Tell my mom and dad i m Hurt and i done thaw to play Quot Mcdonald said. Is to if these been a Lead game sure a amps Gus Schouler children who play pop Warner football usually done to risk much injury As Long As they play with children their own   diapers by John Holusha new York times disposable diapers have become a Symbol of a throwaway society. They squander resources and clog scarce landfills. To be environmentally responsible parents should use cloth diapers which can be washed and re used Many times. Or should they a study of the comprehensive environmental Impact of both kinds of diapers conducted in the United states for Procter amp Gamble co., by a consulting company suggests that neither has a Strong advantage. That conclusion has some support within the environmental Community. Without question disposable diapers contribute to the solid waste problem that is becoming particularly acute in the Northeast As Landfill space diminishes. According a widely cited study last year by Carl Lehrburger a solid waste consultant in Albany n.y., 18 billion disposable diapers Are tossed in the trash each year accounting for about 2 percent of All municipal solid waste. Because of this the Choice of diaper has become a Quot litmus test of environmentalism a said Nancy a. Wolf the executive director of the environmental action coalition in new York. Indeed the use of cloth diapers has recently grown rapidly. Jeff Johnston the president of the National association of diaper services in Philadelphia said a we Are up about 35 percent from last year As an Industry  but disposal is Only one environmental problem though some experts consider it to be the most stubborn one. Washing diapers consumes water and detergents pass into the environment. If a service is used the delivery trucks consume Energy and produce exhaust. To counter arguments that cloth is environmentally preferable Procter amp Gamble which has about half the $3.6-billion-a-year disposable diaper Market commissioned a life Cycle study of both types by Arthur d. Little inc. The Little report found that disposable diapers consume seven times More raw material a most of it cellulose from Trees a and generate 90 times More solid waste than cloth diapers. But it also found that using a diaper service consumes three times As much fuel a a non renewable resource a and generates nine times As much air pollution Quot neither disposable nor re usable diapers Are clearly Superior in the various resource and environmental Impact categories considered in this analysis Quot the study concluded. Some environmental leaders also say that both types of diapers have ecological drawbacks and that neither is clearly preferable. One is or. Allen Hershkowitz a staff scientist at the natural resources defense Council in new York a Legal group specializing in environmental issues. There Are Quot compelling ambiguities Quot in the arguments Over disposable versus cloth he said although he was critical of the Little study for ignoring the Impact of pesticide use in Cotton Fields. Quot the Earth does not Benefit from symbolic gestures Quot he said. Quot people Are wrong to think that simply using cloth diapers puts them on a higher moral  in the longer term the environmental problems caused by cloth diapers May be easier to solve Hershkowitz said. More fuel efficient trucks would reduce Energy consumption and air pollution and washing systems can be altered to reduce Energy use and water pollution. For their part Procter amp Gamble officials say that disposable diapers could be composted once the outer plastic layer is removed a technique the company has tried experimentally. A in a letter to the National resources defense Council Edward Groth Iii the associate technical director of Consumers Union which publishes consumer reports Magazine said he had conducted a similar study of disposable and cloth diapers in 1987. Quot i came to the same conclusion you did i.e., that there is no Clear Winner and each poses its own set of environmental   debate is far from Over. Quot we have a lot of questions about the assumptions in the Little study Quot said Ann Beaudry a consultant to National association of diaper services. The study assumes an average of 1.9 cloth diapers per change compared with 1.0 for disposables. Quot people Don t routinely double diaper Quot she said. Quot those assumptions can have a big Impact on the  Jackie Prince a solid waste analyst at the environmental defense fund a lobbying group in new York was also critical of the 1.9-diaper Assumption. Quot if that is the Best that . Can do it will be difficult to use this kind of study to make Public policy Quot she said. Several states including new York have considered legislation favouring cloth diapers. The Little study traces both types of diapers from raw materials to eventual disposal assessing the Impact on the environment at each stage. Anthony Montrone one of the principal authors of the report said the researchers decided to exclude issues like pesticide Runoff and habitat destruction. A it was basically a decision of How Many unknowns to include Quot he said. The Little report notes that disposables Are More than a convenience for the increasing numbers of mothers who work. Quot the so called disposable society did not just happen and products like disposable diapers were created in response to significant societal needs Quot it said. For parents the ambiguities May be frustrating. Or they May offer a measure of Relief from guilt at the supermarket. He Bottom line m diapers More than 18 billion dirty diapers Are thrown away each fear in the United states. They contain 75,000 tons 31 plastic which will last As Tiuch As 500 years in landfills they contain the pulp from an estimated 800 billion Trees. I they carry an estimated 3 million tons of human fees nto landfills where it can contaminate ground water. B it costs an estimated >1,700 to diaper a baby in disposables for 21/2 years versus about $400 for cloth. Is  environmental Protection Environ Montaj att on parents Magazine coping with a child a jealousy Krten inf graphics by Marianne and Stephen w. Garber and Robyn Freedman Spizman Cox news service i am a single Mother with an 8-year-old daughter who is jealous of anyone i spend time with. This includes babies other children and especially dates. In spite of my constant reassurances that i love her and that she is very special to me she resents any Man who shows an interest other Tyfian Friendship toward me. She goes to the extreme of being As rude As possible to my guests even though she knows she will be punished. Now that i am seriously dating someone and thinking of remarriage How can i help her be comfortable with die  of sharing me with someone else be a. Dear e a it sounds like the screenplay for Quot the Parent trap Iii Quot but then films often reflect real life. In the original Quot Parent trap Quot the girls shenanigans with their fathers Girlfriend leads to the reuniting of their parents. Your daughter May Harbor the same dream. It is not at All unusual for children to be very protective even defensive about a single Parent s relationships with others. You probably spent a great Deal of time with your daughter before you began dating a perhaps All your free time involved her. Now she May feel usurped. Also she naturally loves her father and is probably confused about what her feelings should be for this new person. Children often feel they Are being disloyal to mom or dad if they Are Friendly with the other Parent s new Friend. After All if you fall in love with another Man you will probably remarry. Where will that leave her father and where Wilt that leave her try these suggestions a set aside time to talk. Ask her Why she reacts As she does when your Friend comes to Call. If she does t raise the issues bring them up yourself. A set limits. Don t confuse setting limits with your needs or guilt about getting divorced. When everything else seems to be changing children need the stability of rules and routines. They also need approval love and support from both parents. A Clear the air. Straighten out misconceptions about Mommy and daddy getting Back together Etc. Explain that just As she enjoys being with friends her age you need to be with other adults. Assure her that because you Date someone it does no to mean you re about to get married and that she will be one of the first to know if you meet someone you like very much. A state expectations. Define the minimal Standard of behaviour you expect. Role play introductions and Basic conversation. Perhaps she wont be miss congeniality but politeness is a must. Anything else should be met with Clear consequences. A enlist the help of your sex spouse. It would help both of you but especially your daughter if you could relieve any concerns she has about being a traitor. Let your daughter know that you Hope daddy also finds a new mate and he wishes you the same. A include your child in your plans but also do things separately. One Hope is that As your daughter gets to know your Friend she will become More comfortable. A maintain some form Auty in How you introduce your dates and How your daughter addresses them. The formality lessens the confusion that every adult is a parental substitute and also gives a signal about becoming too attached to a new acquaintance. Whether this relationship continues or not you and your daughter should develop plans away from each other. She May feel she can to spend time with friends because you will be alone. It will help both of you to know that you have separate lives and friends As Well As the life and love you share. If your child remains stuck at the stage of not accepting the divorce and can t move ahead with life it May be Wise to seek counselling. Many schools religious institutions and mental health professionals conduct divorce adjustment groups for kids of various age groups. Marianne and Stephen w. Garber and Robyn Freedman Spizman write a child behaviour column for the Atlanta journal Constitution that is distributed by Cox news service. Page 14 a a a the stars and stripes tuesday septet 4,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 15