European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 1, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                For some children cation can be a big letdown by Lawrence Kutner the new York times summer is Here. For Many children that Means Carefree Days no Homework and endless supplies of ice Cream. Quot some kids really thrive during the summer Quot said or. Jon Carlson a family psychologist and a professor of psychology and counselling at governors state University in University Park Iii. Quot they look Forward to the Challenge of running their own lives. These tend to be the children who during the school year get themselves up in the morning make their own lunches and schedule their own Homework  but not All children adjust Well to the changes that come with the new season and the end of the school year. They have difficulty making the transition to a different schedule and they Lack the skills to identify and ask for the help they need. Carlson recently saw a 12-year-old boy whose parents were becoming concerned about his reaction to the changes in his life this summer. The child who was used to having his Days structured by adults during the school year Felt overwhelmed by choices of what he should do every Day. He simply could not make those decisions. Quot he s calling out for help by leaving the Garden hoses running All Day or opening the windows and turning on the air conditioner Quot Carlson said. Quot its his Way. Of saying he needs More help from his parents in taking care of  not All children who have trouble adjusting Are so obvious in their cries for  in kindergarten and the Early grades of elementary school May respond to the stress of summer by regressing emotionally perhaps wetting their Beds or throwing temper tantrums. Readers action although teen agers May wish to Slepp late if a child under the age of 12 is doing so repeatedly it May be a sign that he is overwhelmed and trying to withdraw. Quot children 5, 6�?oand 7 years old May have some feelings of abandonment a said or. Wanda Draper a professor of psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma health sciences Center in Oklahoma City. She has found that boys this age tend to have less trouble with new routines than girls. Quot these children May have bad the fantasy that because they Are out of school their parents would be Able to play with them All Day Quot Draper said. Quot when they realize that a not True it s a great letdown. They May become listless or even . For Young children working out a predictable schedule helps remove much of the stress they feel. They gain Confidence and Energy As they become More familiar with their new daily routine  your children enjoy summer experts  to keep several things in mind if their children appear to have difficulty adjusting to the summer hold a family meeting. Discuss what the next few months will a be like. Will your children have any new rules freedoms expectations or chores around the House a ask your children to Tell you what their fantasies Are for the summer a said or. Wanda Draper a professor of psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma health sciences Center in Oklahoma City. Quot then help them plan somethings that Are related but More  develop rituals to help children make the transition. Quot almost All parents have rituals that help their children prepare for the first Day of school each year Quot said Christopher Shanky the director of adolescent services at the 92nd Street y in Manhattan . These might include a labor Day picnic or a Parent child shopping trip to buy pencils notebook paper and other items for school. Quot but they done to have similar rituals to help them prepare for summer a Shanky added. Quot that a a  expect your children to be bored occasionally. One of the most useful things that they can learn from the summer is How to be More competent at managing their own time. With a Little guidance and encouragement from parents children can come away feeling better about themselves. Quot sometimes when children feel that they re bored that san Opportunity to daydream relax and be creative Quot Draper said. A fall children need this unbound  older children who thought they would simply loaf often find that their fantasies Are unrealistic and their initial plans need revamping Quot for a lot of teen agers the summer is an Opportunity just to hang out said Christopher Shanky. The director of. A adolescent services at the 92nd Street y in. Manhattan. Quot but by july the Romance of hanging out fades with the heat. He cautions that even adolescents May not be Able to talk about the things that Are bothering them As they re evaluate their summer plans. Quot if you re waiting for your teen Ager to a Tell you that he or she is feeling anxious or upset those words May never come a Shanky added. Helping children who Are having trouble adjusting to summer requires a bit of detective work. The child a perspective on How life is different now than it was in March May not match the parents assumptions. Quot Quot kids today especially those Between 9 and 12 years old Are very involved on a daily or hourly basis with elect Ronic devices Quot said Bob Ditter a social worker in Newton mass., who is a consultant to summer  Vars and Nintendo give them constant stimulation Quot Ditter said. Quot if these children go out in the country the quiet of their surroundings May be disquieting to them making them very nervous and  also a child who appears to reject a series of attractive ways to spend the Day May feel unsure of his ability to choose and be overwhelmed by the possibilities. A occasionally in an attempt to provide Structure to their children a Summers t parents will go overboard and schedule activities for them from Dawn to dusk. Quot but that often backfires Quot Draper  Quot by the time summer s Over the child really needs a  about future of arc Tours cafe recently my wife and i had the Opportunity to utilize arc armed forces recreation Center Tours conducted by arc Garmisch. We had a wonderful time visited the castles of Neuse Hanstein and Linderhof and shopped in Austria a Tirol Region. We were very pleased with the Quality of our arc tour and our outstanding tour guides. One of our guides pointed out however that after september arc will no longer provide guides and bus Drivers. A l am extremely concerned about this change in policy and feel it will be detrimental to All those who currently to write us readers action line is the readers Quot court of last resort Quot striving to answer questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line the stars and stripes Apo 09211-4211. All letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers use and plan to use arc facilities. If i May i la relate two experiences from our trip at Neuse Hanstein and Linderhof our arc guide Keith Eades was Able to bypass crowds of people awaiting individual entry into the facilities. He was also Able to gain entry into several other rooms not normally shown to the Public. On one of our Tours a non arc Driver though a very Nice Man did no to speak English and had no idea of where he was to go. Those of us on the bus were Able to direct him in the right direction Only after Many hand signals and conversations in broken German. Arc guides and Drivers Are bar none the Best. Why is arc planning to do away with guides and Drivers i think that Many people will be sorely disappointed when they find themselves on an unguided . Staff sgt. Richard p. Harris Ober Auerbach Germany u James Mccrindle executive director arc Europe replies i m pleased that you enjoyed the Tours offered at arc Garmisch and the Praise for the program is much appreciated. Arc plans to continue offering the same High Quality reasonably priced Tours in the future. While it is True we Are currently attempting to establish a contract tour operation the existing requirements and High standards established for our in House tour operation will be included in our contract specifications. Also included in the contract specifications is the necessity for English speaking tour guides the Point you make about the bus Driver is noted in the first place our transportation Section should never have scheduled a bus Driver to pick you up unless he knew exactly where he was to take you. That has nothing to do with the language requirement and i apologize for this error. Second Many of the arc Drivers who take Tours do not speak English either. That a one reason we insist on having English speaking tour guides. While we encourage hiring Drivers who speak and understand English it is not a condition of employment for us. A your comment concerning expedited entry into the castles is also a Good one. We Are taking this into consideration and intend to keep this privilege despite our efforts to use contract tour companies. We intend to encourage the company or companies we will use As contractors to hire and use those tour guides currently working for arc Garmisch to guide arc Tours in the future. These individuals As you stated Are highly trained professional tour guides who know the area and our clientele. We recognize their Worth As tour guides and will do everything in our Power to use their services in the future. Since this initiative to contract Tours is a relatively new concept and will not take place until mid september at the earliest Many of our employees do not fully understand All of the preconditions we Are establishing which a new contractor will have to adhere to. As a result of your letter i have directed the recreation director to Brief each employee at the Tours office thoroughly on this initiative to prevent misunderstandings or misinformation especially to our guests in the future. Finally you May be interested in knowing that the tour guide you mentioned has been selected As the arc Garmisch employee of the Quarter for january March 1991.1 can see Why you would feel strongly about keeping this Quality of person guiding arc Tours. Page 16 the stars and stripes monday july 1, 1991