Free Summer Meals Program for Kids & Teens

Summer Meals -Nourishing Oregon’s Kids.

There are over 800 summer meal sites in Oregon with free meals for kids and teens ages 1-18.

   Summer meal programs may serve a combination of lunch, breakfast, supper and morning or afternoon snacks. Some programs also offer learning activities for kids before or after meals.

     Click on  the map below to find a site near you.

https://www.summerfoodoregon.org/map/

 

Spread the love

Parent’s Guide to Gangs

Parent’s Guide to Gangs

By Lieutenant Mike Budreau, Medford Police Dept.

 

Research indicates that parents can play a pivotal role in keeping young people out of gangs. Parents can protect their children from gang activity through taking positive actions, such as monitoring their activities, fostering close relationships with them, and using positive discipline strategies. However, parents often lack       factual information about gangs.

The early adolescent years (11-14 years of age) are a crucial time when youths are exposed to gangs and may consider joining a gang. Parents should look for common gang identifiers such as:

Gang Style Clothing and Dress:

Gang members often use a particular style of dress to identify with a particular gang. This might include bandanas worn or placed in the back pocket and are of a certain color that is representative of gangs. Other signs to look for are pants worn well below the waist, gangthemed t-shirts, and beaded necklaces.

Graffiti:

Gangs use graffiti to mark their territory, brag about their reputation and threaten rival gangs. For this reason, graffiti can be very dangerous and should be removed as soon as possible.

Tattoos:

Tattoos often show an individual’s loyalty to his/her gang. These tattoos often include the name, initials, or symbols of a specific gang.

Hand Signs:

Gangs often use specific hand gestures to communicate their affiliation with the gang and issue threats or challenges to rival gangs.

What Parents Can Do:

  • Talk to your children about gangs and ways to avoid them. Let them know you disapprove of gangs and do not want to see them hurt or arrests.
  • Tell your children not to:

– Associate with any gang members

– Hang out where gangs congregate

– Attend any party or social event sponsored by gangs

– Use any kind of hand or finger sign that may be meaningful to gangs

– Wear clothing that may have a meaning to gangs

  • Get to know your children’s friends and the friends’ parents. Be aware of their attitude towards drugs, alcohol and gangs. When children start to feel pressure to use drugs or join gangs, it usually comes from their friends.
  • Set firm limits with your children and teens. Children and teenagers need to know clearly what is expected of them and the consequences of their actions.
  • Do not rescue your children from the consequences of their decisions.Plan family time. Make time for your family to play, eat meals together, take trips (even to parks or activities), keep family traditions and have family meetings to talk about plans, feelings, and complaints.

If you have any more questions or concerns, contact your local School

Resource Officer (SRO), or your local police department.

Spread the love

Guarding Against Online Predators

Are your children safe online? It seems like the online world is harmless right?

Most of the time your children are online in home and sometimes under your watchful eyes.
Did you know that one out of every five youth online is solicited? Did you know that one in four received an unwanted exposure in the past year to pictures of naked people or people having sex?

Very few of these incidents are reported to police and while many did not find these incidents disturbing, they were distressing to a good number of the youth involved. Of the people who participated in the research funded by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, only 17% of the youth and 11% of the parents could even name a specific authority or internet service provider to which they could even report an internet crime. This is
staggering. Do you know what to do if your child reports to you that he or she was sent pornographic materials on line? These crimes are widely under reported which means that we can’t fully understand the impact these crimes have on the children and families involved.

There are some signs that might be red flags that indicate your child may be connecting with an online predator. None of these signs are definitive but indicate that it may be time to talk to your child to further understand what
is going on. If your child becomes withdrawn or isolated from their friends and family you may want to check in with them. Other red flags include, finding inappropriate or disturbing material on the computer, your child
receives gifts, money, mail or phone contact from people that are not known to you or you see charges on your phone bill from numbers or people that you do not recognize.

If you think that your child is a victim of an on line predator you should reassure your child that it is not their fault. You should save the evidence.
Evidence might be emails, instant messages, or any pictures that might have been sent. You should contact your local law enforcement agency and make a report.

You can also make a report to the CyberTipline at www.cybertipline.com or 1-800-THE-LOST and include all information available, even if you do not feel it is important information.
Guarding Against Online Predators

Spread the love

Cyberbullying – what parents should know

Cyberbullying – what parents should know

As parents it’s our job to help our children develop into independent, confident, and self-assured young adults. The pressures and complexities of being a teen, and being the parent of a teen, couldn’t be more challenging. It’s hard enough for kids to find their place in the physical world and try to fit in, but the cyber world has added a whole new layer of concerns.

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using digital technology. Cyberbullying most commonly involves the use of cell phones, but may also involve computers, tablets, iPods, gaming consoles and just about any device that connects to the “cyber” world. The actually bullying is facilitated through websites and applications such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Snapchat, and Kik Messenger. Common examples of cyberbullying include mean and threatening text messages, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.

Digital technology is not to blame for cyberbullying. In fact, digital technology and the power of the Internet have a very positive impact on learning, sharing of ideas, problem solving and staying appropriately connected with friends and family. But these tools can also be used to hurt other people. Whether done in person or through technology, the effects of bullying are the same. According to the US Department of Justice, kids who are bullied are more likely to use drugs and alcohol, have poor grades, skip school, have more health problems associated with the stress, avoid attending school, church, and social functions, and have lower self-esteem.

So what should you do as a parent to help reduce the risks of cyberbullying? The most important thing to do is talk with your kids about cyberbullying and other online issues regularly. You should also regularly look for opportunities to model and teach empathy. When we help our kids put themselves in another person’s shoes, they learn to be more sensitive to what that person is experiencing and are less likely to tease or bully them. By explicitly teaching our kids to be more conscious of other people’s feelings, we can create a more accepting and respectful community. Learn more at www.StopBullying.gov

 

Sergeant Colin Fagan
Spread the love