37SU N DAY, J U LY 26, 2009T H E E X A M I N ER
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BIG DECISIONS
Story time Thursdays
Stories, songs, filmstrips and
flannel boards. Story time runs
from 10:45 to 11:15 a.m. Thursday
at Georgetown Lutheran Church,
1556 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washing-
ton. Children must be accom-
panied by a caregiver and must
be registered. Visit dc.gov or call
202-337-9070 for more informa-
tion. Event runs every Thursday.
Free sewing lessons
Members of the American Sewing
Guild will guide you through the
basics of using a sewing machine
from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at G
Street Fabrics, Montrose Shopping
Center, 5520 Randolph Road,
Rockville. All ages welcome and all
supplies provided. Sessions begin
every half-hour. No registration
required. For more informa-
tion, call 301-871-2128 or e-mail
hfpdr@comcast.net.
Family First Saturdays
at the Textile Museum
Explore the Textile Museum with
your family beginning at 2 p.m.
Aug. 1 at the museum, 2320 South
St. NW, Washington. Each session
focuses on different objects and
activities. Participants can do
hands-on projects, visit with local
artists and watch performances.
An interactive docent-led tour will
take place at 3 p.m. Admission
is free; no reservations required.
Visit textilemuseum.org or call
202-667-0441, ext. 64. Following
dates: Sept. 5, Oct. 3 and Nov. 7.
SonRock Kids Camp
SonRock Kids Camp vacation Bible
school runs from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m.
Aug. 6 and 7; and from 9:30 to
11:30 a.m. Aug. 8 at Alliance Church
Centre, 12113 Vale Road, Oakton,
Va. Following the Aug. 8 event, there
will be a picnic at Burke Lake Park.
For more information, call 703-263-
1273 or visit cicalliance.com.
Perplexed Parents Circle
The Center for Inquiry D.C. features
The Perplexed Parents Circle: Fami-
lies in a Multifaith World meeting at
noon Aug. 15 at 621 Pennsylvania
Ave. SE, Washington. Perplexed
Parents is for parents who would
like to explore how to raise children
outside of religious institutions.
Must RSVP to mhensley@center
forinquiry.net or call 202-546-2332.
Child care will be provided on
request and must be requested a
week in advance. Free and open to
the public. Visit centerforinquiry.net
for more information.
Baby Loves Disco
Baby Loves Disco is an afternoon
dance party featuring music from
the '70s and '80s and runs from 1
to 4 p.m. Sept. 12 at the Rock and
Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE, Wash-
ington. Tickets are $12 in advance
online at babylovesdisco.com/
locations/dc and $15 at the door.
Babies in strollers are free. Follow-
ing dates: Oct. 10 and Nov. 14.
CONTACT
E-mail sschwartz@washington
examiner.com and include time,
date, place and description.
FAMILY EVENTS
How not to feel as if
you're going to lose
control of your child
By Angie Wagner
The Associated Press
M
y daughter does not
know that "Hannah
Montana" is a TV show.
Or that she could go see
Miley Cyrus in concert.
She thinks "idiot" and "stupid"
are bad words and has no idea what
a Wii is.
I like it this way, but I realize my
almost-6-year-old can't live in a
bubble forever. She will go to school
and pick up phrases I don't like and
make friends I won't approve of. She
will see and hear the exact things I
have been trying to keep her from.
In August, my daughter will head
to a new, big school where she stays
all day, and I will lose some control
of her world. I am slowly coming to
peace with this, but how do I make
sure she navigates this new territory
without trading in her childhood on
the playground?
Dr. Perri Klass, a pediatrician and
professor of journalism and pediat-
rics at New York University, assured
me that no matter how much I try to
keep certain shows or movies away
from my daughter, she will pick up
all the little details about them at
school.
"What children find most inter-
esting is what they hear and learn
from other children," she said. "All
little girls will learn to roll their eyes
and shake their heads."
But Klass says not to panic. Just
because children are exposed to
something like a violent movie
doesn't mean they will change their
behavior. Besides, keeping them
away from things you deem inap-
propriate can be tough.
Jennifer Morley, a Henderson,
Nev., mom of two, said her 6-year-
old son asks why he can't watch a
certain movie or play a video game
that all his friends play.
"I just try and tell him every fam-
ily has different rules," she said.
Morley is a bit anxious about her
son going to first grade in a school
with more than 900 students. Pre-
viously, he went to a small, private
kindergarten where she could hand-
pick his friends. She is even leery
about her son going on play dates
without her.
"I think it's just a lack of control
that I'm afraid of," she said.
Life happens, and you can't
always control what happens. But
what you can control is letting your
children know they are cared for
and protected, Klass said. Make
sure they are not watching too much
television, rule out inappropriate
shows and set parameters.
But a little indulgence at another
kid's house, whether it be a glimpse
of a forbidden television show or
dessert before dinner, probably
won't do too much harm.
A parent's role, Klass said, is
not so much controlling the kinds
of input that your children receive,
but helping them understand and
deal with the things they see and
experience.
With big-kid school comes
mother's big-kid worries
ISTOCK PHOTO
Don't panic; just because children are exposed to something like a violent movie
doesn't mean they will change their behavior. Besides, keeping them away from
things you deem inappropriate can be tough.
FAMILY LIFE
Preemies in poverty
less ready for school
CHICAGO � The most power-
ful factor determining school
readiness in premature infants
was low socioeconomic status,
U.S. researchers found.
Study co-author Dr. Jeremy
Marks of the University of
Chicago Medical Center and col-
leagues said the study extended
the research of babies born pre-
maturely with immature lungs
that the University of Chicago
researchers began in 2000.
The researchers used
assessments of each child's
understandingofbasicconcepts,
perceptual skills, vocabulary,
functional skills and any sensory
impairments to assign a school-
readiness score.
The study found advances in
neonatal care enable two-thirds
of premature babies born with
respiratory problems to be
ready for school at an appro-
priate age, but those living in
poverty are far less likely to be
ready on time than their bet-
ter-off peers -- preemies born
in poverty were four times less
likely ready for school.
"The good news is prema-
ture babies are surviving,"
Marks said. "The bad news is
poverty leads to huge dispari-
ties in school readiness, with
poor kids faring four times
worse than others." � UPI
ECONOMICS

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