Headlines From The Nation's Press

Each week we open the show with some of the most glaring and reoccurring stories chronicling the ugliness surrounding youth sports organized by adults; issues pertaining to our children's health and education. These headlines clap like thunder across the country signaling a warning to parents, coaches, administrators, lawmakers, and community stakeholders that widespread change is imperative.

My good friend, and frequent guest on the show, Professor Doug Abrams of the College of Law at the University of Missouri, will add you to his daily mailing list of these stories. Simply email Doug and ask him to add your name to the list.

The Weekly High School Sports Report

Mike Hoffer, Sports Editor for the Forecaster, will report on high school sports, focusing on the "minor sports." We won't just be reporting scores and game results, but we'll focus on the kids who train hard and participate in those sports that receive less adult and media involvement. That said, Mike will keep us informed of all post season playoffs and tournament results, as well as behind-the-scenes and human interest happenings.

The Main(e) Event

One of the fundamental problems with our healthcare system is that it is primarily concerned with "disease management." Treating diseases is done by a whole host of specialists who rarely interact with one another. Our system is based on doctor referrals. The good thing about this system is that it is very effective at saving lives. The downside is that it has never been very good a preventing diseases, and furthermore, it is no secret that the very people who need that care are the very people who cannot afford health insurance.

This show will focus on children's health from an interdisciplinary, multi-disciplinary, holistic perspective. When the focus is shifted from "treatment" to "prevention and wellness," new opportunities emerge that enable us to prevent many diseases and childhood conditions from occurring in the first place. By learning a variety of healthy lifestyle behaviors at an early age it is possible to reduce the incidence of those diseases that take millions of lives each year, especially heart attacks, strokes, and Type 2 diabetes.

And doesn't everyone know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? Apparently not, because if everyone knew this, investing in prevention at an early age would save this country BILLIONS of dollars in health care expenditures every year! That's right! BILLIONS of dollars each year spent on heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.

I have been waiting many months to find a group of experts who are passionate about children's health, and who are not afraid to bring these important issues to our listening audience. This will just be the first of many monthly segments I'll do covering children's health issues when we take a fresh look at old problems by putting Kids' Needs FIRST.

My guests will be health professionals and people who advocate for children's health issues. We'll have Daryl Forte from the Governor's Office and a board member of Boys To Men; Phyllis Rubinstein and Lisa Belanger from The City of Portland Health & Human Services Department; Alison Kopelman, a Pediatric resident from Maine Med; Lauren Grousd from Planned Parenthood; and Elizabeth Page, a licensed clinical child and adolescent therapist in private practice.

We'll also talk with students from Portland High School who use the health clinic at school. They'll tell us about the services that are available to students.

I encourage you to tune in this Saturday, and please tell your friends and associates about this important show.

The Coaches Corner

Remember: 1) These are just kids. 2) Make no mistake! It's about them having fun. It's not your game, so be sure you don't take it away from them. 3) First and foremost, you are a teacher and a role model. The most important lessons you teach will NOT be about learning a game.

Regis' Rant

Kudos to Massabesic High School for suspending 13 athletes who violated the school's substance abuse policy. Seven football players, five field hockey players, and one female soccer player were suspended for four games. In addition to the suspensions, each student athlete must receive counseling, write papers explaining how they would avoid a similar situation in the future, and perform ten hours of community service.

Most schools have athlete contracts signed by the athletes and their parents, but without enforcement, such policies are often ignored when parents, coaches, and administrators turn their heads, especially when the incidents involve key players.

My hat goes off to the administrators and coaches at Massabesic for making this a learning experience for their community and other schools and communities around the state.

The Parent Trap

Next week's blog on http://www.mainetoday.com/kidsfamily/ will be my thoughts about the Parent Trap. I hope you will visit and add your comments.

We invite our listeners to call in and share their views.

Listeners can take part in the show by calling:

207-775-2217 or 1-866-811-9505.

or email me during the show at:

Regis@thecenterforkidsfirst.org