814-Uncaster Farming, Saturday, February 16,1985
LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Self
concept is the way we think about
ourselves and the feelings we have
about ourselves. These thoughts
and feelings can be positive or they
can be negative. TTie person who
has positive thoughts and feelings
is said to have a healthy self
concept.
As adults, we can control and
influence our feelings about our
selves. We can accept or reject
others’ opinions. We can monitor
the events in our lives that cause us
to feel one way or the other about
ourselves.
A young child’s self-concept,
though, is determined mostly by
the “messages” he receives from
others, particularly his mother and
father. These messages can be
deliberate or unconscious, verbal
or non-verbal.
Sometimes the message the
child receives is not what the
parents really intend. For
example, a parent may insist on
doing everything for the child,
even the most simple things the
child could do for himself. The
parent thinks he or she is sending
the message: “I’m doing all these
things for you because I love you.”
But really, the unconscious, non
verbal message the child may be
getting is: “Always rely on Mom
and Dad to do everything for you
Keeping Warm
Our furry caterpillar weather
predictor must have been over
anxious when he predicted a mild
winter. This winter weather is
certainly not typical of the last
several years but it certainly is a
lot more like what I remember of
my childhood. There seems to be
adequate snow fall every four or
five days to keep the sleding and
ski slopes in good condition. And
the weather man has become the
hero of television, especially when
he predicts enough snow for school
delays or cancellations.
Although a lot of attention is
given to the amount of snow fall
that we receive, another important
consideration is the temperature
outside. Recently, our 4-H ski night
was cancelled due to the wind chill
factor, even though the snow cover
provided perfect skiing conditions.
Frostbite can be a major concern
in extended outdoor temperatures.
Another health concern with the
cold temperatures is hypothermia.
Accidental hypothermia occurs
when a person is exposed to severe
cold without proper protection. But
in the elderly, this condition can
develop after exposure to mildly
cold temperatures. Recently in a
phone conversation, my grand
father reported that he was snowed
in but he was keeping warm. And
that is good news!
The elderly are less able to
respond to long exposure to cold,
increasing their chances of ac
cil 'ntal hypothermia
Hypothermia is a drop in internal
body temperature, and can be fatal
if it is not detected and treated
promptly. The condition occurs
when the body temperature drops
below normal, usually to 95°F or
lower.
Children need help to develop o good self-concept
because you’re dumb and
helpless.”
To understand a child’s self
concept you have to try to see the
world from his perspective. Even
very young children are very
occupied with developing com
petence - that is, learning to do
things themselves. It is this con
tinued striving for competence
that pushes children to try new
challenges and leads them from
one stage of development to the
next.
Parents can watch for the things
a child can do for himself and
encourage him to do them, even if
he cannot do thf m n*»r+<w>»iy The
In search of
BY DEBORAH STILES-RENZI
Staff Correspondent
Every year toward the end of
January-first of February, I
develop an overwhelming,
irresistible craving for
strawberries. Perhaps it’s the
snow blanketing the pastures or
the mud pervading the kitchen
(courtesy of somebody’s gum
boots) that has me longing for June
and balmy summer days, but what
is inevitable is a frantic search of
the deep-freeze for that last (what-
By Michelle S. Rodgers
Berks Extension
Home Economist
In addition to low body tem
peratures, other symptoms in
clude: an unusual change in ap
pearance or behavior during cold
weather, slow and sometimes
irregular heartbeat, slurred
speech, shallow very slow
breathing, sluggishness and
confusion.
Dressing warmly, even indoors
is a way to prevent hypothermia.
The purpose of winter clothing is to
insulate the body and to retard any
heat loss from the body. Contrary
to what some people may believe,
clothing does not create heat.
Clothing prevents body heat from
radiating out to colder air spaces
by trapping it in air pockets bet
ween layers of clothes and air
spaces within crimped yarns and
fibers of a garment.
In addition to wearing warm
fabrics like wool, acrylic and
down, the way we dress can also
keep us warm. Dressing in layers
is an excellent and stylish way of
keeping warm. The first layer of
clothing worn next to the body
should be absorbent like cotton.
This will prevent moisture from
trapping between your skin and the
garment, which could make you
feel cold and clammy. It is in
teresting to note that wearing
several layers of thinner clothes
will keep you warmer than
wearing one bulky garment of the
same thickness.
So, when cabin fever strikes this
winter...remember the importance
of dressing warmly as you clamor
outdoors. Who knows, the furry
caterpillar prediction was a little
off. Maybe this year the groundhog
will be wrong, too!
Penn State It an affirmative action equal
opportunity employer
more he learns to do for himself,
the more positive his self-concept
will be.
One of the most important
factors in the development of self
concept is the parent’s attitudes
towards the child’s successes and
failures. If the most important
people in his life view him as
“dumb” or “helpless,” it will be
almost impossible for him to
develop positive feelings of self
worth. Mockery and sarcasm are
like the hot sun that causes a
flower to wither. But praise is like
the nurturing food that helps the
self-concept develop and blossom.
strawberries
-’-have they all been eaten before
now?) box last year’s frozen
strawberries.
Like most farm and rural
families in this area we eat locally
or home-produced fruits and
vegetables in season and preserve
the surplus for when they are not.
Our household is “seasonal”
(reminds you of those little notes m
restaurant menus about the melon
-"m season only”); we follow the
tradition of our immigrant an
cestors in allowing the seasons to
dictate the menus, with a little
more leeway, thanks to the old
chest freezer.
Local stores sometimes provide
a meager selection of produce
shipped from the warmer climes,
and although citrus and the like
are appealing (since you can’t
grow them at all here), does a
green bean or broccoli head that’s
traveled two thousand miles
compare tastewise or pncewise
With nnp ormim lost cnwmor Kv
Families
NEWARK, Del. - Today 12
percent of the U.S. population is
over age 65. If current trends
continue, by the year 2000 half of
all Americans will be over 50 and a
third will be over 65.
As more faipilies become con
cerned about caring for elderly
relatives, people are starting to
ask how providing this care will
affect the financial well-being of
adult care givers and their
families.
Research on this topic as
reported in the U.S, Department of
Agriculture’s “Family Economics
Review” shows that, while
government programs like Social
Security and Medicare provide
most of the economic support for
the elderly, families also make
important contributions. Much of
this aid comes in the form of
services such as housing or
transportation.
“Studies have shown that only
about four percent of families
regularly make direct financial
contributions to their elderly
parents,” says University of
Delaware extension home
economist Debbie Amsden. “The
size of these contributions is
usually limited and very few
families report a financial hard
ship due to such help. This
suggests that government
programs rather than the family
are currently the primary means
of transferring income to the
elderly.”
On the other hand, families play
a major role in providing essential
services for the elderly. While
there are agencies which, for a fee,
furnish nursing care and tran
sportation or perform
homemaking tasks, famihes are
more likely to provide such ser
vices themselves rather than pay
for them, the home economist
says.
Research also indicates that
family members perform these
s
S'
your own two hands (or your
neighbor’s)?
Of course not. So you head for the
basement. Get in the freezer. And
toss out pork chops and com and
apples and half of the freezer
cartons in there to find what you’re
craving.
Which brings me back to
strawberries, and why my family
contribute to earing for elderly
services as part of a mutual
exchange of resources, not just
because they have to. Indeed, the
care given often covers far more
than the older person’s actual
needs.
It is highly probable that the
elderly will live in some type of
shared housing late m life, Amsden
says Today the shared home is
often that of an adult child.
Sharing housing enables older
family members to stretch their
incomes. However, combining
households may lead to over
crowding and place demands on
adult children which deprive other
family members of needed at
tention. In most shared living
arrangements the family does the
housework, prepares meals, shops
and provides transportation for the
older individual. As this person
becomes less able, family mem
bers also assume responsibility for
his or her grooming, physical care
and financial management.
Over the rest of this decade,
America’s elderly population is
expected to increase - par
ticularly the most aged group,
which includes those most likely to
have low incomes, health problems
and functional limitations and so
will be most dependent on family
5™
MAVI
looks at me a little funny every
February when I disappear head
first into the freezer in the great
quest for the elusive frozen red
fruit.
I HATE strawberries.
But I eat them in February.
Hurry up, spring-even the
frozen zucchini’s starting to look
good!
and public support.
Both families and public
programs for the elderly face a
challenge as they try to respond to
this growing level of need, Amsden
says. Trends affecting younger age
groups, such as the rising number
of women in the work force and the
high percentage of single parent
families, limit the time and
financial resources available for
helping elderly relatives.
“Because of these trends,” the
home economist says, “in the
future more people will likely use
private agencies to provide home
health care for their aging
relatives.”
To help meet the challenges and
cope with the pressures, the
Delaware Cooperative Extension
Service is sponsoring meetings in
New Castle and Susex Counties for
families who care for elderly
relatives. One of the issues
discussed is the process of
selecting a home health care
agency.
For more information about
these meetings, call the New
Castle County Cooperative Ex
tension Service at 451-1239 or the
Sussex County Cooperative Ex
tension Service at 856-5250.