The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 19, 2005 - AS . KEEP TKEM BUSY: ‘Most teens in ther region (91 per cent) participate | in at least one after school activity each week, according toa an adoles- cent hedth ‘survey conducted in B. C. schools. Students who don't participate in any extracurricular activities were more likely to have had sex, tried smoking or have used marijuana than other teens, researchers Say. e kids are | all rig G FILE PHOTO A glimpse inside the lives and habits of northwest teens By JENNIFER LANG > EY’S FACE IT — tcenagers : get a pretty bad rap. 0° hey’ re lazy, couch “potatoes who five on junk food and refuse to exercise. : “They. hate ‘their. parents, love party, aid drive way too fast, putting themselves and others ai risk. " They smoke, drink, and like Jo get stoned. And oh yeah, they start to have sex way too young, (and they don’ Luse protection when they do). | "Sheesh. If even half the “thiigs ” people said about teenagers were true, they’d never be allowed out of their messy bedrooms to mingle with - decent society, much less be deemed capable of maxing even the simplest - decisions abaut their own health or behaviour. A provine-wide survey of B.C. conducted bj the McCreary Centre Society reveils the lives of teenagers may be a loymore nuanced than the stereotypes ju ggacsl. ‘ Surprising . findings Let’s dart with teen smoking ‘rates. Tha” ve actually dropped 18 per cent i! the past five years, a dra- matic dedine. ’ Mostteens these days — 72 per cent—ar non-smokers. In 1998, just 55 per ent of B.C.’s students made that clam. Thebig drop in smoking is just one ofthe encouraging findings in the McCreary Society’s 2003 ‘Ado- lescen Health Survey, released last year Tere’ $s more good news: fewer yout are drinking and driving. Mok young people“are waiting lon- ger.o have sex. njury rates among youth have :de- ‘clised. And fewer young people are reporting physical or sexual abuse. ‘The survey, conducted in 1.500 rardomly-selected classrooms — by pwlic health nurses and trained ad- muistrators, involved 30,500. stu- dents. Participation is not manda- ; way. Two previous surveys were con- dicted in 1998 and 1992 parison of British Columbian teens’ attitudes toward their own health and behaviour over time. The most recent survey shows young people in the province are — in many ways — in better health and taking fewer risks than their coun- terparts did five or 10 years earlier. There’s reason to worry There are some areas that need improvement, the survey found. More young people are over: weight or obese, the survey found. - Less than half of students say they feel safe at schcol. Nearly one in four girls have been in contact with a stranger on the in- ternet who made hir feel unsafe. More than half of the teens sur- veyed said they’¢ gambled in the *shiftiess ; to 2, providing - what.the researchers hope i$ a com-_ past year. And the number of teens who’ have. considered or attempted sui- cide has not! ‘declined. no Alarmingly, almost one in 10. British. Columbia . youths surveyed ; -had run away from home‘in the past year, . Thdit statistic puts them i in danger of virtually every health risk facing teens: abuse, poor health, suicide, pregnancy and alcohol and drug abuse. Youths who look older than their tion or disability, are also at higher risk than other teens. Healthy youth development The researchers say the survey confirms teens who have strong ‘family, community and school con- nections have better physical and emotional health. Additionally, teens whose par- ents were at home during meals and bedtimes had higher ‘educational goals and were less likely to engage in risky behaviour. Location matters: How do northwest teens compare to other B.C. youths? Researchers found teens here are similar to other young people when it comes to exercise, condom use, and drinking and driving. The northwest once had the high- est teen smoking rate in the prov- ince. Cigarette use here has now dropped to the point where just sev- en per cent of youth surveyed said they currently smoke, compared to 23 per cent in 1998, Drinking rates are fairly high i in the-northwest, however. The region is also home to rela - ‘tively high rates of injuries, racial discrimination and suicide attempts. Less than half of students say they always feel safe at school. Seven per cent of students have run aw ay in the past yee Fewer northwest. teens are smok-_ ing or having sex before the age of I4 than they were five years ago. A majority are also exercising ‘three or more days a week, Family background Most northwest teenagers: — 73 per cent —live with (wo parents most of the time, while 22 per-cent live with one. More than one-quarter of students speak a language other than English at home, with seven percent report- ing they speak another language at home most of the time. That contrasts sharply with teens in the greater Vancouver area, where 29 per cent of students report speak- ing a language other than English at home most of the time. Aboriginal youth | Nineteen percent of students sur- , age, and those with a health condi- : ’ friends. On an average school day in the » veyed in northwest B. Ci are aborigi- nal or First Nations. — : of that, 39 per cent say they have lived on-a reserve, and 22 per cent are currently livitig on reserve.” Aboriginal students said they learn about their culture and heritage’ from their family (81 percent) and school (80 jper cent), and from the community (70 per cent), On line safety Internet safety is a growing con- "cern; with five per'cent of boys and, 26 per cent of girls encountering an - on-line stranger who made them feel unsafe, the researchers say. “This new issue suggests a need for parents to discuss the dangers of the Internet with their children and to monitor computer activity,” the report says. School days A majority of northwest students (73 per cent) say they plan to contin- uc their education past high school by attending college or university. One-third of students overall had skipped school at Ieast once in the past month, but that rate climbed to 48 per cent in 1 Grades il and 12. They feel lucky More than half of the youth in the region (52 per cent) said they had gambled in the past year, with about five percent gambling more .than once a weck, - One third of students played cards for money, 25 per cent pur- chased. lottery tickets and 25 per cent bet money in sports pools, the report found, Screen time Students were also asked about TV viewing habits and how much time they spend using a computer to. surf the Internet or chat with northwest, 35 per cent of teenag- ers are spending five or more hours watching TV: or using the compuler recreationally, 31 per cent between three and five hours, 16 per cent. two to three hours and 18 per cent less than two hours a day. After school Most students in the region (91 per cent) participate in at least one °- extracurricular activity each week. The majority (nearly 60: per cent) are participating in sports with a coach. ~ Girls were more likely. to take dance or acrobic lessons, music, art or drama lessons, or participate in community groups. The researchers point out those students who did not participate in one or- more weekly activity were more likely to have had sex, tried smoking, or to have used marijuana. Risky business The report says adolescents are taking fewer risks and are enjoying better health than 10 years ago, when the first assessment was donc. There’ s been a dramatic,, 18° per cent drop in youth smoking in B.C. . since 1998, with 73 per cent of stu- dents now saying they are non smok- me ers, In the northwest, just 7 per ¢ cent. . of youth currently smoke. compared to 23 per cent in 1998. More ‘youths are waiting to have sex, particularly girls, and more are using condorns. Seventy-three per cent of north- west students between Grades 7 and 12 surveyed have never had sexual intercourse. In northwest B.C., 33 per cent of students surveyed always wear a seatbelt, which is just under the pro- vincial average of 54 per cent. Inthe past year, 39 per cent of northwest students reported being injured, which is higher than the B.C. average of 34 per cent. Fewer youth are using crystal meth and ecstasy, and more are wait- ing longer to try alcohol.” Injuries from motor vehicle acci- dents are also down, as is drinking and driving. But seatbelt use is down slightly since 1992. More cause for concern Sixteen per cent of northwest teens surveyed said they had seri- ously considered suicide; 12 per cent had actually planned an attempt. While girls here were more likely than boys to try suicide, boys were more likely to die as a result. A region of * potheads? Overall, the amount of illegal drug use among northwest adoles- cents is in line with other B.C. teens surveyed, | ; Since 1992 in the northwest, there’s been a decline the use of co- caine (4 per cent), hallucinogens (6 per cent), mushrooms (13 per cent), inhalants (4 per cent), amphetamines (4 percent) and heroin (zero). But marijuana use here is way up, with nearly half (47 per cent) of northwest students say they ve tried marijuana at least once, which is up from 29 per cent in 1992, Of those, nine per cent. used it 100 or more times in their lives. And five per cent said they'd used mari- juana more than 20 times-in the past month. Eleven per cent of students were 12 or younger when they took their first puff of marijuana. What's it all. about? The results of the survey are compiled in a report called Healthy Youth Development: Highlights of the 2003 Adolescent Health Survey. Information from the survey’ is shared with schools, government Me agencies, and health professionals working to improve youth health, the status of ~ and could not find it. CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD ‘The Mail Bag Stoop, then SCOOp | Dear Sir: Iam a resident of the Southside school area and am to- tally disgusted with the dog owners that bring their dog(s) “to oul school fields for a run, then proceed to let their ca- nine companions relieve themselves wherever (field, play- ground etc.) the dogs choose to. ] have noticed that none of those irresponsible dog owners carry a shovel, “doggy bag,” or any Othér-suitable dog waste collector-when their dogs are Out exercising, with the exception of the gentleman with the two bull- dogs, who always carries a shovel with him. I s pretly nasty when children have to watch our for - “land mines” whenever they want to play at the part or in » the field. 1 do commend those few people who actually.t take time to “stoop and scoop” to keep our parks clean for the rest of us 10 enjoy, but to the irresponsible dog owners (you know who you are). shame. on you. ‘0 Vera Allan, Terrace, B.C. Are things this bad? _ Dear Sir: On Friday, December 17, my family and I decided to’ take a drive to Terrace for Christmas shopping. - Being. unemployed and making ends: meet, my husband gave me his ast $50 to buy a toddler bed for our two- -year-old son. This. was our “big” gift for him this Christmas, and: we were both so excited that he would have a bed of his - own With trust, we placed the bed on top ‘of our vehicle | within the holding bars on the roof of the vehicle. We were about to leave Terrace, and wished our family a Mer- _ ty Christmas before leaving, and I noticed the bed was: ' gone. We stopped off at the places we had been that evening If the bed slid off the vehicle, | we were wishing that someone from the public would be a good samaritan and return the bed-into lost and found: at one of the stores or to the RCMP. We reported the incident - and are still waiting to receive a call with good news. I understand that times are tough for a lot of people, and I wish that who ever is sleeping on that toddler bed tonight is comfortable and happy. I think that was a good - find for someone, and maybe a Godsend for a child who had nothing. Orare things so bad that someone has to take - from.a child in order to fulfill their needs? : _ Laurie White, Prince Rupert, B. On © Keep carving alive. ‘Dear Sir: .« Dr. David Heinimann, in ‘his recent letter on the pole raising last year at Northwest Community College, makes a valid point when he talks of the technological nation in relation to the support foundation of the, pole. His point is that the pole would only have rotted and = . toppled long, before its time.: Such is. the natural course ° ~ of totem poles and hence the need to keep carving skills passed on from’ generation to gencration. C. Larochelle, Beaver Creek, B. ron Dispatch move a bad idea Dear Sir: I disagree vehemently with the statement “We could dispatch from Sydney, Australia and no one would know” in the recent story on having the Terrace-based RCMP dispatch service moved to Prince George. Last winter while driving I noticed a man in the ° middle of the road who was cither passed out or hit by a vehicle. I phoned 911 to request an ambulance and stated “Park Avenue across from the Totem Lodge.” They re- peatedly asked me the address and I stated, “Look, the man could be dying. Send somebody.” They kept asking me for the address, I asked them if they wanted me to leave the scene and get a phone book as I didn’t know’the address but could tell them it was adjacent to the Totem Lodge on Park Avenue. Then they wanted my name. Meanwhile, vehicles were swerving to avert hitting the man. I said again, send somebody. This was not good» cnough; they wanted an address and my name. I told them — to go to hell if they don’t want to help. 1 then phoned ‘the focal Prince Rupert RCMP only to get the Terrace . RCMP. To make a long story short, it does make a difference to have local people answer the dispatch. They know the . arca names and care about local people. In the summer of 2003 I spoke to a Terrace dispatcher who told me she actually came to Prince Rupert to ac- _ quaint herself with the place names in Prince Rupert. If someone calls 911 in Terrace and tells them there is _ a serious accident up on the bench by the college, a local dispatcher can piece the location together. Someone from Prince George could not. : To conclude,.it does make a difference where the dis- patchers are located. (a) Rob Eby, Prince Rupert, B.C, Beating the Grinch. Dear Sir: . This is about the Grinch who tricd to steal Christmas. On Wednesday, December 22 my daughter ‘went Lo Wal-Mart to buy her five-month-old some formula and - her wallet was stolen, No, Katie was not looking out for the Grinch. Her thoughts were with Colby, who had stayed : at home with Grandma because he has been very sick with a severe case of chicken pox and yet another bout of asthma. You nasty Grinch, you tried, but the Christmas spirit Was just too strong. Everything you took can be replaced. It was just stuff. Everyone knows Christmas isn’t about how much stuff you can get. Happy New Year, Grinch. We wish you peace and con- tentment for the new year. Janet Costain, Terrace, B.C. About the Mail Bag The Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our address is’ 3210 Clinton St.. Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2. You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail us at newsroom @terracestandard.com. No attachments, please. Namie, address and phone number required for verification.