Potrero Hill Penny Carnival

On Friday, May 4, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., join us at Potrero Hill Recreation Center (801 Arkansas) for a special Penny Carnival for families with children under 6 years old.  The event will include carnival-style games, parachute games, an obstacle course, music and movement demonstrations, art and crafts, face painting, and an imagination playground, each for just a cent!  (Proceeds will go toward Rec and Park's Scholarship Program.)   

Smile Day 2012

Assemblymember Fiona Ma and the UCSF School of Dentistry invite you to participate in Smile Day 2012.

Saturday, Feb 18
9AM - 3PM
UCSF Dental School
707 Parnassus Ave
San Francisco

Students from the UCSF School of Dentistry will be offering FREE dental services (screenings, sealants, fluoride treatments) for kids ages 4-17.  Services are on a first-come, first-served basis, and while supplies last.  NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY!

For more information, please contact Fiona Ma's district office at 415-557-2312 or at www.asmdc.org/ma

Visitation Valley Community Center

Two notices today from the Visitacion Valley Community Center, 50 Raymond Ave:

Visitation Valley Community Center's Health and Food Access Workshop

Visitacion Valley Community Center's Family Resource Center, in partnership with the SF Food Bank and the San Francisco Health Plan, allows San Francisco children and families to get access to medical, dental and vision care services and fresh food if they qualify.

Thursday, February 2
12:00 - 1:30pm

For more information, please call 415-494-5209

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Visitacion Valley Community Center's Family Resource Center's Toddler Time
Interactive play for Families with children ages 0-5

Come and participate in story time, creative play, activities and songs!

Every Wednesday, 12:30-1:30pm

Call 415-494-5209

EVENT: Backpack giveaway

From The Bay View

The MAGIC Program’s Back-to-School Celebration and Backpack Giveaway, the largest of its kind in San Francisco, will kick off the academic year Saturday, Aug. 13, by distributing health information, school uniforms and 3,200 new backpacks stuffed with school supplies to kids and teens.

The BMAGIC event will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m at the Bayview Opera House, 4705 Third St., and at the Joseph Lee Recreation Center, 1395 Mendell St. 

The event will also include a neutral-color school uniform giveaway by the Tzu Chi Foundation for children in elementary and middle school.

Read more at The Bay View

Shakspeare in McLaren Park today

Start you holiday weekend off with the Bard. This afternoon, Friday, July 1 at 2:00 p.m. the children's Shakespeare Camp will be performing "The Tempest" and "MacBeth" at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park.

Childhood Trauma Linked to Learning Problems, Obesity

From MedScape.com,

Childhood trauma is linked to learning and behavioral problems and obesity, according to the results of a chart review reported online June 8 in Child Abuse & Neglect The International Journal.

"Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) including abuse, neglect, and histories of domestic and community violence are significant public health concerns in the United States," write Nadine J. Burke, MD, MPH, from the Department of Pediatrics, California Pacific Medical Center, Bayview Child Health Center in San Francisco, and colleagues. "In order to study the effects of traumatic experiences on child development, we studied the relationship between the prevalence of ACE categories in a specific urban population and both psychological and physical outcomes: learning and behavior problems as identified by the primary care physician (psychological development) and obesity (physical development). These particular outcomes were chosen because they are risk factors for adult chronic conditions."

The investigators reviewed medical records of 701 patients seen at the Bayview Child Health Center in San Francisco and coded medical chart documentation of ACEs. Each ACE criterion endorsed by a traumatic event received a score of 1, for a total score ranging from 0 to 9.

A clinical measure reported by the pediatrician, based on both objective learning data (eg, low academic achievement) and objective behavioral data (eg, history of violent behavior), was used to classify learning/behavior problems. Overweight or obese was defined as a body mass index (BMI) within the 85th percentile or above.

At least 1 category of ACEs was documented for most patients (67.2%, N = 471), and 4 or more ACEs were documented for 12.0% of patients (N = 84).

Increased ACE scores, and exposure to 4 or more ACE categories, were associated with an increased risk for learning/behavior problems and obesity.

"There was a significant prevalence of endorsed ACE categories in this urban population," the study authors write. "Results from this study demonstrate the need both for screening of ACEs among youth in urban areas and for developing effective primary prevention and intervention models."

Limitations of this study include cross-sectional design; history of ACEs obtained from the caregiver, creating sampling bias; and lack of formal assessment of learning/behavior problems.

"Future studies should look prospectively to evaluate whether targeted interventions may attenuate the risk of chronic problems, such as learning/behavior problems and obesity, and assess whether universal screening and early intervention can reduce the risk of subsequent adverse events," the study authors conclude.
The Lennar Urban Corporation supported this study. The study authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Child Abuse Negl. Published online June 8, 2011. Abstract

NABE STILL needs toys by this Wednesday

The Potrero Neighborhood House (NABE) needs toys for infants and children up to 12 years of age for their Christmas toy giveaway.   They are now expecting over 200 children on Thursday Dec. 23rd.  They currently don’t have nearly enough toys, so please consider helping by donating a new toy to help make a child’s Christmas bright.

Toys for all ages are welcome, but toys for children between the ages of 6-12 are particularly in need.  Toys don’t need to be expensive or large, but they should be new.

If you are able to give a toy (or several), please drop it off at the Potrero NABE by Wednesday, Dec. 22nd. The gift should be unwrapped.

Drop off at the NABE office, located at:

Potrero Hill Neighborhood House
953 De Haro Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 826-8081 – please call the NABE directly with any questions.

(h/t Julie Jackson)