Opportunities for healthy fun are plentiful

By Kathy Winkelman

It's back to school time. Middle school and high school teenagers will be gathering together in their school communities. I often look at our relationships with our grammar school children and wonder how the transformation away from the nurturing parent happens so abruptly.

Be encouraged to continue the investment in our children's growth and development by keeping the doors of communication open, and by being "there" to know "what's up." If we lose communication with them in middle school by "letting them be" too much of the time, then we miss the opportunity to continue to walk side by side with them through the rest of their education.

And they will want to talk issues and life with someone as they become young adults. Whether we are parents, teachers, shop-owners, employers, coaches etc., we have a responsibility to our teenagers to listen, support, direct and, yes, discipline.

We must invest time and energy to keep our children's minds and bodies strong and healthy. They are growing into these incredible human beings, and they need to be fully alive, even through pain. A developmental psychologist, Juan Pascual-Leone, observes that the key to wisdom in dealing with challenges all through life, is learning to cope with loss. (Shouting at the Sky, by Gary Ferguson.)

Hundreds of families in our community experience the pain of removing an addicted 15-year-old child from society for drug or alcohol rehabilitation. These kids began using much younger than that. Be aware that this is the culture our children are trying to grow up in. There are life's lessons for us all to continually learn.

We need to be there for our kids if they need us. We should know where they are, who they are with and what's up.

So as school begins, we need to love them, work hard to continue to see that small child nurtured in our adult-sized teenagers, look for fun, healthy social programs and direct their paths.

As co-chair of Community Against Substance Abuse (CASA) with Kim Bidermann for the coming school year, I would like to share with you an alliance of youth organizations that have the common goal of health and happiness for our teens.

Club Live, a CASA-funded youth program, welcomes all students at Fisher Middle School who have the desire for a healthy lifestyle and to stay away from drugs and alcohol. The program offers many social activities, service opportunities and leadership experience. Friday Nite Live Club Los Gatos High School is open to all students and is proud of all the fun they offer: Bowling Lock-In, Broom Ball, Comedy Sports, Scavenger Hunts in San Francisco, a CASA ski trip and more. Our high schools offer so many club and athletic opportunities that students would not be able to experience them all even if they went through high school twice!

The 5th Quarter Program is run by parents who come to campus and keep the gym open for pizza, dancing and prizes after five home football games this fall. These activities are co-sponsored by CASA., PTSA and the Outhouse. A Place for Teens, the Outhouse, is our community-built and -funded youth center. It is open daily and has a full calendar of events for middle school and high school youth. Call 408.395.5553 for more information.

Club Edge is an after-school, community-based program for our middle school students. This program offers a computer/study lab, skate park, and recreational activities that support the healthy lifestyle choice; call 408.356.0756.

Los Gatos-Saratoga Recreation offers Monday night volleyball, dance lessons, etc. and our local churches have fun social and spiritual opportunities for our teens through their youth programs that are open to all.

CASA is a 16-year-old community organization that provides alternative social activities for teens, parent networking, education, volunteer and service opportunities. Please join us at the bimonthly meetings beginning Oct. 5, 10 a.m. until noon in the Los Gatos High School patio room. There will be representatives from Teen and Family Counseling and Triad Counseling Services, Probation Department, Los Gatos High administration, A Place for Teens, Los Gatos police, teen recovery centers and many volunteer parents that involve themselves with the CASA programs.

Funding for CASA comes primarily from the Peckler Memorial Relay to be held this year on Oct. 15. To become involved, call 409.395.1719.

Donations and membership dues help to finance a full calendar of youth and parent programs. Volunteers are welcome!

As we prepare for our children's return to school, let's take a step past the school clothes and even academic readiness and make a commitment to communicate and be involved with our teenage children. It may be in a much different way than when they were in grammar school but let's do it with the same love and nurturing motivation!

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Los Gatos resident Kathy Winkelman is co-chair of CASA.

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