KIDS Crack

• Kids Cracked Corner Of Mouth
• Kids Cracker Cheese Ham Snack Pack
• Stray Kids Crack Gif

• Crack up your child with these clean jokes for kids whenever you both need a good laugh because the giggles from kids' jokes is infectious. Funny Jokes for Kids 1.
• This new cybersecurity school will teach kids to crack codes from home. Online initiative looks to inspire a new generation of cybersecurity talent to bring out their 'digital Sherlock Holmes.

Kids Cracked Corner Of Mouth

These short, clean jokes for kids are so funny, they'll make grownups crack up, too. Take turns reading these hilarious jokes for kids out loud when you're stuck on a long car ride or you just feel like having some good wholesome fun together at home.

SECTION: LIFE/STYLE; Family; Pg. 62

LENGTH: 1407 words

HEADLINE: The Crack Children

BYLINE: BARBARA KANTROWITZ with PAT WINGERT in Washington, NONNYDE LA PENA in Houston, JEANNE GORDON in Los Angeles and TIM PADGETT inChicago

HIGHLIGHT:
Their troubles don't end in infancy. As cocaine babies grow up, healthand social workers are discovering a whole new set of drug-related problems.

BODY:
Arthur was already 3 days old when his aunt found himin the Houston garage where his crack-addicted mother had abandoned him.Arthur's aunt adopted him, but at 13 months, he was so wild that his auntcalled him 'possessed. ' She brought him to a special program for infantssponsored by Houston's Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority.There, he would not let his teacher, Geynill Agee, come closer than eightfeet before he began hurling toys at her. Two years later Agee thinks shehas made a little progress with the boy; he can now walk calmly down thehall holding his aunt's hand -- something he could never do before.

Christina, another 3-year-old in the Houston program, does not liketo be touched. Her teacher tried gently rubbing the child's skin with softtoys. Most made Christina shrink away. Finally, Christina became interestedin puzzles, but rather than pick up the pieces herself, she would gingerlyhold her teacher's wrist while the woman put the pieces together.

Arthur and Christina (not their real names) are among the oldest ofa generation of children across the country who share a terrible heritage-- their mothers all smoked crack while they were pregnant. A few yearsago crack-exposed babies made headlines when they began showing up in intensive-carenurseries. Then, the struggle was just to get them out of the hospital.Now, experts say, their problems appear to be long-term -- and far moredifficult to solve.

The first wave of crack babies is just approaching school age, and educatorsare frustrated and bewildered by their behavior. 'They operate only onan instinctual level, ' says Agee of her students. 'They eat and sleep,eat and sleep. Something has been left out. ' Sometimes withdrawn, thesechildren may have trouble playing or even talking with other kids. Somehave tremors or periods when they seem to tune out the world. No one yetknows how to undo the damage caused by a pregnant woman's drug use. Someteachers predict that special-education programs like the one in Houstonwill soon be swamped with crack children. 'We need experts to deal withthem immediately, ' says a spokesperson for the city's mental- health authority.'But who will be the experts? We are all having to learn about this onetogether. '

There's no question that the need is tremendous. According to a majornational study of the problem, about 11 percent of all newborns -- 375,000babies annually -- have been exposed to drugs in utero. Crack cocaine isthe primary addiction of pregnant women, although many use other drugsas well. The doctor who conducted that 1988 study, Ira Chasnoff, presidentof the National Association for Perinatal Addiction Research and Education,thinks his results probably understate the problem because a mother's druguse can be hard to detect. Drug screening is not routine in many hospitals,and even with testing, crack use is not always obvious.

Without reliable testing, doctors must look for other clues. For example,pregnant crack addicts may not visit a doctor until they actually go intolabor and are ready to deliver -- and sometimes not even then. 'When apatient comes in with no history of prenatal care, we automatically startwondering if there's been drug abuse, ' says Dr. Ezra Davidson of King-DrewMedical Center in Los Angeles. Davidson, who is also president of the AmericanCollege of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, estimates that a quarter ofthe babies coming into his hospital's intensive-care nursery have drug-relatedproblems.

Many of these babies start their lives with serious handicaps. Theyare likely to be born prematurely, says Dr. Gordon B. Avery of Children'sNational Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and may weigh as little astwo pounds. 'They get hit with everything other premature babies do --plus, ' Avery says. Compared with other preemies, they're more likelyto have hydrocephaly (water on the brain), poor brain growth, kidney problemsand apnea (when babies suddenly stop breathing). They are also more likelyto have suffered an infarct of the brain -- similar to a stroke.

Birth defects: And that's only the beginning. Doctors who have followedthe progress of crack babies now believe their drug-related birth defectsmay contribute to major developmental difficulties. Dr. Judy Howard ofthe UCLA School of Medicine, who has studied hundreds of crack children,says that they are hard to care for almost from the moment of birth. Theymay be either extremely irritable or very lethargic, have poor suckingabilities that hamper feeding and irregular sleep patterns. As they growolder, they may be hyperactive, slow in learning to talk and have troublerelating to other people -- just like Arthur and Christina, the youngstersin the Houston program.

As part of her research, Dr. Howard compared preemies born to crackusers with other (noncrack) preemies. Even at the age of 18 months, afterreceiving good medical care and educational therapy, the crack kids werein bad shape. They tended to hit their toys or throw them around the room,without apparent motive or provocation. 'Their facial expressions appearedflat and joyless and their body language did not demonstrate enthusiasm,' says Howard, who points out that children who can't or won't play withtoys are missing an important avenue of development. 'The kids have animpairment that makes them disorganized in everything they do, ' she says.Doctors haven't been able to pinpoint the exact reason for these problems,but they suspect neurological damage. Howard says it's as if the part ofthe brain that 'makes us human beings, capable of discussion or reflection,' has been 'wiped out. '

Early intervention: So far, there are only a handful of programs dedicatedto helping crack children. At the Salvin Special Education School in LosAngeles, teacher Carol Coles says her two-year-old program is still experimental;every day she and he colleagues try to figure out new ways to help thekids. Early intervention and individual attention seem to be crucial. Thereare no more than eight 3- and 4-year-olds in each class with as many asthree teachers. Much of the day is taken up with regular preschool activities-- songs, games, art projects. But the school also has a pediatrician,psychologists, social workers and speech and language specialists. They'reall ready to help with the problems caused not only by the mother's crackuse, but also by the youngsters' often chaotic home lives. In some of theirfamilies, drug use is still a factor. That puts these kids at high riskfor abuse and neglect. Doctors also suspect that the children may be seriouslyinjured just by breathing the crack-filled smoke in their homes. Cole saysthat the continuity and routine at school help the kids feel secure. Theyalso get lots of opportunities to talk about things that may be botheringthem. 'We acknowledge what exists, ' says Cole. 'We talk about the specificsof their lives. And they feel safe when they know we know. '

• Crack up your child with these clean jokes for kids whenever you both need a good laugh because the giggles from kids' jokes is infectious. Funny Jokes for Kids 1.
• This new cybersecurity school will teach kids to crack codes from home. Online initiative looks to inspire a new generation of cybersecurity talent to bring out their 'digital Sherlock Holmes.

Kids Cracked Corner Of Mouth

These short, clean jokes for kids are so funny, they'll make grownups crack up, too. Take turns reading these hilarious jokes for kids out loud when you're stuck on a long car ride or you just feel like having some good wholesome fun together at home.

SECTION: LIFE/STYLE; Family; Pg. 62

LENGTH: 1407 words

HEADLINE: The Crack Children

BYLINE: BARBARA KANTROWITZ with PAT WINGERT in Washington, NONNYDE LA PENA in Houston, JEANNE GORDON in Los Angeles and TIM PADGETT inChicago

HIGHLIGHT:
Their troubles don't end in infancy. As cocaine babies grow up, healthand social workers are discovering a whole new set of drug-related problems.

BODY:
Arthur was already 3 days old when his aunt found himin the Houston garage where his crack-addicted mother had abandoned him.Arthur's aunt adopted him, but at 13 months, he was so wild that his auntcalled him 'possessed. ' She brought him to a special program for infantssponsored by Houston's Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority.There, he would not let his teacher, Geynill Agee, come closer than eightfeet before he began hurling toys at her. Two years later Agee thinks shehas made a little progress with the boy; he can now walk calmly down thehall holding his aunt's hand -- something he could never do before.

Christina, another 3-year-old in the Houston program, does not liketo be touched. Her teacher tried gently rubbing the child's skin with softtoys. Most made Christina shrink away. Finally, Christina became interestedin puzzles, but rather than pick up the pieces herself, she would gingerlyhold her teacher's wrist while the woman put the pieces together.

Arthur and Christina (not their real names) are among the oldest ofa generation of children across the country who share a terrible heritage-- their mothers all smoked crack while they were pregnant. A few yearsago crack-exposed babies made headlines when they began showing up in intensive-carenurseries. Then, the struggle was just to get them out of the hospital.Now, experts say, their problems appear to be long-term -- and far moredifficult to solve.

The first wave of crack babies is just approaching school age, and educatorsare frustrated and bewildered by their behavior. 'They operate only onan instinctual level, ' says Agee of her students. 'They eat and sleep,eat and sleep. Something has been left out. ' Sometimes withdrawn, thesechildren may have trouble playing or even talking with other kids. Somehave tremors or periods when they seem to tune out the world. No one yetknows how to undo the damage caused by a pregnant woman's drug use. Someteachers predict that special-education programs like the one in Houstonwill soon be swamped with crack children. 'We need experts to deal withthem immediately, ' says a spokesperson for the city's mental- health authority.'But who will be the experts? We are all having to learn about this onetogether. '

There's no question that the need is tremendous. According to a majornational study of the problem, about 11 percent of all newborns -- 375,000babies annually -- have been exposed to drugs in utero. Crack cocaine isthe primary addiction of pregnant women, although many use other drugsas well. The doctor who conducted that 1988 study, Ira Chasnoff, presidentof the National Association for Perinatal Addiction Research and Education,thinks his results probably understate the problem because a mother's druguse can be hard to detect. Drug screening is not routine in many hospitals,and even with testing, crack use is not always obvious.

Without reliable testing, doctors must look for other clues. For example,pregnant crack addicts may not visit a doctor until they actually go intolabor and are ready to deliver -- and sometimes not even then. 'When apatient comes in with no history of prenatal care, we automatically startwondering if there's been drug abuse, ' says Dr. Ezra Davidson of King-DrewMedical Center in Los Angeles. Davidson, who is also president of the AmericanCollege of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, estimates that a quarter ofthe babies coming into his hospital's intensive-care nursery have drug-relatedproblems.

Many of these babies start their lives with serious handicaps. Theyare likely to be born prematurely, says Dr. Gordon B. Avery of Children'sNational Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and may weigh as little astwo pounds. 'They get hit with everything other premature babies do --plus, ' Avery says. Compared with other preemies, they're more likelyto have hydrocephaly (water on the brain), poor brain growth, kidney problemsand apnea (when babies suddenly stop breathing). They are also more likelyto have suffered an infarct of the brain -- similar to a stroke.

Birth defects: And that's only the beginning. Doctors who have followedthe progress of crack babies now believe their drug-related birth defectsmay contribute to major developmental difficulties. Dr. Judy Howard ofthe UCLA School of Medicine, who has studied hundreds of crack children,says that they are hard to care for almost from the moment of birth. Theymay be either extremely irritable or very lethargic, have poor suckingabilities that hamper feeding and irregular sleep patterns. As they growolder, they may be hyperactive, slow in learning to talk and have troublerelating to other people -- just like Arthur and Christina, the youngstersin the Houston program.

As part of her research, Dr. Howard compared preemies born to crackusers with other (noncrack) preemies. Even at the age of 18 months, afterreceiving good medical care and educational therapy, the crack kids werein bad shape. They tended to hit their toys or throw them around the room,without apparent motive or provocation. 'Their facial expressions appearedflat and joyless and their body language did not demonstrate enthusiasm,' says Howard, who points out that children who can't or won't play withtoys are missing an important avenue of development. 'The kids have animpairment that makes them disorganized in everything they do, ' she says.Doctors haven't been able to pinpoint the exact reason for these problems,but they suspect neurological damage. Howard says it's as if the part ofthe brain that 'makes us human beings, capable of discussion or reflection,' has been 'wiped out. '

Early intervention: So far, there are only a handful of programs dedicatedto helping crack children. At the Salvin Special Education School in LosAngeles, teacher Carol Coles says her two-year-old program is still experimental;every day she and he colleagues try to figure out new ways to help thekids. Early intervention and individual attention seem to be crucial. Thereare no more than eight 3- and 4-year-olds in each class with as many asthree teachers. Much of the day is taken up with regular preschool activities-- songs, games, art projects. But the school also has a pediatrician,psychologists, social workers and speech and language specialists. They'reall ready to help with the problems caused not only by the mother's crackuse, but also by the youngsters' often chaotic home lives. In some of theirfamilies, drug use is still a factor. That puts these kids at high riskfor abuse and neglect. Doctors also suspect that the children may be seriouslyinjured just by breathing the crack-filled smoke in their homes. Cole saysthat the continuity and routine at school help the kids feel secure. Theyalso get lots of opportunities to talk about things that may be botheringthem. 'We acknowledge what exists, ' says Cole. 'We talk about the specificsof their lives. And they feel safe when they know we know. '

Lost generation: As America's crack problem worsens, health and socialworkes are left with only two options: get mothers into treatment programsin time to protect their babies, or prepare to deal with a steady streamof troubled children. Unfortunately, many drug facilities exclude pregnantwomen; in one recent study of programs in New York City, 54 percent wouldn'tlet these mothers in. And once children are born to crack mothers, theproblems become even more daunting. 'We simply can't take all these babiesaway from their mothers, ' says Dr. Loretta Finnegan of Jefferson MedicalCollege in Philadelphia, who has worked with pregnant addicts for manyyears. 'Where are we going to put them? ' In addition to stepping up --and paying for -- drug enforcement and drug treatment, the country nowmust confront a whole new facet of the crack epidemic: an entire generationthat may never be free of the scourge.
Damage Done
* At least 375,000 babies are born annually to mothers who use drugs.
* One survey estimates that the number of drug-exposed infants hasmore than tripled since 1985.
* Cocaine cuts the flow of nutrients and oxygen to the fetus, causingdeformities and growth impairment.

* Drug-exposed 2-year- olds have trouble concentrating, interactingwith groups and coping with structured environments.

GRAPHIC: Picture, Tragic start: Pregnant crack user, EUGENE RICHARDS-- MAGNUM, Photos 1 and 2, Doing what they can: Teachers with crack kidsat the Salvin School, LESTER SLOAN -- NEWSWEEK

Kids Cracker Cheese Ham Snack Pack

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Stray Kids Crack Gif