AUTHOR ENCOURAGES MORE `GROWN DADS' WHO READ

There are "Boy Dads," and there are "Grown Dads."

Author Jim Trelease explains the difference.

"A `Boy Dad' will tell his son there is nothing as important as athletics," said Trelease, who was keynote speaker during the third annual Parenting Conference, held at the University Center on Southeast Missouri State University campus Saturday. "He'll spend most of his time with his son throwing and tossing a ball."

The `Grown Dad,' meanwhile, will take his son to a baseball game on Saturday and will spend Friday evening at the library with his son, said Trelease. Or, he'll shoot hoops with his son after dinner, and read him a book before bed."

Trelease, author of the best-selling 30-page booklet "The Read-Aloud Handbook," and founder of Reading Tree Productions, a lecture and film service, say statistics show that children who read on their own go on to become successful students.

Trelease told a group of more than 150 people who attended his Saturday morning program that television and sports were two big deterrents to reading.

"Children who watch too much television don't score as high on tests as children who read a lot," he said. "And, if you will look in on a remedial reading class, you see more boys than girls, mostly due to `Boy Dads.' And, I'm not knocking sports," Trelease said. "I'm a big sports fan myself."

Following Trelease's presentation, those attending the daylong conference met in groups to attend a variety of workshops, including "Raising Confident Kids," "Parenting is Stressful," "Experimenting and Discovering" and "Youth Gangs: Violence Without Our Communities."

Some parents and educators attending the latter workshop expressed surprise and shock at the revelation that gangs do exist in Cape Girardeau.

"Gang activity is not limited to the big cities," said detective Rick Price of the Cape Girardeau Police Department. "Some of the gang members from the big cities have settled in Cape Girardeau."

Price said, "We have active members of the Bloods and the Crips" and "we also have the `wannabes,' who want to prove to gang members that they are as hard-core as any full-fledged member."

Price, who has attended seminars concerning gangs, says "graffiti" is one of the first signs of gang activity in a neighborhood, serving as sort of an underground newspaper for gangs.

"Graffiti can tell us a lot about gang activity," he said. "The drawings are used to mark territories and claim responsibility for certain acts."

Price, Homer Markham of the Cape Girardeau Police Department; James Humphrey of the Jackson Police Department; and Randy Rhodes, a juvenile officer of the 32nd Judicial Court, were among panel members who discussed youth gangs.

"Three years ago we were not aware of any gang activity in Cape Girardeau," Markham said. "Today we know there are some card-carrying members of the Bloods and Crips."

One of the first signs of gang activity is the appearance of graffiti, whether it appears on buildings or in notebooks. Price showed the group a series of slides taken in Cape Girardeau representing some of the typical markings of gang members.

"Anyone seeing graffiti should report it to us," Markham said. "We need to document all graffiti. This tells us about the gangs and what they are up to."

More and more "O.G.'s" are showing up in the area, say Price and Markham.

"O.G." is the name given to original gangsters, who are now trying to develop young gang members from ages 12 and up. Some of these original gangsters have left Chicago, New Orleans and California to settle here.

"As parents and teachers, there are some warning signs you can look for in children's behavior," Markham said, such as changes in friends, wearing the same color clothing all the time, isolation from family activities; use of a new nickname; and the appearance of gang-type tattoos.

Youngsters have changed, too, explained panel members.

"Kids used to deny being a game member," Price said. "Now, they're admitting it, even in front of their parents. Kids figure it's cool. Some children join gangs for the sense of family, others out of fear and intimidation, and some kids want to enhance their image to feel like they have authority over their peers."

Price told the group that gangs will recruit members in places like malls, arcades, basketball courts or where kids gather in numbers.

"But their main areas of recruiting are in the schools because that's where the kids are," Price said.

In another Saturday workshop, "Parenting is Stressful," Shelba Branscum, an associate professor of human environmental studies at Southeast Missouri State University, discussed how parents can cope with stress.

Phyllis Schnell, a registered nurse and coordinator of the Family Learning Center in Cape Girardeau, discussed the topic of how to help children develop a sense of self-esteem in the workshop, "Raising Confident Kids."

Kathy Drews and Debbie Landgraf, who work for the Center for Child Studies at Southeast, teamed up with Marylin Schlosser to discuss the world of science through the eyes of a child.