The statistics are in, and happily there were no deaths from heatstroke among U.S. football players during the 2002 season (or so far in 2003), according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injuries at the University of North Carolina. About 1.5 million children play full contact football each year in the U.S., and in most years a few are lost to preventable heat injuries.

Children should have access to all the water they want during practice and games. They should drink cool water at least every 20 minutes throughout strenuous exercise, or a cool electrolyte drink if the exercise lasts longer than an hour.

Kids also need time out of their helmets at least every 30 minutes to cool off. In 2002, five players died from football injuries.

One was a semi-pro player, three were in high school, and one was in a youth league. All of the fatal injuries were head injuries. All players need to be taught never to make first contact with the head, whether blocking or tackling.

In 2003, for the first time, a new generation of youth football helmets computer-designed to prevent head injuries is available for young players. I’m excited when children are involved in sports or physical activity, but we want to do all we can to make those activities both safe and fun.

Even though the legal drinking age in the United States is 21, more than a quarter of all alcohol consumed here is drunk by people under the age of 20! Experts at Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse have found that more than 30 percent of today’s high school students binge drink at least once a month (five drinks in a row) and that teen drinking represents a $27 billion dollar annual business in the US.

Within hours of the announcement, the alcohol industry began criticizing the report, calling it “flat out wrong”. They say that only 10 percent of all alcohol is consumed by teens.

While others argue about the numbers, our concern is our teens. Build a bridge to your teen by developing an active interest in at least one thing your child loves. This will give you something positive to talk about as a backdrop for whatever other conversations you have.

Don’t be afraid to bring up the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse. Watching TV or a movie together can be a good springboard for conversation. And have dinner together whenever possible, as a chance to connect. Be your child’s biggest fan. Help facilitate friendships with positive peers, and actively model positive behavior yourself.

If you do suspect a problem, waste no time in getting professional help. But whatever else you say or do, the most immediate message children need repeated is that if they or someone they know has been drinking, they MUST NOT get behind the wheel. Call. And there will be no negative words from you that night, just help getting a ride. Tens of thousands of teens are killed or injured each year in alcohol-related crashes. Tens of thousands of parents know the pain of this tragedy.

Automobile collisions remain the leading cause of death among US teens. The youngest drivers are the most likely to crash, so a number of states have experimented with graduated driver licensing (GDL). Here, teens graduate to full licenses after demonstrating safe driving over time in restricted conditions. Does this system make a real difference? The answer is important to me personally: one of my sons is now turning 15 — time for the much anticipated permit to begin learning to drive.

A study appearing in the October 3, 2001 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association described the results in North Carolina. After implementing the GDL program, fatal crashes among 16-year-olds dropped by 57%! Similar results from other states give a resounding, “YES!” to the benefit of GDLs.

I would also like to see driving safety become a regular part of the school curriculum for at least one day every semester throughout high school. There are few educational topics of more immediate relevance.

Teenage driving is a dangerous proposition, with fatal collisions the leading cause of death in 15-19 year olds. But getting teens together in a car multiplies the risk. According to a report in the March 22/29th, 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, if a 16-year-old driver brings along a friend the death rate rises by nearly 40%; if a another joins them, the rate rises by 85%; if there are 4 in the car the rates soar to 182% over driving alone. (By contrast, with adults the rate goes down with added passengers).

Nighttime driver death rates, even without passengers, are much higher than daytime death rates. The presence of even one passenger makes nighttime driver death rates scary.

I am in favor of graduated license programs that don’t allow 16- or 17-year-olds to drive after 10 p.m. or with teenage passengers. In the meantime, though, these are wise guidelines for parents to set for their own treasured teens.