Teen Death While Texting?

YOURHEARTOFILLINOIS.COM: Investigators tonight are trying to determine whether texting while driving lead to a crash that killed a Eureka teen yesterday. The community is in mourning after the death of 17–year–old Alyssa Burns.

Her car crashed on Eureka's 800 North County Highway about one Thursday afternoon.. AND Investigators say cell phone records show the victim may have been texting right before the accident.
Crashes like this one motivated lawmakers to propose new laws to make texting while driving illegal.

Regardless of the crash's cause...loved ones and friends are trying keep Alyssa Burns' memory alive. The soon–to–be Eureka High senior died late yesterday afternoon...after losing control of her car on a two–lane highway and crashing into a cornfield.

Friends say she was an outgoing girl who loved to dance, and it's hard to believe she's really gone. It's definitely someone that's so famous in the school. Everyone likes her, and she's always bringing a smile to everyone's face. "It's just a heartbreaking moment."
Last night dozens of people gathered for a vigil at Eureka High School, and again today for a memorial balloon launch... Something friends of Burns say was as close to a proper sendoff as they could give.

"Purple was her favorite color, and then you wrote on the balloon what you wanted to say to her because nobody really got a chance to say goodbye."
Family members of Alyssa's did not want to go on camera, but did say no funeral arrangements have been made.

I am so sorry for this family. I can't imagine raising a child only to have them die as a teenager. It is just horrible. Whether texting had anything to do with her death or not, I hope stories like this one make other people think twice about texting and driving.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Kids Getting Plastic Surgery

I felt so "out of the know" when I read this article. I heard about more teenagers getting breast implants, but I didn't realize they could get liposuction. That is surprising to me, especially at 16. I would have thought they would need to finish growing before they could have any work done on their body. I guess not. What do you think about this? Would you let your child have any of these surgeries? At what age?

FROM NBC: A growing trend in America.. teens getting plastic surgery. But are teens old enough and mature enough to be changing their looks?

We see it in magazines and on TV. Plastic surgery is a 30 billion dollar industry...and the patients... are getting younger and younger.

Dr. Gerald Pitman/New York City Plastic Surgeon
"For teenagers the range of ages I've operated on have been 14 to 19. I have had patients as young as 12 come into the office and ask for surgery."

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there was a 180% increase in cosmetic surgery procedures performed on teenagers from 2003 to 2008. Dr. Pitman said, "The common operation for children are a nose reduction...ears being pinned back, dermabration for acne, breast reduction in girls and in boys and liposuction."

When 21 year old Kate Deleveileuse was a teen, she hated her legs."I probably started becoming self conscious about my legs in about 8th grade. I couldn't wear boots, I didn't really like to wear shorts or skirts or anything that ended at the knee." So for her 16th birthday her mom got her the present she wanted -- liposuction.

Rudy Ferno/Kate's Mother
"I think it's important for your child to feel like they fit in."

Dr. Pitman "Never underestimate the importance of anyone's appearance to their self esteem, adult or child. it is frequently more important to the child than to the adult. They are much more sensitive to the emotional slights and insults of their peers."

But it's just that emotional immaturity that has some questioning whether teenagers are old enough to make decisions about going under the knife and changing their bodies forever.

Kate "just actual dangers of surgery i didn't take into account to be honest."

Dr. David Staffenberg, a reconstructive surgeon at Children's Hospital at Montefiore, focuses on surgeries for children with deformities like a cleft palate or disfiguring birthmarks. He says he doesn't do "strictly" cosmetic plastic surgery for anyone under 18.

Staffenberg "In our world, cosmetic surgery is concentrating on features that are acceptable and trying to make them better, whereas reconstructive surgery concentrates on features that are say unacceptable or congenital deformities."

But, even Dr. Staffenberg admits that there's a gray line. Dr. Staffenberg
"Each patient is different and we can't set rules for one patient and then necessarily carry them over to another, so it frequently comes down to the consolation between the patient and their parents and the plastic surgeon in trying to sort this out."

Five years later Kate has no regrets. Kate "I feel great about doing it. I just think it's your body you should be able to improve it in any way you want as long as you're doing it for the right
reasons." But plastic surgery is a place where parenting and medicine need to overlap.

Dr. Staffenberg "Every year there are millions of plastic surgery operations done safely, but
that does not mean it comes without risks."

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Benjamin Sargent Update

LOCAL: A Peoria father convicted of his 5–month–old son's murder will never see the outside of a prison again. A judge sentenced James Sargent to 100 years behind bars without parole today.

Little Benjamin Sargent died from an infection brought on by a nearly week–old dirty diaper. Prosecutors also say the boy hadn't been fed for three or four days. Judge James Shadid said normally he would give an explanation about the sentence.. But Shadid said the facts of the case are clear and he doesn't believe someone who would let a five–month–old child rot to death is entitled to an explanation or cares to hear one.

When given the opportunity to speak on his behalf Sargent rambled through a 15–page statement that didn't mention his son. He quoted Biblical phrases and said he was at peace.
Barring a successful appeal James Sargent will die in prison.His former girlfriend and the baby's mother goes on trial later this year.

-NewsAnchormomJen

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(photos courtesy of pjstar.com)

Sexting

FROM CNN: The American Academy of Pediatrics has come out with some tips to help parents protect their kids as they enter the world of texting and social networking.

Experts say it's crucial for moms and dads to join social networking sites, like Facebook and Myspace, and become online "friends" with their kids so they can better monitor them.

They also encourage parents to talk with their older children about "sexting" -- which refers to text messages with pictures of children and teens who are naked or engaged in sex acts.

Kids of all ages should know that sexting is considered a crime in many areas. Experts have noted that peer pressure can play a big role in texting, so the AAP suggests collecting cell phones from teens and "tweens" at parties or large gatherings to reduce the temptation.

Experts also suggest emphasizing that everything sent over the Internet or a cell phone can be shared with the entire world, so it's important to show good judgment when sending messages, and to use privacy settings on social media sites.

When I was in high school no one had cell phones. I bet kids these days can't even imagine that. I wonder how many teenagers don't have cell phones. I think I would talk to my kids about the implications later in life. What if that picture ended up on the Internet and cost you a job or a scholarship? I think the same thing has been said about Facebook/Myspace. Don't put anything on there you don't want your boss to see. Most of the tips above seem like no-brainers. It makes me wonder if the problem has to do with parents being naive and not talking to their kids about sexting.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Mom Makeover Winner

You have got to see this amazing mom if you missed us airing the Mom Makeover Contest Winner last week. She is an amazing person and so deserving! Here are the stories we did. The first one is her courageous story through life. The second reveals her before/after photos.





-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Child dies in hot car

I have a lot of friends who have never left their kids with someone else overnight and rarely leave them for more than a few hours. It is stories like this one that make you think twice about trusting someone else with your children. I just can't imagine how this could happen and I have to report on it every summer. Sometimes it's the parents themselves who leave a sleeping child in the car, take in the groceries and forget to take the child to the crib. It is devastating!

I accidently locked my oldest in the car at Walgreens on a 90 degree day. He was only two at the time. I called police freaking out and they were there in a few minutes (It seemed like hours). He was sweating profusely and I felt so bad. I just bawled. It was awful. I have a new car now with automatic locks. I never lock the car manually to make sure that never happens again. I always have the keys with me. It is really scary! Has this ever happened to anyone else?

FROM CNN: A coroner in Kentucky says a Lexington toddler who was left in a hot car over the weekend died from hypothermia. Investigators say two-year-old April Knight was in the care of her grandparents at the time.

"They found my baby still strapped into the car seat.. helpless." Diane Meekins is the maternal grandmother of 2 year-old April Knight. She lives just down the street from April's paternal grandparents, who were watching April Saturday afternoon.

"I saw the police cars out there and I heard the ambulance and I ran." April had been found inside the grandparent's car, unresponsive. "They were working on her trying to bring her back." But it was too late for the toddler, she was pronounced dead at UK hospital.

"She was our angel." Police say the grandparents may have been dealing with another emergency at the time, and left the child in the hot car. Meekins says, she, along with her daughter, have heard little from the other side of the family.

"It might have been an accident .. why won't you talk to me. We want to know what was more important than that 2 year old baby." An autopsy has been performed by the state medical examiners office, but the results are pending.. Lexington's crimes against children unit is investigating the incident.

"We haven't had no chance to see her grow up and see what kind of person she's going to be. I don't know what to do." No charges have been filed against the grandparents. Meekins says April had been visiting with her father and his parents while her mother was in Wisconsin.

-NewsAnchorMomJen

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Child hit by a van

I am probably too terrified about my kids getting hit by a car. I feel like I am constantly reminding them not to hang on the drive-way and to always stay close to me when in a parking lot. My two-year-old isn't old enough to know the danger and my five-year-old gets excited and is known to take off. It scares me to death. My step mom says the little girl who lives across the street from her was run over by a car just a week or so ago. She was playing with chalk on the drive-way. She survived, but will need a lot of physical therapy. I am sure many of you remember the little girl who was killed when her parent rolled the car over her. Again, it happened in the drive-way. Are you concerned about this? Do you talk to your kids about it?

A toddler was in critical condition on Friday after being run over by her own van. About 5 yesterday evening near the intersection of Sterling and Nebraska in Peoria, the two year old unbuckled her car seat opened the car door and tumbled to the ground.

Today, the Children's Hospital of Illinois in partnership with other local agencies conducted car seat safety exams. It's a monthly car seat check, officials say is aimed AT teaching parents how to keep their children safe on the road. Probably the most important thing is to keep them in the car and keep them safely in the car in the event of a crash.

And so we're trying to provide families with the education and the tools they need to make sure their children are safe during any type of incident. Durbin says children up to the age of eight should be secured in a car seat of some sort. She says you should not keep any car seat any longer than six years.

For more information on how to properly use your car seats, or to make an appointment for a car seat check, call the Children's Hospital of Illinois Safety Information line at 877–277–6543.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Join Skin Dimensions Day Spa this Saturday, June 27th from 7am to noon, for a FREE Glycolic Face Treatment. AND receive 10% off all prepaid glycolic series and on most skin care product lines. First come, first served, no appointment necessary. For a complete menu of services please visit www.soderstromskininstitute.com.