As of now, the Out of School Time program reaches 154 schools in Brooklyn. According to its website, it offers "a mix of academic, recreational and cultural activities for young people (grades K-12) after school" and is free of charge. It's also a relief to parents who work longer hours and rely on the program to watch over their children into the evening.

But, according to a new report out by The Daily News, it looks like almost 10,000 kids in Brooklyn who participate in the program are out of luck this fall.

The OST program houses 52,567 students every weekday city-wide. This number will be halved once the budget cuts from Bloomberg's administration are installed. Here's the data: this year, the budget was $91.5 million; next time school is in session, the funds will have dropped to $73.3 million. Instead of 154 programs, Brooklyn will be left with 77 overloaded OST's, pushing 10,000 kids out of the program. And none of the parents involved are too happy about it.
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We're guessing that Dr. Ben Spock wouldn't suggest this...

The New York Times reports that parents of obese kids are increasingly treating gallbladder ailments by having their children undergo invasive operations to remove the organ.

Here's the thing: Most of the time, the kids don't need surgery -- their problems could be corrected with lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise.

Obesity now causes most gallbladder disease in minors -- and some four times as many are being removed as in 1990.

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About a month after the Voice reported that the Parks Department was slow to fix dodgy conditions in some playgrounds, yet another Comptroller John Liu report puts to question the handling of money and health regulations.

The specific site is Brooklyn's Paerdegat Athletic Club, now run by Fitmar Managment.

Some three years ago, the Comptroller's office found that the club was rife with problems -- but the most recent analysis suggests that little has been done to fix these financial and sanitary flubs.

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In an article titled "Mike: Do What's Breast for Baby" (no, really), the New York Post reveals the Mayor's plans to boost breastfeeding at city hospitals.

"He's cracked down on smoking, trans fats, salt and sugary drinks. And now, Mayor Bloomberg is promoting a new health initiative: breast feeding," the paper notes. "The Health Department is pushing a sweeping initiative to prod dozens of city hospitals to get more moms in their maternity wards to breast feed."

Hospitals who want to participate in the "Baby Friendly Hospital" program can get federal funding for "technical assistance." The move would involve 24 of New York's 36 medical centers, and would require that they set up a plan to bolster breastfeeding with new moms.

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Some young people probably won't make it to adulthood because of the stupid, stupid choices they make, as evidenced by this now viral video of teenagers in Crown Heights.

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www.kazak.com

Not as funny in real life.

A report released by two New York district attorneys shows that New York is on the hook for more than seven-percent of all child abuse fatalities in the entire country.

The report -- released by Queens County District Attorney Richard Brown and Brooklyn D.A. Charles Hynes -- looked at data from 2010, which shows that 114 kids were killed as the result of various forms of abuse, a number Hynes says "should shock the conscience of every one of us."

Nationwide, there were 1,560 child abuse fatalities.

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Looks like some City playgrounds aren't all that child-safe.

An audit released by City Comptroller John Liu's office claims that the Parks Department was slow to fix dangerous conditions in some playgrounds -- and might have missed regular inspections.

Liu, who's still dealing with the fallout from the arrest of his campaign treasurer, said that the agency would sometimes neglect to fix nasty problems -- such as rusted and broken equipment -- even after they were "flagged for repair."

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Remember, back in the day, when you used to go outside and scamper around the streets of New York with all the other rosy-cheeked neighborhood kids, playing stickball and tag and hopscotch as the summer sun sank gently into the horizon?

No? Well, not to worry, Runnin' Scared doesn't either -- and we can't really imagine New York being the kind of place where youngins would want to play outside, considering that NYC traffic puts speed over pedestrian safety. (It's even worse if you're a child from a lower-income household: Studies show that vehicle crashes disproportionately affect youth from poor areas.)

But a coalition of New Yorkers wants to change this.

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In New York City, getting your kids into the "right" preschools is notoriously hard. Fancy people put their toddlers in lotteries to get into very expensive pre-K's, where parents might pay upwards of $30,000 for their kids to fingerpaint in the right school.

The Times has an interesting account today from a brownstone Brooklyn mother who took an entirely different tack and started her own preschool co-op with other parents. Apparently the city has more of these often-illegal arrangements than you'd think, though the article doesn't give a clear sense of how many:

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A book landed on our desk today, which happens with some frequency, but this book caught our eye more than most. It looked just like surprise bestseller Go the Fuck to Sleep, the modern parent's tame rebellion of choice, but it was titled Seriously, Just Go to Sleep.

According to the accompanying press release, the idea to make Go the Fuck to Sleep G-rated came about when its author, Adam Mansbach, read a "highly censored rendition" to his three-year-old daughter, who "recognized herself as the culprit and was delighted."

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