Does anyone know of a safe forum for kids who are Y2K aware? Our munchkin thinks about it, but has no one to talk to about it. None of her friends here are aware, or have parents who are.

Maybe just a Y2K e-mail pal? Any ideas?

Thanks!

-- Arewyn (nordic@northnet.net), November 13, 1998

Answers

Arewyn,

Don't know a place yet. In part of my "study" the talk show hosts to see who might be good to get the Y2K word out, I watched the Rosie O'Donnell show yesterday. (Please understand, I've been living "media free" for several years). Strange shows out there. At any rate, she mentioned writing a book, "Kids Are Funny 2."

If, you can activate her, or if Y2K does come January, I suspect she'd make a good kids rallying point. Lots of others out there too. Sorry, kids aren't my specialty. Is there anything you can start up in cyberspace with the kids from many of the posters here? I suspect you'd have a Y2K "ready" kids market.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), November 14, 1998.

Perhaps this forum's BB host would be willing to start something for you.

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), November 14, 1998.

Get hold of Madeline for her recommendation - Jean and her daughter exchange info regularly via "their" thread here.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), November 14, 1998.

Madeleine? Who's Madeleine, please? I've seen her name, but it's been a while...

I like the idea about contacting a celebrity for general awareness. I think I'll send a message to Nickelodeon's news group.

Did I tell you that daughter sent a letter of concern to our village mayor? No response, and it's been +month. I was sure he'd answer a letter from a child...:(

-- Arewyn (nordic@northnet.net), November 15, 1998.

Talking about our children, my sister-in-law commented yesterday that she doesn't think I should be continually talking to my children about Y2K. It will just make them depressed. She says her 16 year old daughter is very depressed, spending money like there's no tomorrow and just wants to party. I asked my two (15f and 13m) if all my talk was depressing. They both said, "No." Then my daughter commented that she didn't understand why my husband was insisting she work hard in school for a post-secondary scholarship if there wasn't going to be TWAWKI before she even gets out of high school. I just commented that we really didn't know what was coming. We just had to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. In her naivete, I suspect she thinks working hard for a scholarship is preparing for the worst.

-- Lois Knorr (knorr@attcanada.net), November 15, 1998.

Arewyn: I like the idea, and have been giving some (more than some) thought to very general questions regarding how we can prepare our children, should we consider home schooling, how are they going to react, etc. etc. It seems to me that kids are both the most vulnerable yet potentially the most resilient of us all. This is my first week of ever posting (to any forum) although I have lurked on/off since the spring. My question is have thier been any good threads about this subject? I haven't seen much regarding this on the web.

-- Robert MIchaels (sonofdust@net.com), November 15, 1998.

And I repeat here...

As a former teacher, in the mid-70s, whose favorite book was Teaching As A Subversive Activity,( i.e teaching creativity), I observe that most kids still think outside the box. Tap that hidden talent and you just might find some impressive Y2K solutions, for the cities as well as the rest of the country. Besides, theyll be impacted by the choices all the adults make. Give them a chance to participate in creating their future.

Diane

(And, as another celebrity, Jane Seymour has interests in ChildHelp and Alternative Healing).

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), November 17, 1998.

Yesterday's e-mail from Karen Anderson (Y2K for Women) contained some interesting info. involving teens. Check out what she says about posting to her site at the end of the article. It may be a good place for a kid's forum???

Dear Karen,

Hi, and thank you for returning my e-mail... I thought I'd never be able to reach you! Do you have enough time to answer these questions? Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it!

Stephanie (news editor from a High School newspaper)

1. What do you compare this Y2K bug to, and how exactly is it going to affect us as high school students?

2. What are some things (that people don't normally think about) that are going to be influenced by this problem?

3. Do you believe there currently is an over-reaction or an under-reaction to the problem, and why?

4. How would you describe the scenario that you believe might happen on the morning of January 1, 2000?

5. How would you compare Texas' state of preparedness to other states and to the nation?

6. What is one sentence that you would say to a group of average high school students that would convey the importance of this problem to them? Thank you for your time. Again, I really appreciate it!

Stephanie

Dear Stephanie,

I was really happy to get your email and to know that teens are aware of Y2K and are thinking about what it means. I'll do my best to answer your questions!

First, although we don't know for sure what is going to happen with the millennium change, the probability of problems associated with Y2K is high. So for the sake of argument, let's assume that there will be problems during the month of January including electrical outages and various computer malfunctions.

1. What do you compare this Y2K bug to, and how exactly is it going to affect us as high school students?

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot to compare Y2K to except the weather. The first thing that would happen with a Y2K crisis is that you would probably get an extra long Christmas vacation because you couldn't return to a school without electricity! Classrooms need heat and light and unless your school has an electrical generator and the fuel to keep it going for a month, school would need to be canceled. (Now extra vacation time sounds great but remember, if you lose time, which typically happens from snow days in the winter, you have to make it up in the summer!)

Also, if there were significant problems with the school computer systems, you may not be able to get your records. I would suggest that all students get a hard copy (printed paper document) of their transcripts. Again, losing your grades for some students might be an answer to a prayer (!) but think about what it might mean if you couldn't get your records (or the information was wrong) and you were applying to colleges. It would seem wise to get a folder and keep a copy of all your school records including your PSAT's, SAT's and any other important test results.

Another reason I say this is, say for instance, that you live in a cold climate. If the heat is out at the school and the pipes freeze, it may be a while before that gets repaired, especially if there are Y2K complications!

2. What are some things (that people don't normally think about) that are going to be influenced by this problem?

If school were to actually be called off for an extended period of time, you might want to consider homeschooling. Now I hesitate when I say that because I'm not really sure what that would entail, especially on the high school level. However, I have a daughter who is a high school junior and she is very concerned about the fact that she is supposed to graduate in the year 2000. Since she wants to graduate on time, we are looking into what she would need to do to continue even if her school wasn't holding classes. Her younger sister, on the other hand, wouldn't miss school work, but would really miss playing sports! She would be the one I would need to figure out how to motivate to do school work if she didn't have to!

I'm making sure we have resources at home - especially books - since so much of the information that my girls get these days is from the Internet! (I don't know what they'll do if they can't run the spell checker when they write a paper!)

3. Do you believe there currently is an over-reaction or an under-reaction to the problem, and why?

Actually, the answer to that questions is "all of the above"! There are some people who I believe, have overreacted to the point where they are immobilized by fear and they are not preparing responsibly. On the other hand, there are people who deny that anything bad could ever happen and so they aren't doing anything at all to prepare. Both extremes I think are dangerous. It makes sense to plan for emergencies and then hope and pray that you will never need to use those preparations. If you are a teen and drive a car, you know those insurance premiums are pretty darned expensive. But you don't want to have an accident just to get your money's worth!

As a teenager, if you are earning money, one thing you can do to prepare is to make sure you have set aside some cash and not have all of it in the bank My oldest daughter has a job and it's certainly less tempting for her to put her paycheck directly into the bank. But she has decided to keep much of her money out of the bank so if there are problems with Y2K (and finances are tight) she'll have some money of her own available. I think that's reasonable and I support her in that decision since I know for many teens, having money of their own is very important.

4. How would you describe the scenario that you believe might happen on the morning of January 1, 2000?

I'd love to say that we'd all wake up on New Year's Day and everything would be normal. But from what I've read, I think there will be problems and many things will not work - we just don't know what those things are.

We plan to be able to make breakfast that morning without electricity should we have to. My family will be together at home - we are not planning to be somewhere far away visiting relatives for the holidays. If transportation is a problem because of Y2K (which even in the best of circumstances, transportation during the holidays can get pretty crazy!) it's important to be somewhere where you want to be if you have to stay there for any length of time. I think it will take a little while to figure out what impact Y2K will have, but as a mom, I want all my family to be right with me so I can take care of them!

5. How would you compare Texas' state of preparedness to other states and to the nation?

I don't know of any one state that I would say is in better shape than the others. There are some towns that are more informed and making plans earlier, but you can watch the news for them since they seem to be starting to get a fair amount of publicity because of their plans. One of the things to watch for in 1999 is when the new fiscal years begin for many towns, municipalities and cities. It will give us a good indication of potential problems.

6. What is one sentence that you would say to a group of average high school students that would convey the importance of this problem to them?

Although Y2K can be thought of as a huge disaster looming in the distance, it can also be an incredible time of learning, service and adventure! For many teens, the process of preparing for Y2K can teach many new things you may never have thought about before. Serving others by helping in your community can give you invaluable experience that will help you throughout your life. And one of the greatest gifts that teens have is a sense of adventure! The new millennium can be an extraordinary opportunity, with the right attitude, to make a positive difference in the world. It all depends on how you look at it - is the glass half empty or half full? (I know that was more than one sentence, but it was the best I could do!)

Thanks for asking the questions! I hope this helps. Please let me know some of the comments you get - I'd love to know more about what teens are thinking of regarding Y2K! If I get information that is helpful for teens, I'll be happy to put it up in a special place "for teens only!" My best to you,

Karen

-- Gayla Dunbar (privacy@please.com), November 17, 1998.

We already home school our 2 teens, so we'll be set for that. But at the minimum, I would suggest that anyone who isn't homeschooling in December 99 have their kids bring home ALL their textbooks over Christmas break.

If your kids are dependent on the Internet for finding information, you might want to hit library used book sales and/or garage sales for a while to try to pick up dictionaries (those things you used before spellcheck!) and encyclopedias (the older the better - less PC!).

-- sue (minervamd@aol.com), November 20, 1998.

Didn't think there was any information on the internet, just garbage.

-- Richard Dale (rdale@figroup.co.uk), November 20, 1998.

Well, I am a !6 yr old also looking for people my age to talk to and disscuss Y2K with. I have talked to Robert Cooks daughter Jean and she is nice to talk to. But if you are my age or know of someone my age who is looking for people to talk to please e-mail my i would be glad to talk. Jean if you read this please e-mail me I wannatalk to you ok

Morgan

-- Morgan (Y2KFever@aol.com), November 20, 1998.

Hi Morgan, I'm going to be working late Sunday (11/22). I'll if Jean wants to come in.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), November 22, 1998.