LISTEN AND WATCH YOUR CHILDREN

Expert Says Staying In Kids' Life Will Help Parents See Warning Signs

Steve Nawojczyk told Conway parents to listen to their children and
they will tell you if something is wrong in their lives.

"Don't assume because a kid looks a certain way that's how he is,"
said Nawojczyk, a noted expert on gangs. "What you can do as parents
is stay on top of your kid's life."

This sort of thing will help parents see the signs of impending
violence or drug use, Nawojczyk told the group of about 150 parents
and students gathered at the Conway Public Schools Auditorium.
Nawojczyk spent much of Tuesday in Conway talking first to students
and school officials, then to the public.

Nawojczyk first started talking to the public in the late 1980s and
early '90s when gangs moved into the state and he was Pulaski County
coroner. Gangs still exist, he said, but have become quieter for many
reasons, including laws passed that make those affiliated with gangs
ineligible for reduced sentences for crimes.

Now Nawojczyk has taken the information he learned about youth to
educate on today's problems -- violence and drugs.

He said most children who get into trouble, either with gangs or
other criminal activities, belong to "the 5H club" -- homeless,
helpless, hopeless, hungry and/or huggless.

"As a community, you must give these 5Hers attention," he said,
adding Conway does a good job of that.

He also said communities must have a "community ACTION plan" After
school programs, Community Oriented Policing, Teams or support groups
for parents, In-school programs ("Conway's on the ball with that," he
said.), One-on-one programs ("Because so many kids come from the 5H
club"), and Neighborhood watch programs.

Nawojczyk also encouraged parents to watch for warning signs, such as
obsession with certain logos or signs (like the Anarchy symbol), a
new group of friends and truancy. Other larger warning signs are an
obsession with fire, bed-wetting later in life than normal and abuse
of animals -- "a very clear sign your child needs help and you
probably need help helping your child," Nawojczyk said. He said
serial killers have traditionally had those three characteristics in
common.

When children start to have problems, they look for ways to solve
them and if the community or parents are not there, kids often look
toward drugs, Nawojczyk said.

"And the most used and sought-after drug by kids right now is
Ecstasy," he said. "Its use started in the '60s when it was
prescribed as a marital aid drug."

In 1996, the Drug Enforcement Agency confiscated 13,000 Ecstasy
pills. In 2000 that number was nearly one million, Nawojczyk said.

Often referred to as "the love drug" because of the way it enhances
senses, Ecstasy also makes the brain incapable of telling other
organs what to do. This is why users can dehydrate and overheat when
using the drug.

In a recent Ecstasy-related death at a Little Rock rave, a new-age
party featuring loud music and often drugs, a young man who died had
a fever of 108 degrees, Nawojczyk said.

Eric King, Conway High School resource officer, also talked to the
parents about what he sees in the schools and what he learns from the
students.

"Everyone's at risk when you start talking about at-risk kids," King said.

He said when he talks with students about Ecstasy, he asks them how
safe they think it can really be to ingest drugs made overseas with
no regulations.

"With all that's happened recently, we worry about biological warfare
but look at what we're doing to ourselves," he said.

"Take time to think about what you're doing."