Parents remember most fondly their babies` first steps, according to a recent national poll by Louis Harris and Associates. Among parental highlights of their kids` early years, babies` first words finished second, followed by the first day of school and a good report card. On the list of also-rans were such auspicious occasions as reading for the first time, making a first friend, growing up to be pretty or handsome and having a wonderful birthday party.
What parents recalled most happily about the lives of their older children was when they finally demonstrated an ability to think for themselves. This was particularly important to college-educated parents and those earning more than $50,000 per year. Among blacks, Southerners and those earning less than $15,000 per year, developing a belief in God and discovering a deep religious meaning in life ranked high. Other highlights for parentsof older children included getting into a good college, economic success, graduation day and demonstrations of artistic, athletic or romantic prowess.
What parents feared most, the Harris poll showed, were drug abuse, alcohol abuse, sexual promiscuity and unwanted pregnancy, in that order. Not much further down the list of perils, however, was the fear that kids would watch too much TV.
On balance, though, the poll of 3,001 households, conducted for Philip Morris Companies Inc., revealed American families generally at peace with one another and their circumstances.
STOMACHACHES
One in every 10 American men and one in every 20 American women will develop an ulcer sometime in their lives, says the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.
Ulcers create a burning sensation in the upper part of the stomach. The pain may last as little as half an hour or as much as three hours at a stretch. The discomfort comes and goes for weeks at a time, then may disappear. Some ulcers heal themselves; others require treatment. Either way, the journal says, half of all ulcers recur within two years.
NIGHT MOVES
Runzheimer International, a research firm specializing in cost-of-living studies, reports that the cost of a night in a big-city hotel has risen 8 percent since the beginning of 1987.
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Lodging costs in the 10 largest U.S. cities, including Chicago, average $110 a night. In the 10 smallest cities the average cost is $47. In the 10 most expensive cities, also including Chicago, rooms average $117 a night, while the least expensive cities will set you back only $43.
Geographically, rooms in the Pacific states cost the most, $68, followed by the Northeast, $61; Mid-Atlantic, $60; South Central, $57; Great Lakes, $53; Mountain, $53; Southeast, $52; and Great Plains, $47.