Parents can keep their child "armed" with important information when they're away from home with child-safety bracelets by Hope Paige Designs.
Bright, bold and sturdy enough to withstand the normal rough-and-tumble play of kids, these rubber bracelets provide instant access to important information about your child in an emergency. Information such as Mom and Dad's cell-phone numbers can be engraved on the back. The safety bracelets are intended for vacation, class trips, theme parks, camp and more.
They sell for $19.95 are available online
Top germ hot spots include kitchen sinks
Families who spend the winter fighting a cold that never really goes away might consider all the germs they encounter from touching items.
Bacteria and viruses lurk just about everywhere, but they really love to hang out on some of the stuff we are constantly touching.
For cold and flu season, Parents magazine names the top three germ hot spots in every parent's day.
• Kitchen sink: The No. 1 germ hot spot is covered in 50,000 germs per square inch. Why so many⢠When you rinse some foods, particularly raw fruits and veggies, bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella wash down the drain and accumulate there. Scrub the sink with bleach and water at least twice a week.
• Playground equipment: When researchers from The University of Arizona College of Public Health examined various playgrounds, they found feces, urine and even blood on the equipment. Always wash up when playtime is over.
• Grocery-cart handles: A University of Arizona study found that 55 percent of grocery-cart handles were contaminated with fecal matter.Use hand sanitizer when you have finished shopping.
Home might be causing kids to misbehave
Visit the home of just about any parent, and you'll probably find a house overflowing with toys, puzzles, books, games and gadgets. For parents who have set aside a separate playroom for their kids, you'll probably find more of the same -- a room bursting with playthings. But what most parents don't understand is that this might be doing more harm to their children than good.
According to Tonia Tomlin, a professional organizer and author of the newly released "Chaos 2 Calm: The Moms-of-Multiples' Guide to an Organized Family," "Too often, well-intentioned parents can unknowingly cause behavior problems for their kids by giving them free run in the playroom and in the rest of the house.
The problem with this free-for-all style, Tomlin says, is that children need order. "By giving children too many toys, too many decisions and too many options, kids can quickly become overwhelmed, overstimulated, and over-cranky. Ask any parent, and they'll likely tell you that the post-playtime meltdown is an all-too-common occurrence."
Tomlin offers these tips:
• Follow the two-toy rule: Children should have no more than two toys available at any one time. Give your child the opportunity to pick which two of their toys they would most like to play with at any one time.
• Pick it up! Keep floors and play areas clear of clutter. Use shelving, bins, baskets and containers to store extra toys. Help your children take ownership of their toys, and their play space. Teach your children to take care of their toys by remembering to pick them up and put them back in their proper storage place when playtime is over. Reward children with a special outing, treat or praise when they remember to put their toys back in the proper storage place.
• Transition from chaos to calm by using the zone method. Divide play areas into zones -- such as a puzzle zone, book zone, game zone, doll zone, stuffed-animal zone, parking zone for toy cars, trucks, and rides, etc. Not only does the zone method make organizing easier, but it also gives children a structured play environment. Set boundaries. Encourage your children to play with zone-specific toys within each of the zones. This keeps the overstimulation at bay, and makes it easier for children to put the toys back when play time is over.
• Routine is key. Commit to a routine -- whether a playtime routine or a daily routine -- and stick to it. Children benefit from having structure and find tremendous comfort in knowing what's next versus living a life full of daily surprises.
