Summer Birthdays: Steps To A Fun And Safe Party Part 2 of 3

Harmful Litter and Objects

Regardless of whether the party will be on your property or in a public area, make sure to take some time out to pick up trash, sticks, fallen tree branches, and other potentially harmful debris from the party area. While you are at it, scan the yard as you walk for any holes which could cause a trip and fall or a twisted ankle. Also be on the lookout for poisonous plants such as poison ivy, poison oak, or bushes or trees with edible-looking berries that could make children sick. If there are trees or man-made structures nearby, check branches, trunks, eaves, gutters, and overhangs for hornet’s, bee’s, or wasp’s nests and make sure to find out if anyone at the party have severe allergic reactions to insect stings. If so, and perhaps just as a precautionary measure, it would be a good idea to have an epi-pen on hand in the event of such an emergency.

If there are sandboxes or sand under a play structure for shock absorption, rake through the sand thoroughly to make sure there is no broken glass or other sharp objects.

Party Favors

Check party favor packaging for age suitability recommendations and make sure to stay within the guidelines. If there will be small children present, consider going with higher quality favors as cheap ones have the tendency to break apart which can pose a serious choking hazard or cause cuts with their sharp, broken plastic edges.

Hygiene

Providing supplies for proper hand washing is also a very important aspect when it comes to the health and safety of the children. Make sure that food and drink servers wash their hands often and that all the guest wash or sanitize their hands thoroughly before eating.

Another aspect of protecting your family is keeping your home safe from intruders with a quality alarm system from a trusted company such as ADT.  Summer time means higher crime, so check out the great ADT deals that are going on now.

Summer Birthdays: Steps To A Fun And Safe Party Part 1 of 3

Throwing an outdoor birthday party for your child during the summer months can be a lot of fun. It can be extremely rewarding to watch the smiling little faces and hear the sounds of laughter. The last thing that any parent wants to happen on such a happy occasion is for an accident, illness, or injury to disrupt everyone’s good time. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take well before the first guest arrives in order to prevent such and incident from occurring. Keep in mind that if you have an ADT alarm system, your keypad will have a panic button to press in case of accident, poisoning, fire, etc.

As you are planning your child’s summer birthday party, you’ll want to be aware of the surroundings where the children will be playing. Use caution when choosing a location, especially if you are familiar with the area, there may be many safety hazards in your own backyard or local park that may be disguised by sheer familiarity. Keep the following tips in mind in order to keep your child and all the other party goers safe, happy, and healthy while they are under your watch. Once you know what hazards to look for and avoid, volunteer to help out other parents who are throwing parties that your child will be attending for the safety of your child and others. Also, don’t forget to educate your child or children about the potential hazards that they should be looking out for. This way, they are more likely to stay safe even when you can’t be with them.

Balloons

Balloons are one of the most common decorations for birthday parties, indoors and out. However, they are not necessarily a safe choice for all age groups. Younger children in particular can choke on broken or uninflated balloons very quickly. In fact, the U.S. Consumer Safety Product Commission reports that balloon have led to more suffocation deaths in children than any other single toy. Just keep a cell phone nearby for emergency calls and don’t forget that your ADT alarm panel can be used to alert help.

Go Green In the Baby’s Room

We all understand the importance of home protection, and having a good security system provider such as ADT, but homeowners can often overlook a few decoration considerations that can not only protect your baby, but also protect the planet.

After the health-crazed late 80’s, and the complete culture of excess that was the late 90’s and early millennium, our global senses have finally been attuned to the fact that the Earth is not invulnerable to the actions of its habitants. Everywhere you look, on every product out there, is that new marketing buzz term “green” and “eco-friendly”.

Recycling, car pooling, and doing what you can to reduce your carbon footprint are the most publicized ways that we all can do what we can to ensure that the Earth is still here for our children. Speaking of children, thanks to this sudden rebirth of global consciousness, you can now make sure that even your baby’s nursery is ecologically responsible and much safer for your newborn. Here are a few ideas for consideration:

1.When it comes to painting your baby’s room, the most important thing to keep in mind is to use a low-fume, chemical and toxin-free paint. Most new eco-style paints are composed of safe organic compounds, as opposed to the more commonly used synthetic chemicals.

2.What touches your baby’s skin must be soft and as chemical-free as possible. Bamboo and organic cotton are easily your best bets for crib bedding, as well as swaddles, diapers, and clothing. The problem with most baby clothing is that they are made or treated with toxic chemicals that can not only irritate your baby’s skin, but can also lead to the development of allergies.

3.The crib pillow is one object that your child’s head and face touch and breath in the most, so it’s very important to get an organic pillow that are made with bamboo linens, untreated or bleached cotton fibers, or an organic pillow that is stuffed with buckwheat.

Hopefully these few tips will help new parents make the right decision. There are more options as well obviously, including bamboo flooring, jute or bamboo rugs and using only all natural air fresheners. As long as the bedding and immediately close area near the crib are as chemical and toxin free as possible, you’ll be doing your part to help save the environment and your child.

And again, for overall safety of your family and your newborn, I strongly suggest ADT for home security.

The Forgotten Room – The Hallway

Many of us don’t forget the important parts of being a homeowner – proper lawn care, routine safety inspections, having a good reputable security system backed by a solid company such as ADT, and the overall decoration and feel of your home. We spend hours and thousands of dollars to ensure that the living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom are beautifully coordinated and decked out for all visitors to see. One room that many people neglect is the one place in your house that most don’t even consider to be a room – your hallway.

Even small, one-bedroom apartments have at least a small form of hallway, and most older or larger homes have long halls that connect the other rooms we spend so much time decorating. It’s not often that your guests will be able to make it from your den or living room to the bathroom without passing through these thresholds.

You will want to keep in mind the intentional functionality of hallways, being the act of getting from one location to another within your home, easily and quickly. This doesn’t mean that your hall has to be bland and devoid of interior design. If size permits, you may even be able to have a furniture piece such as a nice end table that would be perfect for displaying a nice art sculpture or even a low maintenance plant such as a pothos. Plants are always a cheap way to bring some life into an otherwise dull atmosphere.

Consider the flooring and possibly getting an attractive runner rug. Not only will this protect your flooring in high traffic areas, it provides something else for the wandering eye to settle on other than plain walls. Forget the endless collages of framed family photos that line many hallways, as a mantle or other focal point serves as a much better location for these cherished images. A few other ideas include using wood or wallpaper bordering to enhance the hallway trim. In a time where most forget the hallway decoration all together, it only takes a small item or augmentation to have these corridors stand out to you and your visitors.

Adult Children And House Rules (Part 4)

It isn’t easy to stand by and watch as someone you love makes choices that you know will have a bad outcome, or which you do not personally agree with. As parents of adult children, you must first and foremost respect their rights as adults.

Whether they live under your roof or not, you have no right to insist upon setting rules which interfere in their right to choose for themselves what to do with their own life. You do have the right to make sure that their choices do not interfere with your home and the rest of the families security, however. For instance, we have an ADT alarm system at our house for our family’s protection, we also have a rule that it must be set by ten each night.

Exceptions

In some cases, there is true and imminent danger involved to the safety and welfare of your adult child, their children, your own underage children, or yourself. In these cases, you have every right and responsibility to act. A few examples would be as follows:

Clear child abuse or neglect as outlined by your state government. Your opinion that something is neglectful or abusive must be substantiated by state law before you have the right to intervene because it may well be just your opinion.

Clear animal abuse or neglect as outlined by your state or local government. Your opinion that something is neglectful or abusive must be substantiated by state or local law before you have the right to intervene because it may well be just your opinion.

Alcohol and Drug abuse. If their life or the life of another is at risk by all means intervene. This is where programs such as Al-Anon can help you understand the dynamics and what you can and should do. You may have to become acquainted with the principles of tough love and actually hold an “intervention” to help your adult child.

The best way to teach our children is through the example that we set. They learn far more from what we do than what we say, and they do watch what we do very closely. If we expect them to live a certain way, we must be consistently and without hypocrisy living that way ourselves. Then, if we set a good example, they may choose to adopt our philosophy and way of life for themselves. They also may choose to go their own way. The point is that it is their life and their choice, and that must always be respected.

Keep in mind that with more people coming in and our of your home, you may find that your home security can come to be somewhat compromised. Consider investing in a home alarm system from a respected company like ADT if you don’t already have one.

Adult Children And House Rules (Part 3)

Chores: Adult children should be solely responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of their own living spaces. If there are common areas that multiple members of the household will share, there will need to be a chore schedule or general agreement that will work for everyone. If the laundry room is to be shared, you might want to consider giving each member an official laundry day so that you don’t run into any conflicts in timing.

Other rules: Because it is your household, you retain the right to ban specific behaviors and certain items such as, for example, alcohol, drugs, and swearing from your home. If you think something will have a negative impact on your home or its inhabitants, especially any underage children that may be present, you should make sure that your adult children know and will respect your wishes. Make sure to keep these rules focused on the home environment, not what your grown-up children do when they are away from home.

Children and pets: If your adult children have children of their own that will be living in your home with them, they should be expected to keep their children supervised and cared for and instructed on how to abide by the house rules. Everyone in a household should have the right to at least a certain degree of privacy and everyone should respect each others belongings. If your adult children are bringing pets into the household, they should be expected to take proper care of them and take financial responsibility for any damages that they might cause.

Don’t forget to protect those you love and care for the most with a home security system, which can provide a lifeline in case of medical emergencies, fires, and of course burglaries. I personally recommend ADT home security systems. ADT is the leading provider of home security systems in the U.S., with more than 100 years of experience.

Adult Children And House Rules (Part 2)

For these reasons, it is important that if your adult children will be living with you, the rules you set as “House Rules” should focus exclusively on the household. Here are some common topics you will want to come to an understanding about:

Rent. This is usually the easy part. Still, you’ll want to make sure all parties are very clear on what is expected, and when. Make sure to discuss these important issues: How much? Does the rent amount you agree on cover shelter only, or are food, utilities, and other expenses such as long distance telephone service or cable television also covered? If food is not included in the rent, will your child be responsible for buying their own groceries, or contribute to the household’s grocery bill? If they are contributing to the household’s total grocery bill, will they pay a set amount each month or will it vary based on each particular month’s expenditure. When will the grocery money come due? When is the rent due, and what happens if it is paid late? Will you require your child to pay a deposit? If so, will the deposit be returned completely or partially when they move out if certain conditions are met? If there are conditions, what are they?

Company. If you choose, it is perfectly reasonable for you to set hours for entertaining guests. You’ll also want to set ground rules pertaining to visiting rules where members of the opposite sex are concerned, and how late company is welcome in the house. To be fair, house rules should apply to every member of the household unconditionally.

Don’t forget to protect those you love and care for the most with a home security system, which can provide a lifeline in case of medical emergencies, fires, and of course burglaries. I personally recommend ADT home security systems. ADT is the leading provider of home security systems in the U.S., with more than 100 years of experience.

Adult Children And House Rules (Part 1)

Living with your adult children can be tricky business. Although they are still you children, they are also adults and should act and be treated accordingly. This extends to the rules that you can impose upon them while they are still living under your roof or relying on your financial support. Regardless of where and how your children are living and providing for themselves, you will need to adjust to the idea that you will not and should not have the same type of control over their life and conduct as you did before they turned eighteen. Understand where and when to draw the line is an important part of the learning process for you and your adult children and will make everyone’s experience more enjoyable, predictable, and manageable.

It is hard on any parent to watch their children make mistakes and yet it is a vital part of learning and maturing. You always retain the right to voice your opinion, but when you find yourself with the urge to intervene in their lives, ask yourself if they are in any direct and immediate danger from their actions. If not, you should simply remind yourself that they are adults now and they have the right to make their own choices as well as face any consequences that their choices may lead to, good or bad. These are the times when all you can do is hope that all those years of instruction on how to take care of themselves and be a functional member of society will serve them well. Still, as your children struggle (because at times they all will), keep in mind that everyone learns from the mistakes we make, and we all make them, no matter how old or experienced we may be.

Don’t forget to protect those you love and care for the most with a home security system, which can provide a lifeline in case of medical emergencies, fires, and of course burglaries. I personally recommend ADT home security systems. ADT is the leading provider of home security systems in the U.S., with more than 100 years of experience.

Keeping The Family Safe During Disaster (Part 3)

Disasters can happen suddenly and without warning. Everything from a home break-in to a flood or a tornado can instantly throw your normal life into a fast paced panic. Planning is everything, and it can be the key factor in saving you and the life of your family.

Last time we talked about the importance of keeping emergency spare cash on hand at all times, as well using an extra mobile phone to dial 911, even if the phone has never had service or has had service shut off.

Now let’s talk about keeping your children informed and ready. This is especially important if you have older children that might be at home alone at times, like during the summer or after school.

Your children should have easy access to any emergency phone numbers that matter: police department, fire department, poison control centers, doctors, and other family members’ contact information. If you have a teen with a cell phone, make sure they have this information programmed in! 911 is easy to remember, but not too many children, or adults for that matter, know poison control center or doctors’ information by heart.

Phone numbers are important for communication and survival. Ensure that your child knows how to get a hold of as many trusted family members as possible in case of serious emergency or events that can separate entire families such as floods and earthquakes.

For children who may arrive home from school before an adult arrives, seeing a supposedly locked door opened or signs of an obvious break-in, fire, or other situation can be frightening. If possible, speak with a neighbor that you know and trust, and have an understanding with your child that if they arrive home to anything suspicious, they are to report to that safe neighbor and contact you or an alternate family member.

Don’t forget to protect those you love and care for the most with a home security system, which can provide a lifeline in case of medical emergencies, fires, and of course burglaries. I personally recommend ADT home security systems. ADT is the leading provider of home security systems in the U.S., with more than 100 years of experience.

Keeping the Family Safe During Disaster

We can take preventative measures to protect our families, such as the use of home security systems, but we can never predict things like natural disasters, violent threats, or break-ins and terrorist attacks. It’s important to have a good, solid family plan to ensure the maximum safety of you and your loved ones.

In these days of such economic hardship it’s very tough to keep extra money in the bank at times. Many people are living paycheck to paycheck and barely making ends meet. But whether or not you can keep money saved in the bank isn’t nearly as important during a natural disaster as keeping cash money in your wallet or other immediate safe place that you can ensure easy access to. Even $20 can be a lifesaver in the event of a robbery, home burglary, or a disaster that results in power outage that would make ATM access more dangerous or harder to come by, given the event.

Another good thing to have in a safe room, hidden in the car, or somewhere easily accessed is an extra mobile phone. If yours is stolen, broken or destroyed, you’ll need emergency call center access. It is federal law in the United States that every cellular phone network must allow an attempted 911 emergency call regardless of whether or not the phone has ever had any service or has suspended or inactive service. So, don’t throw away that old cell phone, keep it charged and tucked away.

Along with an extra inactive emergency-only phone and at least a little bit of cash held back for disasters, it’s also important to fully instruct your child about procedures during different disaster situation types. Next time, we’ll discuss briefing your child about emergency phone numbers, as well as a few other things to ensure the survival and safety of your loved ones.

Don’t forget to protect those you love and care for the most with a home security system, which can provide a lifeline in case of medical emergencies, fires, and of course burglaries. I personally recommend ADT home security systems. ADT is the leading provider of home security systems in the U.S., with more than 100 years of experience.