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The Deadbolt Necessity: Safety

Deadbolt

Image by BlueRidgeKitties via Flickr

It’s the stuttered strain of a hinge, the rattle of a handle. A front door is being… opened, and panic suddenly consumes you. The hour is late and no one of good intentions should be slinking into your home. You hurry to stand then, creeping into the hallway (grabbing an umbrella from the corner as you go, regretting the weakness of a weapon). There’s light peeking in from the crack in the door. It’s been pushed only a little. And you wonder how an intruder could slither in through such a tiny entry.

He couldn’t — but your child could. And you find him standing on the porch, unaware of the worry he’s caused.

Toddlers are shaped by impulses. They follow whims that can’t be defined or explained, are unconcerned with the consequences — and this can cause them to slip from their cribs and approach the front door, wanting to see what waits beyond it.

This is dangerous. It is estimated that two million children are harmed each year because of unsafe environments: and the lack of proper locks on the doors contributes greatly to these numbers. Deadbolts therefore are necessary. Parents must secure all entryways with these devices — which require specific keys to work and offer the necessary resistance. They cannot be reached by young children and can’t be simply undone (like traditional handle locks).

The need for deadbolts is absolute. All doors — including those that lead to the basement, attic or garage — should be offered one. This will keep children from escaping the house for midnight explorations and provide the necessary protection.

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Filed Under: General, Safety Tips Tagged With: , ,

4 Most Popular American Girl Dolls

Molly, the American Girl Doll is shown here wi...

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American Girl dolls depict girls from various times and backgrounds who all live in America. Because of their cultural diversity, the dolls are very popular among girls in America today.

All of the American Girl dolls come with an array of accessories including clothing, doll shoes, and furniture. The four most popular dolls, in no particular order, are as follows:

  • Addy Walker is an African American girl who has escaped slavery with her mother. Her story is a remarkable and courageous one. In their escape to find her brother and father, Addy’s mother had to leave behind an infant, whose cries may have given them away.
  • Josefina Montoya is a girl from New Mexico living in the first half of the 19th century. With the sorrow in her mother’s passing, new life is brought to her family’s rancho by her mother’s sister, who brings with her new ideas and a new way of life.
  • Rebecca Rubin is a young girl living in a 1914 New York City. Rebecca loves the tradition that her Russian-Jewish heritage instills in her. She is a great example of old traditions meeting new ways of thinking and a girl staying true to her roots whilst following her dreams in a vibrant city.
  • Julie Albright is a free-spirited girl living in San Francisco. Her story resonates with many young girls; she’s young and carefree but is about to go through major life changes: moving to a new city and starting a new school.

These four dolls are only a sample of the lovely range of dolls available from American Girl.

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Filed Under: General, Home Improvements Tagged With: , ,

Setting Boundaries with the Cell Phone

Cut-away cell phone

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As a parent, it is vitally important for you to have specific boundaries in place when it comes to your children, especially when things like cell phone use come into play. If you give your children the opportunity to have and use a cell phone, then you are clearly a progressive and forward thinking parent, but even still there are certain limits that need to be set in order to make sure that your children grow up to use cell phones correctly.

One of the best ways to keep track of your child’s cell phone usage is to make use of prepaid phones, which offer the same type of functionality as regular contract phones, but you can buy the minutes and texts and other usage limits rather than giving your child unlimited usage on the phone. This way, you can essentially decide how much time your child spends on the phone, as well as how they are and are not allowed to use the phone. Setting boundaries is important when it comes to cell phone usage, and using a prepaid phone service is a great way to not only set boundaries, but also to enforce them.

Setting simple boundaries can really be important when it comes to cell phone usage. This is going to help your child to understand the right and wrong ways to handle cell phone usage so that they can grow up understanding what their limits are. Setting basic limits and enforcing them with your child or children can really have a profoundly positive impact on them.

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Softening Corners, Gaining Safety

Baby-global

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It’s a scream most unexpected, an echo that shivers through the walls (defying stone, rafters and installation). You scurry after the sound, racing down the hall. Fear plagues every step; tragedy is expected. There can be no source of a shriek beyond your child, after all, and you’re terrified that he’s been injured.

He has — but not to the extent you assumed. All sobs were formed from a simple bruise, with him clutching at his temple and demanding your sympathy. You offer it immediately, even as your eyes cobble together the clues: soft skin had grazed a sharp corner, and the result was pain.

Such a result must be rectified — now.

Children wish always to explore, to master their surroundings with waddling steps. Too often, however, do those steps lead them to rough edges and tightly carved cabinetry: which can harm fragile bodies, offer cuts and broken capillaries. It’s essential therefore that parents baby-proof their homes with corner guards.

Corner guards, as their name implies, are items that can slide snugly onto the ends of furnishings. They are shaped from rubber, felt or similarly soft materials — which makes them ideal protectors. They obscure all angles and render them harmless; and this enables children to move about the home as they wish, rather than having to be trapped to circular spaces.

Corner guards are vital for every household. They should be utilized in all rooms and should remain in place until youths are able to distinguish depths. Their coloring will ensure that they blend with all decor, however, and won’t mark them as distractions — merely as natural elements.

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Staying in Touch With Your Children

Kids these days need to be understood more than any other generation of kids ever have. While kids in previous years used to be more inclined to accept that adults would never understand them, today’s kids really want to have an open and real relationship with their parents. Naturally, no kid is ever going to admit to that, but it’s still true. From the kind of music they like best to their favorite style of clothing, your kids want you to know them.

For one thing, one of the hottest brands of clothes out right now are Apple Bottoms jeans. While you might initially think that all jeans are basically the same, this could not be further from the truth. The best clothes are ones that express the style your kids want to have, and express a lifestyle they want to lead. While kids might not understand lifestyle design, they instinctively know that they want to strike a balance between personal security and the freedom to express themselves as they really are.

Just about every kid who has their head on straight also wants to be seen as someone with no cares and a laid-back personality. While everybody has things that bother them and we all fear something, looking good and having a swagger in their walk will let your kids feel like powerful people. As long as you understand this about your kids and show them respect, they’ll show you more respect in return. When you know what your kids like, they’ll appreciate that you care about them. While you naturally do anyway, showing you understand them makes it easier.

 

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