Grandpa Richards Kids

I apologize for my absence. Have been very busy with family matters and workload at the office as well.

My granddaughter’s family is in the process of moving to an old farm house. Jasmine really likes the outdoors and we have been exploring her new “yard”. This weekend’s discovery was tadpoles. She has not encountered them before and was very curious. Like many children, she wanted to capture some in a cup.

I am a bit sad that I cannot go out there each day so we can go watch the tadpoles grow and transform. Jasmine has been taught that she cannot go away from the house alone. We will go down to the creek next weekend together and see what has happened.

All parents worry about whether they have done everything possible to ensure their child’s safety. As our children grow the task sometimes seems to get a bit more difficult. Their sense of adventure and bravery heightens which means that nothing in their path is off limits. Even with strict rules and safety guidelines, children are apt to curiously investigate things- which is often how they get hurt. In order to help you, here is a quick list of reference points to remind all parents about the places in the home and beyond that should never be overlooked when it comes to the implementation of child safety measures!

The Busy Parent Guide to Child Safety!

• Check your home for electrical hazards. Cords, uncovered sockets or faulty appliances.

• If your children have learned to open up the safety locks on drawers and cabinets – purchase a large plastic pantry (available at home improvement stores) that can be locked. This can be used to store all chemicals and dangerous items and cannot be manipulated by anything but a key!
• Medications, prescriptions and other medical instruments and devices should be kept where children can not find them. The number to poison control should be listed at all times in an obvious location.
• Make sure that all heavy furniture, TV’s, stereos and other things are secured to the wall when possible.
• No home (even one without kids) should be without a fire detector and carbon monoxide detector. Make it part of your routine to perform maintenance often and keep them in working order. They should be on every floor and near every bedroom. Make a fire plan with your kids.
• Keep an old fashioned corded phone in the home in case of power outages but be sure that little kids cannot become entangled in the cord.
• Keep knives and other sharp objects out of drawers where kids can accidentally reach in and cut themselves.
• Inspect your outdoor play areas for ants, spiders, snakes and make sure that your decking and railings throughout are stable.
• If you have stairs in the home, make sure baby baby safety are used at the top and bottom. Only used installed gates at the top and never place scatter rugs near the tops of stairs.
• Never place beds or furniture near windows. Windows that are low to the ground should be equipped with safety locks to prevent children from falling out.
• Keep your water heater set at 120 degrees to prevent burns and scalds.
• Constantly be on the lookout for choking hazards. These can be parts from small toys or even things such as a staple or paper clip.
• Keep doors leading outdoors locked so young children can’t inadvertently wander outside.
• Keep fans, air conditioners, VCRS and any other things that can trap small fingers out of reach at all times.
• Travel through your home on hands or knees or at your child’s level so you can see danger from their point of view.
• Never leave children unsupervised! This is especially true while in the bathroom or around water!

Or maybe it is the Terrific Two’s.

My grandson is actually getting close to 3, and his mom says that he is starting to form sentences. What an awesome time of life. I sure wish I was closer to him right now.

Here is a simple, yet fantastic example.

The other day while sitting in the parking lot at Superstore, Brendan turns to his mom and says “Mommy the sun touched my face!”. It was a sunny day and he was feeling the warmth through the car window.

[p.s. I would love to hear similar stories from other grandparents, or even parents! Leave them in the comment box that appears when you click on Comment above this, just under the article title (or just below this article if you are on a single article page)

Thanks]

Grandpa Richard lives by many of these tips, and his food bill is quite reasonable, even though he has a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables in his diet. I personally do not believe that I need meat every day, but I definitely miss it if I do not have some fruit and a salad each and every day!

As many Canadians feel the pinch of tough economic times, it is important to remember that healthy meals and snacks do not have to cost a fortune.

“Children need proper nourishment for healthy development,” says Wendy Wong, president and CEO, Breakfast for Learning. “Despite a challenging economy and rising food costs, providing nutritious foods can still be affordable, even on a tight budget.”

Breakfast for Learning offers these helpful tips:

• Prepare meals at home. Find nutritious recipes your family enjoys and stock your cupboards with affordable, healthy staples likes canned tomatoes, beans and brown rice. Pack healthy lunches and snacks for school days. More recipe ideas are available online at www.breakfastforlearning.ca.

• Try meat alternatives. Decreasing your meat consumption can help stretch your grocery budget and is a great opportunity to try different types of protein sources like beans, tofu, and lentils.

• Avoid pre-made packaged foods. Pre-made, processed foods are more expensive. Fresh foods can provide children with healthy food choices and less salt.

• Make wise produce selections. Buy in-season fruit and vegetables (like a variety of apples in the fall), or purchase frozen or canned. If possible, purchase canned fruit packed in water.

“Meeting the demands of today’s economy can be hard, but making healthier food options does not have to be,” continues Wong. “Help ensure child nutrition is not compromised by making it a priority at home and at school. Give children the proper nourishment they need to grow up strong and healthy.”

Nutrition education resources, recipes and more information about child nutrition programs can be found online at www.breakfastforlearning.ca.

----------------
About The Author

News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web.

News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial "fill" items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services.

Another great article from my friends at News Canada. Enjoy.

Is your five-year-old worried about getting enough vegetables or exercise? Not likely. If you’re looking for ways to keep your son or daughter healthy and happy, here are some simple ideas:

1. Studies show that by the end of high school, children will have spent 15,000 hours watching TV and only 500 in physical education classes. Limit your child’s TV, computer or video game time to 30 minutes per day.

2. According to Statistics Canada, 70 percent of children are not getting enough fruits and veggies. Make a game out of eating a variety of colours. More colours = more vitamins and nutrients.

3. Find out about the quality of your child’s physical education class at school. Your child should be receiving 150 minutes of physical education per week.

4. Tell your child’s school about At My Best (www.atmybest.ca), a free school-based wellness program created by AstraZeneca Canada and Physical and Health Education Canada that promotes physical activity, healthy eating and emotional wellbeing.

5. Be your child’s biggest fan. The Centre of Knowledge on Healthy Child Development states that children need regular support and encouragement to develop skills and succeed at school.

6. Be a great role model to your kids by leading a healthy, active lifestyle yourself.

----------------
About The Author

News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web.

News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial "fill" items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services.

Here is some great advice that Grandpa Richard wants to remind all parents about. Please read this article, and the GO DO what it suggests.

—————-

A mother’s worst nightmare, you’ve fallen asleep and your child has gotten into the medicine cabinet.

Kid-proofing your medicine cabinet is key to the health of your children and what better time to tackle this project than when you’re doing your spring cleaning! Checking your medicine cabinet regularly helps you ensure contents are stored safely and you have the right medications on hand to deal with the most common childhood illnesses.

“A top concern for kid-proofing a medicine cabinet is safe storage,” explains Tracey Phillips, Director, Pharmacy, Rexall. “Always store your medication out of reach from your children in a cool, dry place such as in a large Tupperware container in a high bedroom cabinet or linen closet, do not store medications in the fridge unless directed to do so, and keep medication out of the washroom or kitchen where heat and humidity can impact its effectiveness.”

Here are some other helpful tips from Rexall to get you started:

• Do not call medicine candy. It is important that your child knows the difference.

• Take your unused or expired medications to your local Rexall pharmacy for environmentally safe and free disposal. Flushing medicine down the toilet or throwing it in the trash is harmful to the environment.

• Keep medication in its original labeled container, so you know what’s in the bottle, the expiry date and how to use it.

• The top 5 most important items to have in your kid-proof medicine cabinet are: assorted bandages, children’s formulations of short acting allergy relief medication, a pain reliever (either children’s acetaminophen or Ibuprofen), motion sickness medication, and a reusable hot/cold pack.

Speak with your pharmacist for tips on the best way to kid-proof your medicine cabinet and visit rexall.ca/medicinecabinet for more information on ensuring a safe medicine cabinet.

----------------
About The Author

News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web.

News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial "fill" items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services.

If like many people you just love stuffed toy animals, there is a new website that will be devoted to them. stuffedtoyanimals.info

It is just a day old, so not much info there yet, but start visiting now and watch as it grows.

Someone remind me of this in 10 months, so I can plan a party.

Sesame Street premiered on November 10, 1969. That means it will be 40 years old this November. It is the longest running children’s program on American television.

The CD featured on the right is timeless. Forget about playing it for the kids! Let’s play it for Grandpa Richard!!

My all time favourite is track 4, Rubber Ducky, and who can forget track 7, “C” Is for Cookie.

Enjoy, and come back in November for the party.

I watched as my son-in-law and grand daughter opened Christmas gifts that involved electronics. Could not believe that my daughter bought her husband a PSP for Christmas. “Won’t he just sit there deep in action, and not hear you talking?” was my question to her.

Then a friend emailed me and shared how her and her children were playing some game on the Wii. She explained to them about a time long ago without electronic games. (horror!!) Instead, she related to them, we played games like kick the can.

How many of you remember that one?

For me, it was the early 60’s, near Grantham and Scott in St. Catharines. Specifically on Melba Road, which was a nice quiet side street.

View Larger Map

There would usually be at least a dozen of us playing, probably as young as 7 or 8 and as old as 14 or 15. Some of the parents would be on lawn chairs in their front yards watching. It was a simpler time.

Still do not know what kick the can is?

It was similar to hide-and-seek. Put an empty can (at least a large tomato juice can, or similar) in the middle of the street. One person is chosen to be “it”, and must cover their eyes and count to 50 or some number. Everyone else hides. (always set rules about where you can hide, especially noting if Widow Smith’s place is off limits!) Then the person who is “it” must find the rest of us, without getting too far from the can. If you were hiding and the person who was “it” got too far from the can, you could run for the can, kicking it. Then “it” had to retrieve the can, put it back, and count while everyone hid again.

Now, usually the ones who had already been caught made a commotion when they saw you start to run, and “it” would also start running for the can. If “it” kicked it first, you lose! Guess what happened sometimes? Collisions!!!

No blasting aliens on a 42″ TV serving as a game screen. Instead, we would mash each other at a full run, both flying off to land on nice smooth pavement (ya, right, tell all my scars that one).

Regular visitors will have noted that I mention toy recalls. I have now added a special food recall section. Just click on the “Food Recalls” link in the title bar of this page.