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When you have a baby your feelings of joy and love will be immediately balanced by your feelings of worry and anguish over their safety. This is because, as all mothers know, you can try to protect your kids as much as you can and do all the right things, but there is always something that can go wrong that you cannot control. It is this lack of control that causes such worry and panic, especially as they grow older and begin to explore and expose themselves to harm.

For the most part, you will be able to restrict your baby’s adventures and reduce their exposure to possible risks throughout the home. This is all done by baby proofing the house and making sure that all potential hazards that can be avoided are done so.

The first place that you need to look to make absolutely secure is your baby’s crib and nursery. This may not seem like somewhere that would contain too many hazards but in truth very many tragedies occur whilst babies sleep at night. The phenomenon known as cot death is something that has yet to be fully explained but there are important things you can do to reduce the risk of it happening. One such thing is when your child over-heats due to restricted airflow. This can be avoided but reducing the numbers of blankets and coverings that your child has. Make sure that you have a dect baby monitor on hand next to their crib so that you can watch what they are doing.

When they grown older they will be more mobile and therefore more prone to harming themselves. Always have a playpen to put them in so that they cannot do themselves damage when not being supervised. If you are cooking on you kitchenaid oven for example, make sure that they are safely in their pen and not running or crawling amok around the house.

Also ensure that the house is fully baby proofed all over. This will include installing child locks in all areas where the child might be so that they cannot open dangerous drawers and find dangerous objects. Also install baby gates all over the house wherever they might fall down, so especially at either end of the stairs.

For any times when you go off for a trip in the car you must have a car seat such as an evenflo convertible car seat installed for the child to sit in and relax.

The dangers that the child can inflict on themselves do tend to multiply as they get older so you need to stay extra vigilant throughout their early days.

Technorati Tags: keeping baby safe, parenting

If you are reading this article, chances are you have a creative soul and love to let your immagination soar - because - why else would you be visiting a site aimed at crafts, hobbies and other such creative pursuits?You may well be talented and artistic however, have your children inherited this creativeness and resourcefullness? And if they haven't - are there ways you can stimulate an interest in them? Here's what you can do…

Encourage your children to be creative by providing them with the time, resurces and the space for making art. Try to set aside interruption-free time for drawing, in a mess-proof zone – so that their creativity can run wild. Ensure that you cover all surfaces so that any splashes of paint or scribbles of crayon are ‘caught’ – because nothing squishes creativity more so than a parent saying “Don’t make a mess” every 2 minutes.

Choose the right drawing materials too as this is very  important. Many craft materials can be improvised, but when drawing tools and paper are required, opt for a small selection of good quality age-appropriate products, rather than loads of inferior products. Always ensure that you check safety information and follow instructions. During any ‘art-time’ children should always be surpervised because many necessary materials – such as crayons – pose a choking hazard.

Surroundings: As with writing or working at a computer, good posture and a comfortable position are important for drawing. A child-size table and chair is actually preferable to an easel. If the chair is a little high, provide a phone book for a footrest. A coffee table and a cheap plastic chair work well. A small kitchen storage trolley is a perfect solution for containing supplies, or if space does not allow, a portable fishing tackle or tool box is a good option too. Messy toddlers may need a drop-cloth and supervision to avoid ink-stained walls, as even ‘washable’ pens often don’t deliver on that promise!

Art Materials: Avoid cheap markers, too-hard pencils and thin paints – these types of materials are discouraging to the child and therefore  a waste of money. Provide many sheets of blank paper to inspire their crativity and occasionally invest in a large canvas so that your child can paint something ‘grand’ and chances are you’ll want to hang it on your wall!Also provide coloring books or coloring pages – of which you’ll find plenty online. Granted – coloring pages are not so great for creativity, however they do provide children with the chance to practice their fine motor skills and sometimes it’s very relaxing and just what they need to simply color in without the ‘pressure’ of thinking about WHAT to draw. 

For example little girls may enjoy coloring images of Barbie and at sites like Barbie Coloring Pages you’ll find the best free Barbie printables

When it comes to drawing and coloring, at each age/stage of your child’s life provide….

Toddlers

• Child-safe markers and wipe-off boards
• Chalk boards and safe chalk
• Plain paper and coloring pages

Juniors

• Sketchbook
• Student colored pencils
• Washable Markers
• Oil pastels
• Plain paper and coloring pages

Middle School

• Sketchbook  or scrapbook
• Graphite Pencils
• Watercolor sketch paper
• Watercolor pencils
• Marker pens, marker paper
• Plain paper and coloring pages

High School

• Sketchbook  or scrapbook
• Quality drawing papers and boards
• Graphite Pencils
• Artists’ quality colored pencils
• Illustration markers, marker paper
• Pastel paper and hard pastels if liked
• Plain paper and canvases to work on

All ages

• Safe sharpeners, erasers, dusters, stencils and rulers
• A  folder for storing large pieces
• Storage boxes for smaller pieces
• Consider photographing or scanning pieces for a permanent record.

Technorati Tags: art, child development, children, coloring, crafts, drawing, immagination, parenting

You’ll find that as a parent you have a lot of responsibilities. For example, keeping your baby safe and comfortable as well as entertained are all things that are required of you. Of course there’s many more. Protection is also one of them. That’s one reason why you should be looking at a wireless baby monitor. You can easily place it in a room where the baby is so that he is always being monitored.

Furthermore, you’ll be able to walk around and have it attached to you so you’ll be able to listen to matter where you go. The fact is, many of us find ourselves in situations where we weren’t able to hear our baby. This could lead to your child feeling insecure and frightened. However, if you can hear him no matter where you are, he will thrive and always feel that he can depend on his parents.

Safety with babies means that you have to be very diligent and constantly looking around to see if your child can get himself into any trouble. You are better off lying down or going on all fours in every room to see which items could hurt him. You should remove those that could impose a threat.

Hygiene is a very important part of your baby’s life. Good hygiene starts at a young age. Your baby should be accustomed to taking a bath. Ensure that you are always paying close attention when your baby is in water. It is. Uncommon for babies to drown in very little water.

Some babies love taking baths, while others just abhor it. Regardless of which side of the fence your baby is sitting on, you should introduce him to some baby bath toys. If he doesn’t like bathing, this can turn him around. In addition to that, it teaches babies how to have fun and water too.

Make sure that you have baby bath towels ready to wrap up your baby as soon as you remove him from the tub. It’s important that your baby doesn’t catch a chill. Try him quickly and thoroughly with soft towels and make sure you cover his head. It’s completely up to you whether you want to dress your baby in the bathroom or, in his bedroom.

Before addressing him, make sure that you rub some soothing baby lotion all over his body to avoid winter itch from developing. The lotion will help to moisturize his skin so that it doesn’t become dry, which could make him very durable.

Technorati Tags: keeping baby safe, parenting