Child Basics Blog: July 2008 Child Basics

During the summer time, you will want to push your children to go outside and play. They need to get their exercise and enjoy the weather while they can. When they are outside playing, you need to be aware of the heat and how long your children are outside. Being outside is good for your children, however, if it gets too hot, they can suffer from dehydration or heat stroke.

Dehydration is when your body becomes depleted of its water supply. The causes can range from a fever, diarrhea, vomiting, or heat related. When you are overexposed to the sun, your body becomes dehydrated. The symptoms are dry skin, fatigue, dizziness, confusion, or increased heart rate and breathing. In children, you need to look for irritability, no tears when crying, or a dry diaper for more than three hours. If caught early and the cause was heat related, you will need to re hydrate your child. Most sports drinks will replenish the body fluids, electrolytes, and salt balance. You can help prevent dehydration by making sure that your fluid intake is more than you are losing, as well as scheduling your outdoor activities for the cooler parts of the day.

Heat stroke, however, is far more severe than dehydration and is a life-threatening emergency. Long, extreme exposure to the sun where the person does not sweat enough to lower the body temperature can cause a heat stroke. What happens is that our bodies have a lot of internal heat and sweating and radiating the heat through our skin cools us down. But when you add extreme heat, high humidity, etc, our cooling system begins to fail. The symptoms you need to look for is a headache, dizziness, disorientation, rapid heart beat, hallucinations, and loss of consciousness. Though it is a medical emergency, there are things you can do in the meantime. It is imperative to get the person indoors and remove their clothing. Apply ice packs to their groin and armpits while adding cool water to their skin simultaneously fanning them.

It is crucial that you pay attention to your child's activities to insure that they are not susceptible to heat stroke or dehydration. Limit their outdoor play when it is the hottest time of the day and make sure they are drinking plenty of water. Pay attention to your children and their behavior while outside in the hot weather.

Labels: information, KidKraft

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Those of you new to the world of parenthood are opened up to the whole new atmosphere where you might be at a total loss of what to do next and when. You can read up on your books that tell you guidelines on raising a child, but it will not teach you how to be a parent. One element that you might be a little unsure of is the vast array of vaccinations your child will need and how they work. Unless you are a doctor or nurse, you might be a little skeptical on when your child will need their immunizations.

First of all, when germs enter in to your system, your body recognizes these germs as unwanted guests and start to work on them by making proteins called antibodies. By the time your body realizes it is hosting an invader, you are already sick when the antibodies start to do their job. However, the antibodies start eliminating those icky germs. Then those same antibodies remain in your bloodstream so when the same dirty germs try to attack again, the immunity you have built up will aid to your defense.

When you receive a vaccination, it is actually a deadened or weakened version of that disease. Being that it is deadened, it will not actually make you sick, however, your body will still see it as an unwanted guest and start producing antibodies. The building of antibodies gives you the immunity you need to ward off those nasty diseases.

Usually, before a baby ever leaves the hospital for the first time, the Hepatitis B shot will be given to them. After that, starting at about 2 months, your child will need to be brought back periodically for a series of more shots. There are a total of about twelve diseases you are immunizing which results in plenty of shots. After your first visit, your doctor will have you schedule for the next few rounds and they will help you keep tabs of when your child will need to come back.

Your child needs to have received all of their immunizations before they even start school for the first time. Generally, you will need to bring them back within a few years and start the process again. Some parents are skeptical about how many vaccinations are too much at one time. For this, the worry you have should be put to ease. You are exposed to hundreds of germs daily, and these vaccinations are just a few more germs that will not harm your child.

For further information, you should consult your childs doctor. They will be able to walk you through exactly when your child will need what vaccination. But do not forget to get those shots! We do not want any sick children.

Labels: information, tips

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Sometimes parents dread having birthday parties for their children simply because they view it as a hassle. It is actually an easy accomplishment and simple. You just have to allow yourself plenty of time to prepare and plan. Here are a few tips for whenever your children have a party that needs celebrating.

First and foremost, keep it simple. The more you nit-pick the nitty gritty details, the more you will dread it and start to view it as a hassle. Keep this in mind: your children will not remember what kind of napkins and paper plates you used, or what kind of cake there was. They care more about the company and the presents; so do not fret over the decorations; only as much as you really need to.

A theme is necessary, however. It makes finding the decorations you do need that much easier because then you know what you are looking for. It does not have to be some elaborate theme, make it simple such as your child’s favorite color or TV show.

Who do you invite and how many? There is a general “formula” to answer this question if your child is less than 8 years old. That formula is your child’s age plus 1. This also depends on you though. How many children can you deal with before possibly losing your mind? If you can only handle a small amount of children, stick with three or four no matter how old they are. But if you love kids running around and the probable chaos that might follow them, then great! Invite the neighborhood. Generally, you want to keep it to the families’ children, but you should also include kids that your child attends school with as well.

Focus on these simple tips and your birthday parties will go much smoother. But the main thing to focus on is that you do not let yourself start to dread it. Children might see this and not have as much fun themselves.

Labels: tips

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Next month, schools everywhere will be starting up again and children will be heading back to cover another year. Those little ones just starting in school will more than likely have a hard time getting used to the idea of being in school. It is a new atmosphere that they have not experienced before; new kids to interact with, new adults to warm up to. They might be apprehensive at first, and you will probably have just as hard of a time with it as they will, obviously for different reasons. You will want to try and make the transition as easy as possible for your child and yourself also.

If your child is attending school for the very first time, they will not know what to expect, and if this is your first child then you probably will not know either. But even you can admit that it is much easier to warm up to new surroundings if you are with someone you know, even if it is an acquaintance. If it is at all possible, find out a few names of students and their parents names and contact them for a play date. Let your child meet and encourage that they play together for a few afternoons before school is set to begin. When you lead your child through those doors for the first time, your departure will be a lot easier to accomplish if they see a few familiar faces; not to say it is going to be easy for you. When you first start talking to your child about going to school, sound excited and enthusiastic. If they see how excited you get about it, they will be just as enthusiastic. When they are looking forward to something, their apprehension will ease away.

As the first day of school draws nearer, you are going to want to make bedtime a little earlier than before to prepare them for a new schedule and practice laying out their clothes before they go to sleep. When they have a routine that they can easily follow, your mornings will go smoother.

So you are dropping your child off for the first day of school. Chances are they will cry. This is where you need to be firm, but do not detour away from being understanding. Going to school for the first time can be a scary experience at first, and you cannot let yourself seem annoyed with your little dear.

Make their first day as easy as possible. It might be hard for you; after all, your youngster is growing up. But this is a positive experience for the both of you.

Labels: children-information

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Every parent of young children knows that when it is bedtime, the battle then commences. New tactics arise that keep them from touching their beds that hit you before you realize it is coming. You catch on after the third trip to the bathroom that they are just avoiding sleep, but you miss the part where they got you to give them a full glass of water. And so the rounds begin again. As they bring you to the battlegrounds, you need to come prepared with new and never-before used schemes to keep them on their toes and their little bodies in bed.

Getting them to bed is one thing, but how long do they need to be sleeping? Generally, children 3 to 6 years old need from 10 and a half hours to 12 hours a day. At 3 years old, they need to be laying down for naps and getting rest through the day, whereas children around the age of 5 should be weaned off of those mid-day naps to prepare for school where they will not receive them anyway.

Children ages 7 to 12 years old need 10 to 11 hours a day. Just because they are getting older does not mean sleep is any less important. When they do not get enough sleep, they wear out sooner in the day and they are less apt to pay attention in school. When they are not paying attention, then they are not as capable to retain information that they need to learn and grow.

As you are fighting for new and improved ways to get those little ones to bed, keep in mind that they still need those hours of sleep to keep them alert and ready to learn!

Labels: children-information

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Have you ever worked with model kits? What a great way to focus on something and see wonderful results. If your kids are driving you crazy, bouncing around the house all summer, sit them down outside on at a little table and hand them a model Wood WorX Race Car Kit. They can put their minds to something and stay out of your hair for a while.

Working with models and such, your children will learn how to read and follow directions. They will learn to comprehend what the instructions are telling them to do, and it helps develop their hand-eye coordination.

Once they are done building their racecars, give them the task of making a racetrack out of whatever materials you have for them and let them race their model cars that they built. This project will again, keep them busy and occupied, giving you ample time to devise another project to keep their little hyper bodies focused!

Labels: hand eye coordination for kids, toys

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Remember the playhouses and forts you used to make as a child? You would take kitchen chairs, end tables (well, pretty much anything you could get your hands on) and arrange them in the living room. Then you would take old blankets, comforters, and quilts and throw them on top and voila! You have your fort. Then the next day, your parents would get mad at you for still having a mess in the living room. Either way, try something new with your children. Give them something that will help tap in to those creative juices such as the Bazoongi Special Edition Rocket Ship Playhouse. This little rocket ship will blast them in to outer space to mingle with the stars and foreign planets. They will travel to different galaxies and float through the universe.

Not the playhouse for your child? Try this one on for size: the Jungle Safari Tent and Tunnel Combo. The great thing about this playhouse is it has a fun tunnel to crawl through first. The pictures of different animals on the sides make you feel as though you are on safari. Your little dears can play with the lions, roam with the elephants, and play like the monkeys (lets just leave out the part where we climb and swing on the tree branches!).

Whether it is on a safari, a trip to outer space, or just playing house, send your children on their own little adventures with these playhouses. And keep your house a little more organized while you are at it!

Labels: playhouse

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Your little munchkins have their playroom where all their toys are stashed. Their books and treasured belongings are stored here. They can easily get lost in their world of imagination and pretend worlds of all sorts.

When they are in their room having playtime, why not have a designated reading time as well? The Time To Read Rocking Chair for Kids is perfect for your little boys. Give them a chair that is just for reading time. They will be more eager to read if they have something that is just for that very occasion. The padded seat makes it more comfy to sit in and will make the time spent on reading that much more enjoyable.

For the little girls, try the Royal Princess Rocker. The little ladies will love this choice and they will feel like darling princesses every time they sit down to read while they rock away.

Enhance their imaginations and have your children sit down every day for reading time. If your child has a hard time sitting there and concentrating on a book, throw in a reward of some sort for them. Or you might want to consider taking turns reading to your child and then the next reading time, have them read to you. Make reading time fun! Give them something to look forward to.

Labels: rocking-chairs

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Lets think back now: our mothers would clean the house and we would watch enthusiastically and expectantly. What is she going to do next? How is she going to do it? For some reason, watching our mothers clean the house was… well… fascinating! It was methodical and mesmerizing the way she would move throughout the house, always so graceful. Why don’t we take such fascination and use it to our advantage? Kids today turn in to messy teenagers, right? Show them the effects of cleanliness and tidiness now while we still hold their interests. Use the Guidecraft Childrens House Cleaning Set. If they have their own tools, show them how to use them, why, and what happens when they use them. Make it a fun routine, a game of sorts. Who can clean the most thorough the quickest, for example?

Showing them how to be neat and organized now wont just help with them when they are teenagers so you don’t have to hound them about cleaning their rooms. It will help enhance their appreciation for their things, and it will teach them to take care of their belongings.

The Guidecraft Childrens House Cleaning Set is a great idea for your children. Teach them well enough, and you might be able to split the chores with them to make house cleaning quicker!

Labels: cleaning-set, guidecraft, learning-toys

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A new craze lately seems to be scrap booking. Mommies especially love to take those pictures and make special photo albums for their families or to honor a special occasion. In these photo albums, there might be cute little sayings, thoughtful messages, or just designs made in theme of the pictures on that page. The pictures can be cut in to different shapes, or they can have a nice frame made by your hands to decorate it in the album. Children see their mommies diligently working on these scrapbooks and always want to lend their hand in the fun. So why not let them do their own? During a family get together or a sleep over with friends, buy your darling a cheap disposable camera and let them run wild taking whatever pictures they want. Those pictures can be taken of shoestrings and dirt stains on your carpet that you knew nothing about. The point is to let them have fun and be creative in their own way.

The ScrapAttack Family Scrapbooking Kit for Kids comes with the book, ribbons, glitter, and so much more to let your children be inventive. Let them design their own photo album. It will be fun for them to see what they created when they are all grown up. Plus, it will add the fun memories you share with your children. What could be greater than that?

Labels: scrapbooking

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Prestigious companies, top businesses you want to be employed for nowadays are not just looking for education, they are looking for mastery in skills, such as imagination, creativity, problem solving, etc. Web design companies are not looking for plain-Jane people to help create their clients sites. They cannot use people with black and white basic thought. The need for people who think outside the box that can help in the growth of their business is outstanding. So how are we going to help our children succeed in their futures? Lets start when they are itty-bitty. Show them how to engage their inventive side and think outside the norm. Art is one way to start.

Invest in an easel. Kids will be curious about what it will do, how it works, and what they can get in to with it. Whether it is a chalk easel, or one in which you actually paint with, help them get those creative juices flowing. Now the word “paint” might have made your ears perk up. That word made you see pretty paint splotches all over your clean carpet. The 2 Sided Art Easel comes with one side to paint with and the other side for chalk. Accompanied by a mat to lay on the floor, you can delegate when your children use the paint. Any other time they can feel free to use the chalk.

While they are painting or making chalk drawings, give them a task. Have them paint a picture of something specific, or just let them do whatever they feel like. Whatever path you choose to take your children down, you are still tapping in to their creative side.

Labels: easels, toys

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Whether before you entered in to school and in to preschool, nap time was the greatest. You got to take naps in the middle of the day. Being able to just quit what ever you were doing and go to sleep for a little bit was amazing. Too bad adults cannot do that on the job, and get paid for it! Anyway, studies show that nap time for children is crucial. They need it in order to function better through the day and it helps immensely with their learning process. It helps them retain more information that helps their able little minds grow. One problem you may have with nap time is getting those little ones to wind down and go to sleep. Parents of toddlers know exactly how hard it can be to get their children to quiet down and drift in to dream land. The whole house needs to be quiet as a mouse or else that kid just will not go to sleep. A way to get them excited about nap time and be eager to go to sleep is a nap mat. These fun nap mats will make your child be excited to curl up in it.

These comfy cozy mats are soft and warm and cuddle your kiddies to make them fall in to sleepy-time. Regenerate their minds and allow them to refresh their thinking caps. Help them learn better and retain more information and give them a good healthy nap time.

Labels: nap-mat

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We have all heard our grandparents tell us how they had to walk fifteen miles, uphill both ways, to school every day… oh yeah, and they were barefoot while it was snowing. But nowadays, we have school buses and shoes to get our children to and from school. However, how many of you parents are aware of just how strenuous backpacks can be on your children?

The standard backpack comes with two shoulder straps. The pack is to sit on the child’s back while being supported through their shoulders. However, a lot of children today do not deem it appropriate or necessary to utilize both shoulder straps and allow their backpack to hang off of one shoulder. This probably would not be an issue if they pack only weighed a pound and they did not carry it as much. However, with all the materials needed to cart to and from school, backpacks can easily weigh 10-15 pounds. Now think about this: 15 pounds of consistent downward pressure on one shoulder. According to Physical Backpack Effects by Illinois State Board of Education, children weighing 60-75 pounds should not carry a bag weighing more than 10 pounds and I child weighing 125 should not carry a backpack weighing more than 18 pounds.

By carrying more than what a child should, assuming the are carrying the backpack correctly, the child can try to compensate for the weight difference by leaning forward. But when they only use one shoulder strap and try to compensate for the weight difference, it can disrupt the alignment of the spine and create further injury. And yet either way the pack is carried, when the weight far exceeds the acceptable amount, posture is always disrupted.

Make sure when you and your child go school supply shopping and it is time to pick out that backpack that you are looking for backpacks with two wide straps. When the child wears the pack, make sure that it is adjusted to sit up high to utilize the stronger back muscles and prevent a forward lean.

Keep your children’s backs healthy! Teach them the proper way to carry a backpack and be mindful of how much your child is stuffing in to that bag!

Labels: backpacks

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Glue, paint, crayons, scissors, and paper: all excellent tools for children to use to do crafts, wouldn’t you agree? Ah, but don’t be persuaded by their angelic appearance. These so called useful-tools can turn in to evil, rotten instruments when placed in to the sticky hands of children. Our little darlings, too, look cute and innocent. But once given paint, glue, or scissors, may they spare your clean carpets and freshly painted walls! And this is where KidKraft Aspen Table and Chair Set comes in.

Designate a room in your house in which you do not care if your children rampage through it, because if they haven’t yet, they will. Parents, be not alarmed! Your children will have mercy on your things if you provide them their own. This KidKraft Aspen Table, once put in to their room, will give them a place to paint, color, and glue things on. And if they “accidentally” glue paper down to the table, then at least it wasn’t your kitchen table, right?

Do not be discouraged to allow your children to be crafty. We want to focus their attention on being creative. With the KidKraft Aspen Table, you can have the peace of mind knowing your good furniture has been spared and those little darlings are tearing through their own room.

Labels: KidKraft, tables

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