Parenting Tips: Child Safety Alert!

WARNING ! !

Downed trees are a common occurrence in wooded areas but did you know they are a deadly hazard for your children?  Two families in Maine have learned the had way and have taught others to be aware of the extreme danger posed by the root ball of a downed tree.

Preschool children love to explore. They are adventurous. Unfortunately they also have very little sense of what is dangerous.  Twice in the last six years in Maine, preschool boys have been exploring the fallen trees in the yard and died because neither they, nor the adults, realized the danger.

We have all seen huge root balls strangely vertica, perpendicular to the ground at the end of tall pines or other fallen trees.  What we need to remember is that although the tree is down, in many cases all that is keeping it down is the weight of the tree top and branches.  Often someone well-intentioned starts by cutting off the tree limbs and/or the top of the tree. If the tree is being held down only by the weight and tension, the base of the tree and root ball can suddenly snap back into its hole when that weight is suddenly released.

The parents of four-year-old Lucas Herrin and five-year-old Isaac Benjamin, learned the hard way. In each case a tree base snapped back into its hole, trapping a child whose curiosity had been unable to resist the big hole. They are now trying to spread the word of this little-known danger so that no one else will lose a son, a grandson, a brother. So that no one else will learn the hard way.  Spread the word. Please.

Image credits: graeme.org.nz, lucas-a-herrin.gonetoosoon.org, obits.dignitymemorial.com

Soapbox: Preparation Never Wasted

A lot of folks around where I live have been complaining that there was too much hype about preparing and "worst-of-the-century" language etc. Hurricane Irene/Tropical Storm Irene did not hit us directly, and lots of generators were purchased/rented, plywood nailed, furniture moved inside, etc. etc. .... "for nothing."

Hardly.

1-Those people should be rejoicing that they escaped being ravaged by Irene, hurricane or storm.  Any one of our many Vermont neighbors would happily trade for the opportunity to have "wasted" their time of preparation.  Any of the thousands still without electricity would rather have "wasted" their time. Any of the people cut off and trapped by roads or bridges destroyed envy those whose time was "wasted."

2- Preparation reminds us to celebrate the ever improving art of forecasting and prediction... even if it isn't perfect.  Imagine how different it was when the only warning was the ever-increasing winds or never-stopping rains!  When people thought it was over when the eye arrived only to be caught by the returning storm!  Teach us patience when the day before the predicted track is over one area and the next day a storm veers more to the east or more to the west.

3-I do not believe that preparation is EVER wasted effort.  Each time we prepare, we get better and faster and more clear-headed and calm about the preparation.

4- Sadly another benefit of practice at preparing is learning how to do it right, how not to lose our lives unnecessarily in a storm by... driving across washed out roads, or using generators too close to the house, or coming too close to downed electrical wires, or washed out while watching waves, or , or, or...

5- Even just thinking about preparation gives us the opportunity to consider what we value, what is worth the effort of protecting, what is expendable. 

6. Preparation lets us model safety for those we love and those we know.

Preparation is practice for survival, for enduring. Preparation offers neither a guarantee of being needed, nor a guarantee of being successful. But, preparation is one of our only means of improving our odds in the battles with nature and the world. 

Whether a seat belt, a helmet, or storm preparation... preparation is not a guarantee, but a bit of insuance against disaster. Like insurance it may not cover everything and may never be needed... but it is truly good to have. And, like insurance, preparation can offset, mitigate or protect against tragedy.

Image credits: thinkprogress.org, blog.outerbanksvacations.com,

 abcnews.go.com,christianpost.com, onestepahead.com

School Bell: Hurricane Day

Good morning---
No school today as we clean up after Hurricane Irene. No School Bell post right now either.  We are all fine and VERY grateful to be fine and to have escaped a direct hit.  But, there is a ton of cleanup to do both at my house and my dad's so I will not be doing my regular post this morning.  Maybe later today if I get things put back in time. Fortunately we have power so maybe this afternoon I can get back and blog.
Hope you are all safe and sound where you are.
Gail

Soapbox: Preparing for Disaster

As I write this a hurricane seems headed for the Southeastern US coast and will be hitting the Bahamas even sooner.  Unlike tornados, we have warning about hurricanes today, at least in the U.S. What a blessing the gift of time to prepare is!  What would you do if you had a day to get ready for disaster. Think about it.  Because whether hurricane, forest fire, flood, or other, disaster can happen to anyone, anywhere.

Generally we have little control over a disaster.  Sadly, the part we can control we usually don't.  We CAN control how prepared we are.  Is it because preparing makes us think about the possibility of disaster?  Is it because starting to prepare shows how unprepared we catually are?  Whatever the reasoning... lack of preparedness is not a good plan.  Here are my three basic packets,

SURVIVAL PACKET:
Water bottles for 3 days of water for the whole household.
Dry or canned food that can provide noursihment without being cooked or refrigerated.
MEDICINE for 3-5 days.

KEY INFO PACKET: plastic folder/envelope with a copy of all your credit cards [front and back], copy of SS card, driver's license, birthcertificates of kids, medical emergency info and contact info for family members. In addition to banking account info I try to keep a smallish amount of cash in this packet as well.

HEARTHBREAK PACKET:
Think of the photos of people and places that you would be heartbroken to lose in a fire or flood.  Make one album with a picture of each of those people, places, or events. First home, grandparents, wedding, baby, whatever. Same for jewelry or other small posessions.  If they are too large to take, take photos of them and put the photos in the album. This will help preserve the emotional ties and memories, often the biggest loss in a disaster.

Make it fit YOU and your family.  Ex: I am a writer, so in my heartbreak packet is also a flash drive [ok, several] with a copy of my most crucial computer files and photos. I also have a flash drive with a video walk-through of my house inside and out for emergency insurance purposes.


These three packets aren't sufficient for true preparedness. But, the food and meds are in a specifc place and the info and heartbreak packets are together in one backpack with a couple of water bottles and nutrition bars that in a pinch I could grab and run with only two minutes warning.

What are your essentials?
                         What have I forgotten?
                                              What ideas can you share?

Image credits: southerngirlacademy.wordpress.com, mylot.com, storageoffood.com, internetstationers.co.uk

[Note: As I was writing this in Maine, I felt queasy...later discovered what I was feeling was the earthquake tremor residue of the Virginia quake!..eerie given the topic I was writing about! GP]

Focus on Fostering: Weather Reward Chart

So, are you tired of sticker charts and math flash cards? Entice your children with the responsibility of a weather chart.  Make a chart that tracks information each day about the weather.  Maybe just sun, rain or both for little kiddos, add temperatures at a certain time of day for older kids, or wind, or other details, based on their age.

Yesterday I talked about getting your kids to follow routines, be accountable, and to observe, think and record. Challenge them to keep a daily record of the weather details you have chosen.  They are to go/look outside at a certain time/s of day, observe the conditions, come back and record it on the chart you have either made together or given them.  A weeklong simple sheet is seen
at right, but you can also make one yourself that involves the child being more involved in the recording and the choices on a grid or table.

For younger children: You can have them either draw a picture or circle a picture to record their results or simplify it even further.  For example on the four image choice chart at left, they could put a sticker, star, check, or whatever in each box and keep track only of the totals, not distinguished by which day.

If you want to reward them you can do it for following the routine dependably and/or for observing and recording accurately.

The learning bonus is how you discuss the results of the chart at dinner, family time, or individually as the chart grows.  Examples-- depending on the child's age:
Addition: Add the sunny days + the cloudy, but dry days.
Subtraction: Subtract the rainy days from the total days recorded.
Fractions: What fraction of the week was sunny?
More advanced: Make graphs to compare weather.
          Ask the chid for predictions.
          Have the adolescent design their own format for tracking [see example]
          Maybe have them listen to the weather forecast and compare the forecast to what happened.

To keep things fun... make have a schedule of fun mini-treats depending on how many nice days there are in the week....

Have fun with it!  The purpose is not to turn them into weather forecasters.  The purpose is to keep them watching, following directions, thinking, writing, observing, and taking on and following through on a responsibiity. All great study skills hidden in a light-hearted summer activity.

Image credits: tipztime.com [weather chart choices worksheet]
                      adaycare.com [four choice weather chart]
                      ecokids.ca [more advanced, more independent, complex chart]

Parenting Tips: Beat the Heat

It is hot this week.  After spending a week in Alabama I don't feel like I can complain about our stretch of almost 90 degree weather. But, for coastal Maine, it is hot. It is all in what you are used to and prepared for.  I was cooler in Alabama most of the time because everyone has air conditioning.... they expect the heat and prepare for it.  In Maine we seldom need or use airconditioners so when the breeze disappears and the humidity rises we are not prepared to relieve it. [For you in the heat zones laughing at me, remember how casually we handle a 10 inch snow storm while 2 inches can close your schools for lack of plows, winter tires, etc.!]

Yesterday I prepared.  I prepared by warning the kids the night before. By opening windows and running fans to take advantage of the cooler night. The kids were all pushed out of bed by 7:30 and chores began immediately [ok, by 8].  The trade-off was that we stopped working at 10 am and the kids were allowed to head back to bed or a book, or even tv/computers for the peak heat of the day.  I worked a bit longer cleaning in my basement which is cooler than the upstairs.

At lunch we talked about how regions with much higher temps routinely manage it.  Their solution [of course!] was that we should buy an air conditioner and an outdoor pool!! Instead we talked about shifting the expectations for a hot day, for choosing to let go of our original goals for a day when the heat hits.

A Dozen new goals or ideas that we came up with:

1. Reclaim the joy of running through sprinklers in the yard in bathing suits.
2. Take a siesta.
3. Do chores early or late.
4. Go crazy and stay up late for the cool hours and sleep through the hot hours.
5. Find the coolest room in the house and have a family camp out or sleepover in that room.
6. Create a cool zone in the house with fans and closed doors!
7. Go to an air-conditioned theater and enjoy a summer movie at the peak of the heat.
8. Make a family salad bar for simple, healthy, no-heat lunches.

9. Cut chunks of watermelon, peaches, pineapples, stick on wooden popsticks or skewers, freeze and use for a midday healthy, cooling fruit pop snack. [If the kids aren't too young, try frozen grapes... they are great!]
10. Gather some books, family videos, read a-louds and quiet family board games and make the peak heat time to share quiet family fun in your cool room.

11. Let your usual standards slide for a few days and go ahead and use disposable plates. 

12. Take your showers or shampoos in mid day to cool off.


Ok, you southern folks, give us northerners a hand.... If you had no air conditioning option... what are your best tips for keeping the family cool??? Share!

Image credits: kwaree.com, wsmweather.co.uk, dallas.ismyhome.com, dirtrider.com

All Day Rain

Yesterday it rained all day long.  Sometimes it poured, sometimes it drizzled.  But it never stopped.  A vacation day.  Arrrggghhh!  Thank goodness one of my cherubs [the most likely to wail "I'm bored"] was away for 24 hours with a friend.  I think that's all that saved my sanity.  It was the spring rainy day that comes every year and if it comes on a school day I'm fine.  There's always one rainy day when you know tomorrow all the grass will suddenly look green, the lilies and ferns that were just poking up will suddenly have shot up several inches in the single day. 

But when that special spring rain falls on a vacation day, who has time to celebrate the growing plants or greening of the grass?  It's all about survival.  Trying to find energy to keep moving when every part of you wants to curl up with a good book to chase the damp away. Trying to find things to do with the kids other than television, videos, or computer games.  When you have kids who read well, you can celebrate with a quick trip to the bookstore, a book for each, then everyone gets to curl up and read. Not so with children for whom reading is still in the future or for whom reading is a painful struggle. 

The good news is that the special spring rainy day/s  is/are almost always followed by a couple of days of phenomenally wonderful weather.  Sunshine that feeds and encourages the growing and the greening.  So here's to everyone who woke up this morning to an all-day rain, and a yee-hah for everyone who woke up to drying puddles, dwindling clouds, and emerging sunshine!