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Showing posts from November, 2015

Still on electricity safety - appliances and cords

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Safety is a cheap and effective insurance policy.  ~Author Unknown I was watching a show on TV some time ago with my friend, enjoying it and getting along well when the screen went blank. No, it wasn’t a power cut (or our dear PHCN) as we usually have to deal with that a lot here. Her 16 month old son who was playing around had made his way to the socket,  pulled out the TV plug and was standing there looking all mischievous with a big smile on his face. His mum complained that he had done that a number of times and was wondering what to do to stop it. I’m guessing this is something some

The ‘(in)convenience’ of baby walkers

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Accidents do not just happen; they are caused, either by man's act of commission or omission ~ Ernest Greenwood (paraphrased) Source: discountmugs.com  Baby walkers have come in very handy to a good number of parents in the past and even now. I guess some of us also used them as babies. I have heard concerns about the dangers of these baby walkers lately, and thought to do a bit more research on them. So I bring you my findings  J : I will begin with the advantages: Baby walkers have toys that provide entertainment to babies. And because babies love these toys, they are kept engaged / focused for a while. Some parents /caregivers use this as a form of babysitting while they 'quickly' attend to other things.  It is also ‘believed’ that baby walkers help children maintain balance as they learn to take their first steps. Then the disadvantages: Babies are active and so eager to move about, and walkers

Electric sockets - how safe are safety plugs?

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If you don’t practice electrical safety, there can be electrifying results - Unknown Regarding baby-proofing the house, I used to be an advocate for using safety plugs to cover socket holes when not in use. Imagine how surprised/embarrassed I was when I discovered how un-safe these ‘safety’ plugs actually are. You know the safety plugs (socket covers) that lots of retail stores sell, sometimes separately, or as part of a safety pack? Well, reports have  shown that they are not really safe, and there are some  campaigns trying to discourage parents and childcare providers from using them.  Some retail stores, including IKEA for instance, stopped the sales of these plugs and have withdrawn them from stores since 2014.  Unfortunately, crawling babies and toddlers are able to yank off these safety plugs from the sockets with little stress. One may begin to wonder why these safety plugs are dangerous. I am going to get a bit technical here, so please bear with me:

Door stoppers on a budget

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For safety is not a gadget but a state of mind ~ Eleanor Everet When is the right time to start baby proofing your house? Baby proofing the house comes in stages, as there is only so much a baby can do at every stage of growth. E.g., if they are just learning to sit or crawl, they can’t reach high enough to grab on to things from table tops etc. This is however different when they start learning to stand and grab on to things for support, and when they learn to open doors. So there will be no need to go out and buy every kind of baby safety item you see at once, unless of course it’s on offer for a really good price (I mean who doesn’t love a good offer). I think it’s very important that you understand what your parenting style is first of all.

Are your furniture and fittings firmly in place?

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Prepare and prevent, don't repair and repent ~Author Unknown The other day, my friend was telling me about how the top shelf in her kitchen fell on her maid as she was trying to get something down from there. She got a call while at the office with loud screams and a lot of crying in the background, and was so worried. Fortunately, her neighbour s were able to rush the maid to the hospital to get treatment, and thankfully, there was no fatality. What even made her even more thankful was the fact that her 18-month old son who liked to cling to the maid’s legs was snoozing quietly in his cot. I cannot imagine how much more disastrous that would have been if the little boy was awake and following her around like he always did. SO, let's ask ourselves:

Our little tots and transportation

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Hug your kids at home, but belt them in the car ~ Author Unknown Now let’s take a very first look at transportation. It is important that we move our kids from one place to the other: school, doctor’s appointment, visit friends and family, etc. So how do we manage transporting our darlings? Not to sound technical, but there is something I would like us to understand first.