The Safety Mom Chronicles

Traveling For The Holidays Just Got Safer For Kids

I've been doing a bunch of TV segments lately on how to keep your kids safer as you're traveling this holiday season.  One of the things that always bothered me is how my daughter, who is very small for her age, goes bouncing around in her booster seat every time we hit a bump.  My older son also makes me crazy because inevitably he will try to lie down in the back seat as we're driving and the seat belt is completely loose on him, offering very little protection.  The safety of kids riding in cars has always been of great concern for me and around the holidays it's even more so.

Enter Seat Snug!  This is a great new product that permanently attaches to your seat belt and removes slack from the lap portion of the seat belt.  It still allows for movement across the chest portion so kids are comfortable yet much safer.  In fact, a statistic I read from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that a major contributor to the injuries children sustain in a car accident is from the seat belt not being snug enough. 

Seat Snug is easy to install - took me only a few minutes - and can be disengaged when someone other than your child is riding in that seat. 

You can learn more about how Seat Snug works by visiting their website www.seatsnug.com  And, they are now offering a discount for the holidays!  Receive $5 off by entering the coupon code MomCentral on the "Buy" page.  It's the perfect gift of safety for any parent, grandparent or caregiver!

With LD Kids, If At First You Don't Succeed - Try Another Activity

This past weekend my son performed in the local children's theater rendition of Willy Wonka.  As you might know,  my son has non-verbal learning disorder (NLD.)  This makes it very hard for him to deal with the social situations involved with extracurricular activities.   He also has challenges understanding the overall strategies of team sports.  He's tried orchestra, football, soccer and swimming to name a few.  All have proved frustrating to him and have done little to help his self-esteem, the one thing that I care about the most. 

He's always enjoyed singing and dancing to a certain degree so when a neighbor suggested we sign him up for the local theater group I considered it.  I was worried about the time commitment as it is hard for him to maintain focus for long periods of time.  Of course I'm sure this is true for many 10 year olds!  But my friend assured me that the director and volunteer parents who act as the producers are extremely patient with learning disabled kids and would welcome Spencer.

I have to say it was not without it's challenges.  The entire family, including my babysitter, had to devote a significant amount of time to being backstage and working with Spencer to understand what he needed to do.  But everyone was so accepting and supportive of him that it truly was an incredible experience. 

Sitting in the audience Friday night I will admit I held my breath every time he came on stage, wondering if he really knew what he was supposed to do and would actually do it.  But, my son has a talent and I'm so thankful that this amazing group of volunteers and professionals were willing to have the patience to bring it out in him.  I don't think my eyes were dry during the entire performance. 

Having a son with learning disabilities is a constant struggle.  I'm always searching for the right solutions and the right fit.  When it actually happens the joy is overwhelming.

More Warnings on the Dangers of Childhood Obesity

A study was just released by The American Heart Association which finds that the arteries of obese children and teens may have as much plaque build-up as those of a 40-year old.  This is startling and just another warning sign of the growing epidemic of childhood obesity in this country.  Approximately one-third of kids in the country are overweight and one-fifth are obese.  Parents need to understand the physical dangers that lie ahead for these children - heart disease, diabetes and cancer to name a few.

With both parents working in many families and juggling crazy schedules it's sometimes hard to monitor your kids physical activity.  But every little bit helps - a quick walk after dinner, dancing to music around the house and certainly cleaning the house counts as physical activity!

Portion control needs to become a higher priority too.  In the world of SuperSize meals and 32 oz. sodas, we've lost perspective on how much food a meal should really consist of.  Sometimes it seems overwhelming but even small changes will make a difference.

 

Luxury Vacation Giveaway

This past summer I had the chance to visit an incredible vacation home in Vail.  Thanks to The Society and Peak Properties, I spent two luxurious days in a multi-million dollar home with quite possibly the most gorgeous mountain view I have ever seen.  The Society, a new travel company, puts travelers in any one of a number of luxury home and condo rentals in beautiful resort destinations around the world.  They focus on giving travelers a home away from home in their vacation destination.
 
With the holiday season upon us, The Society wants to offer families a chance to getaway and experience one of their beautiful properties, for free! Even in these hard economic times, families still want to get away for a memorable vacation that is high quality and reasonably priced. A home rental gives your family a chance to connect while cooking dinner in your own kitchen, cozying up to a movie at the end of the night, or running into locals in the neighborhood to give you insights into great things to do in the area.
 
In order to help preserve the American family vacation, The Society has called upon their partners to brighten the upcoming holiday season with a series of ten 5-night vacation giveaways.  The Society and their Luxe Alliance members have collaborated to offer luxury stays in amazing vacation rentals and villas in locales such as Cabo San Lucas, Telluride, Sedona, Vail, Keystone, Orlando and more.  Between November 5, 2008 and January 28, 2009 participants can sign-up here (www.thesociety.com/giveaway) to register and become eligible for one of the ten vacation giveaways.  Additional entries can be earned by those who complete The  Society Match Maker Request here.  Lastly, all participants will receive a 5% discount coupon off their next booking, provided by The Society. 
 
Looking forward to connecting with you about this great chance to spend quality time with your family and good luck!

Are Video Games Getting a Bad Rap?

As the holidays draw near, kids across America will be telling their parents they've just gotta have  a PlayStation 3, XBox 360, Wiii or the latest, hottest game.  Even with the economy in crises, rest assured these items will be sailing off the shelves.  A recent study, however, might give parent's a moment to pause and think before they buy. 

The study, conducted by Iowa State University's Center for The Study of Violence followed both American and Japanese kids between the ages of 9 and 18 over a period of 3 - 6 months.  What researchers found was that there was a causal link between aggression in this group and exposure to violent video games.   They tracked this group over the course of a school year and found that those kids who were playing and exposed to violent video games at the beginning of the year had higher levels of aggression throughout the year. 

I completely agree that those games whose objective is to kill people are not at all suitable for kids.  But, not only are there many appropriate games out there for kids but playing video games as a family is an opportunity to bond.  Our kids are growing up in a cyber world.  What we as parents need to understand is that the idea of family game night is no longer just a traditional board game.  Mom and Dad both need to find out more about their kid's gaming world.  It's the best way to not only interact and spend some time with their kids but to really understand just what they're spending their time on.  Systems such as the Wii and Wii Fit not only have great games that the entire family can play but they also get you up and moving (I personally have done boxing and tennis for a great workout with my son.) And Guitar Hero is something that adults might sneak out at a party to enjoy as well!

The key is to find the most suitable games for your child.  A good place to start is on the back of the game box.  Look for the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) code which rates each game on maturity level.  You can visit their site, www.esrb.com to learn more about the rating system.  And, just like with the computer, keep video game consoles in the family room where you can check in on the action at any time.