Spring is in the air

As we prepare to “Spring Forward” this weekend I wanted to take a moment and remind everyone to get outside and enjoy some fresh air with your family. Take a walk, ride a bike, play ball or just a game of tag in the backyard. The National Wildlife Federation (www.nwf.org) is encouraging children to get outside with their “Get Wild, Child” campaign during March 15-21, 2010. Please check out their website for some great ideas and printouts of things to do with your family. Leave a comment and let us know what you are planning to do with your kids to Get Wild.

Children no longer have the freedom to run through the neighborhood until their parent’s call them home for dinner like we had as children. This is reflected in the childhood obesity level increasing to frightening levels. All persons, regardless of age should strive to get a minimum of one hour of physical activity per day. Children need unstructured physical activity and the chance to “just be kids”. Dance, sports, the academic team and all of the other extracurricular activities are important but we also need to let them just be kids.

There is no expensive equipment that is required. Just open the door and have fun with your kids. These are the days they will remember forever. If dinner is a little late, it will be okay. Get busy making memories with your kids. You do not need an expensive swing set, the latest bike or a nice leather baseball mitt. You just need to take the time to enjoy some fresh air. A great game that can be played with multiple ages is a scavenger hunt. For the younger non-reading kids, you can draw or cut out pictures from magazines of items you would see outside and give the list to the kids to look for the items. If they are older, you can just give them a written list of items to look for. Once everyone has found their items, you can then discuss the items with the kids. You get a combination of physical activity along with practice reading and maybe a little biology thrown in with the discussion.

Enjoy your week-end and be sure and get outside with the kids!

Have a Birth Plan for Safety, Not Convienience

Studies have shown that there has been an increase in premature births, especially in Kentucky and other southern states. Premature births have always been due to smoking, poverty and environment, but now are increasing due to birth plans.

Birth plans are a great idea, but moms have to realize they are not %100 accurate and can be 2 to 3 weeks off. moms are having premature births to coincide with grandparents visiting or before dads ship out to Iraq. Babies should not be born until the 39 week mark. Premature births can lead to physical problems such as underdeveloped lungs, learning and behavioral disabilities, etc.

Planning ahead for your babies birth is a smart thing to do. Just make sure you are scheduling for the safety of the child. Planning ahead also includes finding proper child care providers. Most families go to whoever is the closest to their house. The Child Care Council of Ky(www.childcarecouncilofky.com) helps parents find quality child care that suits all of their individual needs. Remember, KIDS MATTER!

Recalls, Recalls and more Recalls

It seams every time I check the news there is something that is being recalled for faulty hardware. Recalls in cars, recalls in cribs, recalls in toys, etc, etc. my favorite part about recalls is how companies expect us to find out about the recalls, contact them, get put on hold and then bring it to them to fix it which takes about a year.

The fact of the matter is it shouldn't be out for distribution in the first place. Who's fault is it. I blame society. We live in a gimmie, gimmie, gimmie generation that pressures companies to send out the new and improved products before being properly tested. Long story short. Keep your receipts because everything you buy will most likely be recalled.

Whatever happened to "Quality over Quantity"? Go to www.childcarecouncilofky.com where KIDS MATTER!

Child Hood Obesity; What can we do?

According to statistics from a non-profit organization, Trust for America's Health, Kentucky ranks 4th in the highest rate of childhood obesity and 7th in adults. Bob Dylan once wrote, "times they are a changing." As far as childhood obesity is concerned, times are changing for the worse.

Kids are spending more time in doors playing video games and surfing the web. When they do go outside it is to ride their battery or gas powered bikes, scooters, ATVs, etc. Studies have shown that children are spending an average of 7.5 hours a day on electronic media, not including the multiple number of electronics they are on at the same time. Kids are usually talking on their cell phone, surfing the web, playing online video games all while eating their dinner in front of the television. Did I mention there is also an increase in eye problems with children due to electronic media? This will raise the cost of vision care in the future.

All of these issues leads to children not getting the proper exercise and is putting our children at serious health risks. Some studies say that the next generation will start to outlive their own children. We need to get involved and we need to get involved early childhood development.

The Child Care Council of Ky(www.childcarecouncilofky.com) has 4 helpful tips that can help you keep your child healthy.
- Make sure your child care provider offers nutritious snacks and teaches healthy eating.
- Monitor the amount of time your child spends on electronic media
- Make sure you and your child get at least 60 minutes of outdoor physical activity
- And always remember, KIDS MATTER

Assembly Required

A lot of companies are now trying to save space by putting their products into smaller packages. This leads to more assembly required for the consumer. Saving space for them means more parts for us to put together. I have personally turned a three hundred dollar table into fire wood in one day after trying to follow the "easy" assembly instructions. Even if I do manage to put the contraption together I am always left with a numerous amount of "leftover" parts. The important lesson is this can lead to very dangerous situations.

The U.S. Consumers Product Safety Commission and Dorel Asia SRL have announced the recall for repairs of 20 models of Dorel Asia drop sides and fixed side cribs. Around 635,000 cribs sold at K-Mart, Wal Mart, and Sears from January 2005-December 2009 are defected. the recall came into effect after the death of a 6-month year old child who became entrapped and strangled along with 67 other incidents due to faulty hardware.

The drop side of these cribs can fail causing the drop side to detach from the crib. this can happen while the crib is in use, in storage, BEING PUT TOGETHER, TAKEN APART or REASSEMBLED, or during shipping. Here are a few tips you can use to protect your child with any crib.
-Do not use any cribs with broken, missing, or loose parts
-Tighten hardware from time to time to keep the crib sturdy
-When using a drop side crib, always check to see if drop side is moving smoothly
-Always check all sides for disengagement
-Disengagement can create a gap and entrap a child
-Do not try to repair any side of crib, especially with duct tape, wire, or rope!

For more information concerning recalls you can call Dorel Asia toll free at 866-762-2304 or go to their website(www.dorel-asia.com). The Child Care Council of Kentucky always posts news of any issues concerning child care on our website(www.childcarecouncilofky.com), twitter(www.twitter.com @childcareofky), and facebook(www.facebook.com search kids matter and child care council of ky, inc.).

Haiti; How can we Help?

It seems that there has been one natural disaster after another. With each one more devastating than the next. But there is one thing that all of these disasters have in common. People coming together for the greater good and helping those in need.
It's the simple things that mean so much in times of crisis. Letters of condolences and hope sent to families who lost their loved ones, fresh water and a hot meal, or simply a fresh change of clothes. These are the day to day luxuries that we all take for granted.
The Child Care Council of Ky(www.childcarecouncilofky.com) has teamed up with The Red Cross and is selling shirts with the logo "Have a Heart, Lend a Hand, Haiti 2010" with all proceeds going directly to Haiti. These shirts will remind us of the tragedy and how we, as a people, came together in a time of need to help each other. Also, every shirt we sell, we will send another shirt to a child in Haiti. Remember, Kids Matter!

You can learn how to purchase these shirts by following our twitter page(www.twitter.com @childcareofky), Our website(above), and our facebook fan page(www.facebook.com search child care council, inc and/or Kids Matter).