The Consumer Product Safety Commision released seven additional recalls on Thursday. 

The recalls were for the following products (each link provides information about the recall and the products affected, including pictures).  Please follow the guidelines provided if these are products you own.

Thomas And Friends Wooden Railway recall - five additional products have been added to their recall list: a cargo car, a cargo box, “Toad” engine, green maple tree top and green signal base.

Knights Of The Sword toys recall - three silver knight toys are on this list.  These were sold in blister packs from 2004 - 2006.

Children’s Toys Rakes sold exclusively through Jo-Ann Fabrics recall - these rakes have a green handle with a yellow duck head attached. The rake has seven purple tines. The rake is about 24 inches long. “Robbie Ducky™ Garden Collection Rake” is printed on a tag attached to the handle.

Guidecraft Children’s Puppet Theater recall - these are free-standing, large puppet theaters that have a chalk board on the front.  These were sold 2006 - 2007.

Children’s Spinning Wheel Metal Necklace recall - these necklaces were sold through novelty stores and machines, redemption centers at arcades, and small discount stores.

Toby & Me Metal Jewelry recall - this line of jewelry for children was sold through stores such as TJ Maxx, Marshalls, A.J. Wright, Cracker Barrel, and Shopko.  Please check the pictures for specific items on the list.

Happy Giddy Gardening Tools and Miss Spider Sunny Patch chairs by Target recall - Target is issuing a recall of certain items from each of these lines from this past year.  Check the link and product description for details.

Following the death of a 10 month-old child, Kolkraft has issued a recall that involves twelve different models of their play yard system.  Included in this recall are the Travelin’ Tot (LTD, 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 as well), Carter’s Lennon Travelin’ Tot, “Sesame Beginnings” Traveling Play Yard, Jeep Sahara (SE, Limited, XT, Limited SE, Limited XT) Play Yard, and the Contours 3-in-1 Play Yard.  Reports of children being injured while rolling over as well as strangulation from the changing table strap have been reported.  Please refer to the link provided for more information on the products involved and the course of action if you own one of these products.

Those pesky little slivers of wood.  They show up in places we’d otherwise consider safe!  What is an easy and pain-free way to remove a splinter, especially from a small hand or foot?

First of all, make sure your hands are clean and the area around the splinter is clean.  While you don’t want to get the splinter wet (wood swells with water), you do want to make sure the area around it is clean.  Soap and water are fine choices for cleaning, or an alcohol pad will do just great as well.  Sterilize a needle and tweezers.  Make sure the tweezers have a blunt end and are not beveled. 

Make sure that you will be pulling WITH the splinter.  You want to take it out exactly the way it came in.  If the end is sticking out of the skin, try to grab it with the tweezers.  Or, use the needle to gently scrape away a bit of the skin around the splinter top to make for an easier “grab”. 

Another easy way to remove a splinter that is above the skin’s surface is with heavy-duty tape, such a duct tape or packing tape.  Or, put a dab of hair remover or dilapatory on the it, wait for it to dry, then peel off.  Just remember, in both cases to pull back in the direction the splinter entered the body to avoid breaking it off inside the skin.

If children are upset, wait until they are calmed down to remove it.  Distract them with a story or with a game.  Let your child practice on a stuffed animal, and try out the tweezers on a part of the body without the splinter, so they can see how gentle you will be.  And, if all else fails, wait until your child is alseep to try and remove the splinter.

Most times, splinters can work themselves out in about a week.  But, if you notice soreness, redness or oozing from the spot, call a doctor.

And, once it is all said and done, be sure to wash the area off with soap and water, administer a little T.L.C. give a kiss and perhaps a cool band aid.

The world of money - it is a jungle out there.  And, teaching your children financial responsibility can go a long way to helping them understand saving and spending as an adult.  So, where do you start and what are some strategies to making the allowance gig a teachable moment?

We have a pretty good system at our house.  It isn’t foolproof, nor is it probably the best for every child.  But, it works for us with our eight year-old, and hopefully it will give you some ideas of your own.

First of all, make sure that your child is really ready for an allowance.  Do they understand the importance of money?  Do they see the value in dollars and coins, and do they take care of money when it is given to them?  If you are picking up quarters from under the couch where your child shoved them, your child is probably not quite ready to learn about an allowance.  On the other hand, if your child keeps it in a special place and shows and interest in finding out how to get money, then they are probably ready for an allowance.

Make the amount doable for your family.  Some people follow the dollar-per-age rule, some do a $.50-per-age, but we simply cannot afford that.  So, in our house, our eight year-old gets $2.50 each week.  And, while kids with bigger allowances may have to chip in for things such as birthday presents for friends and such, we don’t do that with ours.  He gets the $2.50 each week, and we provide for other expenses that arise.  But, it isn’t “free” money, that $2.50.  We built in a savings system for him.  Of his $2.50, 10% of it (or $.25) goes to our church offering.  For us, it was important for him to see the value of contributing to our church family.  Then, $1.00 goes directly into a bank on his dresser.  This is his “savings account”, and every quarter, we empty it and add it up.  Then, we (the “bank”) pay him interest for keeping his money there.  While this money isn’t necessarily off limits, he knows that he has to be really careful about spending it, because if there’s nothing in the bank, he doesn’t get any “interest”!  The rest of his allowance goes into his wallet for spending money.  This is HIS money to spend as HE chooses.  He saw early on how important it was to budget and save for things he really wanted.  And, while we don’t tell him what he can and cannot spend his money on, we do offer advice and suggestions to him, which he does carefully consider.

His allowance is his each week, no strings attached.  We don’t pay him for chores or grades or for good behavior.  He has, however, learned the art of negotiation, and he will offer to do “extra” chores around the house if we agree to a payment.  And, sometimes he’s right; for an eight year-old to sweep out the garage is a daunting task, and I am happy to hire him as a bit of ‘contract labor’!  Our thought is that tying an allowance to chores only sets you up for chores not being done when there’s no incentive to spend money at the time. 

It is a good system we have, even though I have a feeling a raise negotiation may be in the works in the next few months.  But, it has been an invaluable lesson in saving, spending and budgeting for our child. 

Let us know what ideas work for you.  Leave a comment and share your thoughts and stories!

Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it
         Than a house full of feasting with strife.
Proverbs 17:1

There is something to be said for practicing what you preach.  This past week, I began facilitating a parenting class based on a book by Tim Kimmel, Raising Kids Who Turn Out Right.  The title is a bit misleading.  There’s no guarantee that your children will grow up to be independent, fulfilled, happy, well-adjusted, gifted, powerful individuals.  What it does do, though, is equip parents with strategies and ideas to improve the core family values and rethink the way we interact with our children.

Our first lesson hit home.  It was on overscheduling and allowing outside factors in our lives become priority over our families, and teaching our children the exact same lesson.  This is pretty much the way I work: I’m on everyone else’s clock but my own.  I work two jobs outside the home, then there’s my church commitments (and there are many), keeping up with the kids and their activities, running the house, and that leaves very little time to be me - to write, to ponder, to enjoy my life.  There’s not much left to enjoy.

So many times we, as parents, get wrapped up in our children’s activites, taking on more and more, and still try to keep up with “our” stuff.  And the family feels it.  Being half-good at doing everything isn’t nearly as beneficial as being really good at just a few things.

I challenge you to take a look at your week.  To see what is going on in your life, your family’s life, and all the stuff in between.  What is really important?  What can take a back seat, either for now or forever?  Make a change in one thing in your everyday life and see what kind of an impact it can make on your relationship with your family.

Now that school is back in full swing, I’m making the rounds to the teachers, setting up parent-teacher conferences.  Now, our schools offer conferences at various times of the year, but I try to make an effort to make a “get acquainted” meeting before then.  To me, there is nothing more important in my child’s year than a good relationship between the parent and the teacher.  When communication is strong, the child finds a comfortable learning environment and will thrive.

I make my first conference relatively short - about 10 - 15 minutes is all I need.  During this time, I introduce myself to the teacher and give her a little background on my child - his learning style, habits at home, his interests.  Then, I focus on what is going on in the class that I don’t already have a handle on: what skills are learned at this level?  What can I expect to come home for homework?  How is my child’s attitude toward others and toward school?  Is he a motivated learner?  Is he an independent worker?  What do you see as his strengths? His weaknesses?  I also make sure to offer my help to the teacher:  Is there anything I can do to help her? 

Subsequent conferences go much smoother if the rapport is established early in the year.  When problems arise, a relationship is already formed between teacher and parent, making any correction necessary a breeze.  When the child knows there is a relationship between parent and teacher, the “unknown” disappears.  It is a network of building a better student.  And, while I would love for everything my child’s teacher tells me to be wonderful, glowing news, it isn’t always that way.  With my relationship established with the teacher, it makes the “bad medicine” a bit easier to swallow.  I know she has my child’s best interests at heart.

And, while this all sounds great here on the computer screen, WRITE IT DOWN.  Going in with notes will help keep you on track and keep the conference short.  Ask your child for input as well before you go.  Is there something he or she would like for you to ask in your conference?  Be on time and keep it within your scheduled time slot.  Smile and enjoy.  You are getting to meet with a VIP in your child’s life!

It was the first thing out of my 8 year-old’s mouth when he came running up the sidewalk from a friend’s house last week.  And, tagging along behind him, was a rangy mutt, all of about fifteen pounds, panting and frothing and desperately trying to keep up. 

What is it with kids and pets?  I should have just named both my boys “Noah” as they need two of every animal they meet.  BK (before kids), we had two adorable pups, a basset hound and a beagle-mutt.  They were our children until the “others” came along.  Unfortunately, they were then relegated to the role of “dog”, but they played their parts well, fixing a spot in my older son’s heart full of their affection and love.  However, they were old, and eventually we found ourselves pet-less (and ready to landscape a back yard!).  This would not do for my older son, and he quickly enlisted the help of his little brother to plead his case.

We started slow with the standard betta-in-a-vase-with-a-plant-on-top set up.  It was good; my son could easily see it and watch it, and maintenance was about as consuming as pruning the bushes outside.  We loved our betta.  We loved it so much that my sister-in-law thought a larger set up was necessary.  So, for Christmas one year, my older son received a ten-gallon tank and a gift certificate for some fishies.  And an addiction was born.

It is important to know (as we found out quickly) that caring for a tropical fish tank isn’t difficult, but it is certainly a bit more involved than our betta outfit.   And when you don’t have the water right, be prepared for several “burials at sea” (or at least a shove in that direction via the commode) and the added expense of finding new finned friends.  However, you don’t have to walk a fish, and you can get those handy weekend feeders for time away from home.  We fell into a fish routine, named them and enjoyed them. 

And then came the land creatures.

For my older son’s birthday this year, he desperately wanted a new pet.  Initially, it was a kitten or a puppy, but we still aren’t at a place where we are ready to take on that responsibility (read: we’re still landscaping the back yard and don’t need any four-legged helpers).  So, he took notes from his pals, perused several pet stores and thankfully did NOT settle his mind on getting a rat or an iguana (not that there’s anything wrong with those.  Okay, there would be something wrong with them if they tried to live at my house, but in general…).  He did, however, beg and plead of a hermit crab.  So, a hermit crab it would be.

We actually got him the Hermit Crab Cove, and he loves it.  Understand, though, that even if they are called “hermit” crabs, they do enjoy the company of other crabs.  So, we got two.  And two extra shells.  And some smelly food.  And special spring water.  Again, the maintenance was a bit more, but hey, they stay in the “cove” unless we take them out, they eat their shedded exoskeletons (my kind of pet!  They clean up after themselves!), and there’s not any real clean up involved.  Score one for us!  But, alas, it wasn’t enough.

We now also have two bettas that my son got from a friend at his birthday party that reside on the shelf above the hermit crabs (we’ll be building the ark next week, I’m sure).  No plant to complete the life cycle this time, so we’re changing out water and feeding them unlike our earlier betta.  And, we got the COOLEST ant farm by Antworks on the market.  It is illuminated gel and totally fascinating.  I never thought I would voluntarily allow ants to live in my house, but here we are, with 23 of those six-legged creatures residing on my kitchen counter.  Yes, the things we do for our children.

We didn’t keep the mutt, by the way, as I recognized him from a neighboring yard, but my son is okay with that.  He has a new friend to visit, and realizes his own pet parade is big enough - for now.

We all know how this question gets answered most often - with the standard “fine” response.  My son was no different from most kids last year; he would not offer up any insight into his day at school without a little prodding.  So, I have a little activity we do each day this year to help him recall exactly how his day went.  It works whether I’m picking him up in the car, walking him home or he rides the bus.

We play “Three Greats And Another”.  I start out by saying, “Tell me three great things that happened today and another thing.”  And, that’s all he needs to get him started.  The first time we “played”, I got exactly what I asked for - three great things in his day, and another factoid from his day.  He told me he got to go to art, he liked his lunch, and he played with Matty on the playground.  Then, he told me how Cameron lost his tooth during story time.  As time went on, though, his answers became more elaborate.  And, before I realized it, we were having 20 - 30 minute discussions after school about how his day went.

Sometimes, the three great things are obvious: library day, PE, lunch, the weather outside.  Other times, they are telling: he was the first to figure out the answer to a question, someone picked him for the kickball game, a new student is in his class and his interaction with him or her, or he moved up a “level” in his reading program.  And, the “another” bit isn’t always positive.  He tells me of how someone misbehaved in class or hurt his feelings, how he was scared when he took a test, and he asks questions about events during his day.

Just by asking for “three great things and another”, I’ve been able to unlock the mystery of what happens to my son at school.  It is a game I hope to play with him for a long, long time.