Halloween Safety

   As we approach this 'spooktacular' time of year, once again I am taken back to when I was a child and would come home from trick-or-treating, excited about all the cool candy I got. Barring the few rogue pennies, apples and raisin boxes (which were always disappointing) I must say I always did well. But before I could get my hands on the candy, we always needed to do the standard candy check, because as we all remember, back in the day there was the razor blades in the apples, poison lacings and injections in the candies legends (or were they?). Although those legends may not still be around, it does bring up a good point; Halloween safety is always important.

   When you go out, if you plan on going when it's dark, bring a flashlight or put a glowing or blinking light on your kids, so drivers can see them. Make sure you walk on the sidewalk (if there is one) or along the side of the road. Don't wander in the middle of the road with your group. If your child is embarrassed to have a parent with her/him, go anyway, but hang back a little. Stay close enough where you can still see your child, but far away enough to give them some space. Also, be aware of strangers that are too friendly. If you feel uncomfortable, just excuse yourself and your child and be on your way.

   Some things to keep in mind after going door to door: Check your child's bag. Is there any open candy? anything s/he is allergic too? anything that you have a gut feeling is not safe to eat. If so, then throw it out. If there is anything homemade, unless it's from someone you know, it's probably best to throw that out as well. You never know what is in the food.

   Lastly, have fun. Halloween may feel like a chore to some parents, but it's a very exciting night for children, so enjoy their fun too. One of the benefits of being a parent is getting to eat some of your child's candy... so just think about getting to pick out some of your favorites, because you may be to old to say 'trick-or-treat' but you are never to old to eat Halloween candy!

Baby Einstein: Doesn't turn your baby into an Einstein

Disney's line of "genius" videos including "Baby Einstein", "Baby Mozart", "Baby Shakespeare", etc seemed like a good idea at the time. The title's alone bring about the thought of prodigies and geniuses, therefore it's easy to get swept away in the notion that perhaps if you show these videos to your child, s/he too can be more than an average baby (not that there is anything wrong with average). Unfortunately, however, any claims whether stated, inferred or assumed that these videos do anything more than entertain your baby, are now proven to be false.

Disney's admission to this comes in the form of refunds to parents who have purchased these videos since 2004. It does remind us that although it is nice to have something with content that may actually stimulate your child's mind, instead of the type of show that will "rot your brain", clearly there is no substitution for you; the parents. It is a parents job, not a videos, to help foster and support the development of your child through play, books, picture card etc.

Even if these videos lived up to their titles, it's rare that your baby would be a genius or Mozart, but your child can do well and be at the top of the learning curve instead of the bottom, if you support and work with your child. Don't wait for someone else to do it. Don't think to yourself, well s/he'll learn all that in school, or through t.v. Instead, having a good parental work ethic can help your child meet developmental milestones and be prepared when s/he starts school. Basics like colors, counting and knowing the alphabet will start you on your way. For some other helpful suggestions Psychology Today offers really great advice here.

Teacher Uses the Wii to Help Improve Student's Motor Skills

We know kids love video games. And we know that video games require good dexterity and hand eye coordination. The Wii fit also requires it's users to have good balance as well, so it makes a perfect addition to a classroom with multi handicapped students.

As part of a grant, Kevin McDaniel, a teacher at the Elgin West Elementary School purchased and uses the Wii in his classroom, using it to help increase student's gross motor and fine motor skills as well as improve attention.

Also used as a tool in physical therapy this new phenomenon is known as "Wiihab" helping people recover from surgery and injuries and now as a tool in the classroom to aid children with disabilities.

Not a bad way to spend some time in class huh? Who loves video games? Wiiii do!

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