CAREABOUTKIDS

PARENTS: Information from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:Strollers and Carriages Should have a wide base to prevent tipping. Seat belt and crotch strap securely attached to the frame. Seat belt buckle is easy to use. Brakes securely lock the wheels. Shopping basket is low on the back and directly over or in front of rear wheels for stability. When used in carriage position, leg hole openings can be closed.MY WORD: There is a lot to consider when purchasing a stroller or carriage for your child.The Commission recommends: Always secure the seat belts. Never leave a child unattended in a stroller. Keep children's hands away from pinching areas when stroller is being folded or unfolded or the seat back is being reclined.

CAREABOUTKIDS

PARENTS: When your child starts to walk the following safety precautions should be taken for your child's safety: Fence the play yard. Turn pot handles to the wall. Lock up the matches, furniture polish and cleaning agents especially lye and detergents. Electric cords attached to coffee pots, toaster, irons, and radios or any electronic devices should be kept out of reach. Toys should have no small removable parts and should be unbreakable. MY WORD: You have to constantly say to yourself what if my child decides to explore that area.

CAREABOUTKIDS

PARENTS: The thinking of a young child is often creative but is bound neither to logic nor to reality. A child may first play with blocks by holding them and feeling their shapes. The child tries them in different positions, building up, balancing out, knocking them over, and starting again. How other people react, whether consciously or unconsciously, encourages or discourages a child's imaginative play. MY WORD: Chidren are the glue that holds us all together.

CAREABOUTKIDS

PARENTS: Parents often worry needlessly about averages and norms. Discussing concerns with a pediarician may help the worried parents. As children learn right from wrong and adopt values and ideas, they become more aware of the effect of their actions on themselves and others. Give books as gifts. Let your children know you think books are important. Have children read aloud while you cook, iron, sew sort laundry.Children's play is full of the content of their lives; it is a process, not a product. Children continually check and correct mistakes by monitoring one another. MY WORD Growing up is a journey that each child enjoys in different ways.

CAREABOUTKIDS

PARENTS: As children learn right from wrong and adopt values and ideas, they become more aware of the effect of their actions on themselves and others. an important element in a child's mental and emotional growth is the learning of altruism, the ability to consider the well being of others. Through toys and other materials, children also learn to move out of themselves and face reality; they learn to think things through and thus to plan ahead.MY WORD: Parents are the role model of a child's values and ideas.