Home Safety-Protecting Families

Randy DeVaul ⁽⁰⁾ United States

Halloween: At Home and On the Street

Posted Friday, December 26, 2008 (333 days 17 hours ago.) Viewed 24 times.

Celebrating Halloween with costumes, decorations, and trick-or-treating can be a lot of fun for the entire family! There is no doubt that you will see and maybe do things during Halloween that (fortunately) you will not see or do any other time of the year. To ensure it remains fun for everyone, here are some suggestions to keep the celebration safe and healthy.

First, pre-plan for both your house and your kids. Costumes that are bright and reflective will reduce the tire marks from drivers not seeing halloweeners.' Use non-toxic, hypoallergenic makeup in place of full-faced masks to prevent vision and breathing problems. Wigs and costumes should also be flame-retardant. Too many children and adults end up in burn units from pranks and ill-suited costumes.

Outdoor decorations can be really cool, but remember you will have children running across your yard. If you plan to be visited by extra-terrestials, goblins, monsters, royalty and superheroes, remember these children cannot actually fly. Unless, of course, they are flying over your yard stuff from not seeing them. Keep your decorations lit or in non-pedestrian areas (such as front lawns and culverts) to reduce potential lawsuits and prevent injuries. Other items you may not think of include flower pots, garden hoses, low tree limbs or roots, and other house and yard items.

Find accessories for costumes that are flexible and soft. Knives, sticks, swords, and guns even play ones can pose life-threatening hazards if your child falls on them or gets him killed in some neighborhoods or business areas if the weapon looks real.

For the main event, have a route or location already established. Many of the malls now offer a safe environment along with costume contests for children, as do other organizations. Make sure you have the right batteries for flashlights. Feed your children a good meal prior to going out to reduce the sugar-meal-syndrome when returning with all of their goodies.

Act responsibly with your pets. Try not to put them outside or in a high visibility area. It not only scares the daylights out of the weeners, but can make your pet more aggressive as it believes it is under attack by strange beings. Keeping your pet indoors will also reduce the risk of the pet being attacked or injured by someone.

And finally, the basic list: warn your children about entering people's homes or vehicles; do not let your kids use bicycles, rollerblades, or skateboards; don't let younger children go alone and, if possible, go in herds' or groups. That works well for the kids and the homeowners; don't let your children eat anything that is not properly wrapped; only go to homes that have the outside or porch light on.

This is obviously not an all-inclusive list. You can search the internet for "Halloween safety" for more suggestions. Halloween can be fun. Keeping it safe for adults, children, and pets will provide a positive experience for everyone!

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New Year's with a Smile

Posted Friday, December 26, 2008 (333 days 18 hours ago.) Viewed 17 times.

New Year resolutions are often like performance appraisals at work. Each year we promise to improve our lives then wait until the next year to review the list and see how well we did (or didn't do). We never remember what was written down or just don't believe the effort is worth the so-called benefit gained by following through with it.

So if you are tired of never making headway with your resolutions or you simply have given up making them, here are some pointers for success.

First, don't treat your resolution like an annual appraisal. Change what you can now, don't wait. If the resolution will make your quality of life better, any positive movement is a step in the right direction. Don't just simply give up.

Second, keep your resolution(s) simple. Remember the movie, What About Bob?' Take baby steps and choose realistic short-term goals to help you reach a longer-term goal. Then renew your goals. In other words, it is easier to keep (or recover from) a one-week goal than a one-year goal.

Third, choose goals that you can do with someone else so each person is accountable to the other. If accountability alone is not enough, create some friendly competition or team awards to celebrate successes.

Finally, choose goals that actually matter. If the resolution can impact you or your family's life, you are more apt to keep it rather than blow it off.

So, are you at a loss for what to go after this year? Here are five for you to try. Attempting to follow a laundry list will wear you down and frustrate you quickly.

1. Finances make and follow a budget. Not having a budget is the main reason why people run out of money before running out of month. That stress will kill you!

2. Health need to lose some of those holiday calories? Cutting back 500 calories each day from your normal eating habits is easy to do without going through food withdrawal. Do NOT go on a radical or extreme diet.

3. Nutrition stay balanced with your food intake. Get a little more protein, a little more fiber, a little more fruit as replacements (not in addition to) some of those great-tasting, heart-killing processed carbs. Small changes are easy and significant.

4. Exercise you knew it had to be in here, right? Walk more. Parking at the far end of the Wal-Mart parking lot rather than fighting for front row has a number of benefits, including lowering bad' cholesterol, lowering weight, reducing stress. Fifteen minutes each day is better than none.

5. Safety Buckle you and your kids when traveling; check (or install) smoke detectors; no unsafe shortcuts.

You get the idea. Do not ever compromise your own or your family's quality of life it may rob you of life itself! We all must be responsible and set a good example for our kids. Protect you and yours in these areas you can control to remain safe at home.

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Making the World a Better Place - One Person at a Time

Posted Tuesday, January 15, 2008 (1 year 314 days ago.) Viewed 21 times.

What could I use $100 to make the world a better place? Knowing that change takes place one person at a time, I would deliver to a family in need within my community $100 worth of grocery or infant products (diapers, formula, food, etc). That way I know the immediate need(s) would be met while giving that family opportunity to use its expendable cash in other ways, such as utilities, etc. Included with that delivery would be a greeting card with 'God bless you!' and "Your in our thoughts and prayers" on the inside. It would be my prayer that doing that one act for someone facing hardship would provide some immediate relief while expressing to the family that someone cares about them, instilling a little more hope or a smile to them. The gift would remain anonymous as I would not want to suggest a need for payback or obligation on behalf of the receiving family. This, in fact, is something we have been able to do in varying amounts in the past. It is rewarding for us when we are in a position to do such things while practicing compassion and goodwill to others who may be in need of help at that moment in time.

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All Posts by Randy DeVaul

Home Safety-Protecting Families

Halloween: At Home and On the Street

New Year's with a Smile

Making the World a Better Place - One Person at a Time

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