Travel Safety Tips

Summer is time to travel and it is definitely a time too to sit down with your kids and have a talk about safety. After all safety is more paramount than ever when you are on the road. After all it is quite easy to lose your kid at the beach or at a theme park.

The best way to avoid this type of problem is to create some kind of buddy plan. Most parents forget to teach family safety strategies but they are essential and necessary. Having travel plans in place can even help save a life or prevent your child from being abducted or being lost.

It is always a good idea to decide on a family code word. This helps your child from going off with a stranger. Make sure the word is easy for you guys to remember but not so common that others could guess it.

Make sure your child has memorized basic numbers such as their address, home phone and a parent's cell phone number. If your child is lost on vacation then you need to be called on a cell, as obviously you will not be home.

You also need to assign each family member a travel buddy that stays with him or her at all times.

It is also a good idea to teach kids how to keep themselves safe from harm. Make sure they stay in at night when you are traveling and that they know the traffic or other rules of where they are going. Children always perform best when they know what to expect.

If you are at the airport make sure you have a current photo of your child. These are big places and it easy for them to get lost. These are used of identification purposes. Have other information such as your child's height, weight and full name as well as your cell number on the back. Make sure that it is a good photo in case your child goes missing and a poster must be made.

It is also crucial to wear bright colors when you travel. This allows you to keep track of your family and for everyone to be easily recognized.

Make sure your child's name is also on tags or written inside his or her clothing. This helps you keep track of each other. Don't write the name on the outside of clothing as the child might become familiar to the stranger who calls their name. This might give them the ability to spirit your child away from you in a crowd.

Wear matching bright colors when traveling. This is a great way to keep track of your family, and allows everyone to be easily recognized.

Another good trick is to always designate a meeting spot for your kids and you if you should get separated. Meeting an entrance gate to an attraction or other obvious place is an excellent idea.

Parenting Tips
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Things to Do on Rainy Days

The spring weather has been colder and rainier than usual and my kids are bored on the weekends. Here are some ideas for things for the older kids to do on those cold wet and rainy days.

You can try putting a scrapbook together that can be sent to a relative like grandma. Don't make it seem like homework. Instead buy a small notebook and encourage the kids to tell her about the things in their lives through the expression of images. All you need for this are plenty of old magazines and the usual art supplies.

You can also try making own jigsaw puzzles. This is done by gluing magazine pictures to cardboard and then cutting them with a pair of scissors. The kids can then trade puzzles with each other and see if they can put them together. You can use these again and again if you store the puzzles in bags or boxes. They also make neat gifts for other kids if your kids get bored with them.

Making mini pizzas is also a good distraction on a rainy day. I use an English muffin or tortilla and then set out different toppings on the table. They then can create their own pizzas. Once they complete their creations it is only a minute or two under the broiler or in the pizza oven

In the same vein is cookie decorating. I just use freezer dough. I slice it up into coins and just give them icing, candies and all the tools they need to be creative with the cookie dough. Sometimes I roll it out in sheets as well.

Little kids get stressed like we do if they do not get to work out. This is why I sometimes recommend an exercise DVD. Get them doing some aerobics. This makes them less irritable and less maniacal if they have been acting out.

Use all of the empty boxes form a recycling bin to create some kind of miniature city or castle. You can also make something like a dollhouse out of a cardboard box. Let the kids draw on the boxes as well.

6. Use all the empty boxes from the recycling bin to create a city, or a castle, or cars for toys. The ideas are endless. Kids can draw on and decorate the boxes, and the mess is easily dealt with by recycling.

Sometimes when it's raining I just let my kids play outside anyway. I only do this if it is not too cold or if none of the kids or sick. They love playing in the rain. Afterwards we strip their clothes off and have hot baths. The good thing about this is that they eat all of their dinner and sleep really well all night.

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