Window Guards Save Kid’s Lives

 There have been too many new stories about children falling out of windows lately.  This of course is a great tragedy as it is so easy to install window guards and yet still hundreds of children take a tumble annually.  This type of terrible accident is more common than you think.

 In 2005, the United Stated Consumer Safety Commission reported that 732 children were hurt because they crawled out a window and then fell. Twelve of the children who fell died. This has also resulted in a greater number of lawsuits against landlords who have failed to install window guards. 

What is a window guard?  Window guards in effect prevent the child from opening the window. It is the equivalent of a childproof cap on a bottle of drugs.
Landlords should install window guards to prevent lawsuits. Unfortunately most property owners, especially the slumlord types find the installation of window guards to be too expensive and any laws do not enforce their installation. This is why if you are a parent who lives in an apartment building you still might want to pay for window guards even if you ethically feel that the landlord should pay for them.  Install them and then hand your landlord a bill. A window guard is not a complicated thing.  All it amounts to being is a frame of metal bars that can be fixes with screws to a windowpane. As an added bonus they also prevent small animals such as squirrels or even birds from getting in or out of your place as well. Window guards work the best when they are installed along with window stops. Window stops prevent the window from opening more than four inches.  A child simply cannot squeeze through the bars. This allows a lot of air to circulate through the apartment without letting small creatures in or out of the building.

Window stops are most commonly found as part of the fixtures on winding type window knobs. For even more safety, also make sure that all of your windows have screens. A window screen can easily be torn or popped out by the weight of a child’s or pet’s body. So make sure it is a durable heavy one of high quality. Furthermore, a window without a screen is more likely to tempt the curiosity of a child or a pet. However if you do decide to use window guards in your apartment it is not a good idea to put them on every single window. This is because at least one window should be used as an exit in case of fire. The one window in your place that should not have a window guard should be the one that leads to the fire escape.  You should keep this window closed. The latch or handle on this window should also be of the type of design that can make it difficult for a child's little hand to pry open.  Taking just a few of these precautions can help prevent some senseless tragedies from occurring.

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Build a Birdhouse With Your Kids

Building birdhouses with your kids is not only good for their creative skills but it can also help develop motor skills and help  your child build a better understanding of nature.

Here are some simple ideas for s birdhouses to make. Get an empty half-gallon milk carton.  Make sure that the milk carton is washed thoroughly and dried before you start. Staple the carton shut and then wrap the entire carton with two-inch wide masking tape. Next color it with shoe polish or a marker taking care that you try and make it look like tree bark.  A hole in the side of the carton can serve as a doorway.  Make sure there are also several holes poked in the bottom so rainwater can drain out.  String this birdhouse from a tree and you are done. 

You can also build a birdhouse using paper mache and balloons.  This type of birdhouse is completely round. The recipe for papier mache is to boil newspapers boiled in water for half an hour. Then add two cups of flour.  Layer newspaper strips around the balloon but make sure you patch in a hole so that birds have some way of getting in. Once it is dry you pop the balloon, take it out of the shell you made with paper and color it with bright paint. You can then hang it from a tree. 

A very simple birdfeeder can be created from an old straw hat. Make a hole in the side of the hat for a doorway and suspend it from a tree. The birds will perch on the rim of the hat.  If you hang it low enough you can put birdseed in the hat hollow. Nesting shelves are also easy for kids to build. They attract birds like phoebes, robins and swallows. All you need is a wooden box that is about the size of a shoebox. You simply hang it on a hook so it can hang vertically. This allows the birds to build their nests in the open cavity.  This type of birdhouse allows your kids to observe the birds and it can easily be nailed to a front porch post or fence post. 

If you want to attract doves try building a nesting cone. Simply take a foot long length of finely meshed screen and wrap it into a cone shape. You can than wire it into a tree. Be sure to place it high up in a tree so the dove sees it as a safe place. The dove will see the cone shape as a friendly place to build a nest. 

Bird watching is a fun, inexpensive activity for families.  All year long you can watch the variety of birds that come to visit. If your child can handle a hammer, nails and glue there are a large variety of plans for birdhouses that kid can make available for free on the internet. Usually the provider of the plans can tell you what age group the project is best suited for. You can also find plans for birdhouses at your local library.  

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