Friday, June 20, 2008

How to Sanitize Toys

To Sanitize Toys

Toys may be washed and sanitized in a mechanical dishwasher that has a sanitizing cycle.
Sanitizing toys by hand may be done by washing them with detergent and water, and then spraying with the bleach solution made up with 16-20 ml of household bleach in 1 liter of water (1 tablespoon bleach per quart of water).

Alternately, you can use a soak method, but soaking requires a more concentrated bleach solution because each toy can introduce new germs into the solution.

To use the soak method for sanitizing:

Create a solution of 190 milliliters of bleach per 4 liters of water (3/4 cup bleach per gallon of water).
Put washed and rinsed toys into a net bag.
Let soak for 5 minutes.
Rinse with clean water.
Hang the bag to air dry.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

First Aid for Babies and Children

One of the best ways that new parents, grandparents, and babysitters can prepare for the unexpected is to take classes in first aid and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Knowing what to do in the event of an emergency will help you remain calm, think quickly, and take action with confidence so that you can help your child. Here's how to handle some of the most common injuries and emergencies that affect children under a year of age.

CPR for babies

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Important Tips to Remember When Buying Used Toys

Before you head out the door, check the following Websites for recalled toys or items to stay clear of:

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html

" Child Product Safety
http://www.childproductsafety.com/

" Health Canada Consumer Product Safety
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/advisories-avis/child-enfant/index_e.html

Or, visit the manufacturer of the brands you like, such as Fisher Price, Toys-R-Us, etc. for their specific brand recalls.

2) Inspect the toy or piece of equipment for lose, broken, cracked or chipped parts. The seller may tell you the toy was "hardly used" but that does not mean it is safe. Inspect every inch of the piece. Tug at the joints.


To read more, click here.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Toy swap in Tokyo for kids under 2 - give toys a new home

Are your closets and toy chests turning into an avalanche of unused toys?

And to your child, it always seems that other kids' toys are more fun than his own.
Want to introduce some new toys without spending money or adding to your already huge pile?

Well, we are having a toy swap next meeting. Bring one item to trade.

Bring your gently used toys, games and puzzles and swap them for something "new." Nothing like a little infusion of new toys to bring peace and harmony to the household, my friends. Moms will draw another child's name out of a hat and they will get to swap that item.


Now for the ground rules

Please read the following rules to keep the trade fun and fair
1. Make sure the toy is in working condition."Is it a toy you would give your own child?" - Good condition and complete items only.

2. Check the toy for pieces and cleanliness….again ask, "Is this a toy I would let my child play with?"

3. Non-breakable items (nothing made out of glass)

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

One practical use of Hypnosis

Hypnosis can be used if you are in a difficult situation where they cry for a long time due to pain, teething, colic...etc. Here is one way to deal with it.

Coping with a crying baby

The continual wail of a crying baby can feel like it's driving you insane. Worry, anxiety and anger all merge to make you feel at the end of your tether. And what's worse is you can't reason with them or ask them want they want!

Letting a baby cry or attending to it and finding it is still crying can be jarring on your nerves to say the least.

The problem is when you expect it to stop. Expecting the baby to stop crying actually creates more problems because when it doesn't stop, or stops then starts up again it can feel even worse for you.

You can stop expecting your baby to stop crying

This may seem strange but hypnois is going to teach you to stop expecting your baby to stop crying and is going to help you relax with the sound of continual crying.
Research shows that when the parent is more relaxed and stress free the baby relaxes more, and so cries less.

When you are more comfortable with your baby crying your baby may well stop crying sooner when it picks up on your increased calmness.

How you can hear and 'not hear' at the same time
.
You can learn to hear but 'not hear' when your mind becomes habituated to something. For example when you first go and live by a railway line you are very aware every time a train goes past, but after a while you 'stop hearing it'.

You should always be aware that your baby is crying but you should also be able to switch off from the crying if need be - so you don't become needlessly agitated and waste nervous energy.

When you are calmer with your baby crying you will be able to make clearer and better decisions about what to do - which is good for you and baby.




Taken from Hypnosis Downloads

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Mothers Support Group Speaker - Mind over Matter; Hypnosis

Believe it or not, you will be able to use hypnosis on a daily basis with you child.
Come on out to the meet on Wednesday and found out how it can make difference.


When you say the word hypnosis most people think of a hypnotic trance where the woman is completely asleep or unaware of what is going on with her body while she gives birth. This is far from the truth.

"(Most people believe) that it is some New Age-y bizarre class where the mom goes into a TV trance at the beginning of labor and comes out after the baby is born. It's so much simpler and normal than that. So many clients have noted how the techniques learned in class can be used in all sorts of life situations, well beyond the birth of the baby," explains Kristen Olberz, RN, HBCE, an educator and labor and delivery nurse.

The techniques used were frequently mind numbing and altering, and that's if you were awake. Much of the work behind hypnobirth started with her births and her research into Dr. Grantley Dick-Read's birth philosophy of birth without fear. This total relaxation of the body can help alleviate fear, tension and therefore pain. Many childbirth classes believe in the same theory on this level, called the Pain-Tension-Fear Cycle.

This is achieved through learning relaxation techniques and cues to help bring the mother to a state of complete relaxation so that she can relax and be aware of what is going on around her without the fear and pain so common in labor today.

To read full article..

Even if you are not really interested in this week`s topic, going to the meetings is full of rewards. It will benefit not only you, the mother, but your child as well. It allows many mothers the opportunity to build new friendships, get involved in the community, attain skills or maintain their currents skills, and access to expert or professional figures. For mothers who have left the workforce to be at home full-time, it's a great way to meet mothers who have made the same choices. Mothers who have recently moved to the area, may find it useful in getting to know other mothers in the neighborhood.

We will be able to acomomdate everyone interested in going to this week`s meeting. No need to RSVP.

Will be held at the Civic Center, 3rd Floor, Tatami mat room from 2-4.

If you are early pls feel free to use the room. It`s booked from 1-5.

See you there!

Friday, June 6, 2008

Hypnosis for Infants - Pain Management

Below are news briefs on studies published in the January issue of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

For Release: January 3, 2005, 12:01 am (ET)

Some medical procedures are painful and frightening, particularly for children. When standard pain relief is not a viable option, other methods of reducing pain need to be considered. The study, "Hypnosis Reduces Distress and Duration of an Invasive Medical Procedure for Children," looked at using hypnosis to help ease pain and fear in children undergoing invasive medical procedures. The authors studied the effect of self-hypnosis on children undergoing a common procedure to determine abnormalities in the urinary tract. (Children were taught self-hypnosis prior to the procedure.) The authors found that children who were previously terrified of the procedure were able to undergo treatment with the help of hypnosis. The study concluded that hypnosis has the potential to improve the overall medical care of children who undergo painful or anxiety-provoking medical procedures.